Bunnybots

Every year during the offseason, the KoiBots make a splash in an unofficial competition known as Bunnybots. Hosted by FRC (First Robotics Competition) team 449 from Montgomery Blair High School, Bunnybots aims to be a friendly introduction to the world of FIRST, getting teams excited for the upcoming build season. This year, the Blair Bunnybots released a new game, called “Burrow Into the Void.” In order to win this year, robots needed to pick up “lunites” (foam footballs) and score them into a “solar core” or “shield generator.” While the competition was challenging, the KoiBots made it into the playoffs and lasted all the way to the semifinals.

Meet Tardigrade!

Named after an ocean-dwelling microanimal that can survive in space, Tardigrade is built to hold multiple lunites and score them in rapid succession. Armed with a source intake, Tardigrade must be fed lunites by a team member in order to score. While the KoiBots are normally known for their ground intake(which means that robots are able to take pieces from the floor) the team wanted to try something new this year.

The switch from ground to source intake wasn’t the only new design feature the KoiBots experimented with this year. In order to account for the lack of space on the top of Tardigrade, the KoiBots switched from a bellypan to a brainpan; all electronics, except for the battery and breaker, were mounted upside down! While a brainpan may seem extreme, the KoiBots were easily able to access electronics without worrying about the other parts of the robot. Additionally, the brain pan solution allowed for less electrical failures. Even when something went wrong, electrical issues became significantly easier to both spot and fix. 

Tardigrade is also fully equipped with a shooter meant to fling ‘lunites’ from far away. Modeled after Anglerfish from the 2023-2024 season, Tardigrade’s shooter is placed at an angle that can score in both low and high goals.  Overall, Tardigrade is a fully functioning (and totally awesome) robot. 

December 6, 2025

Not long after the game manual was released, a competition was held on Saturday, December 6, 2025 at Montgomery Blair High School. Many students had to drive as far as an hour to reach the venue and see Tardigrade play.

At the start of the match, the team was greeted by some familiar faces as their announcers, Alessandra Mendoza and AJ Scally, both seniors here at Arlington Tech. The Bunnybots competition is completely unofficial, meaning that the event is completely run by volunteers, who are usually robotics team mentors or high school upperclassmen. Many students, particularly those in the National Honor Society, have obtained multiple volunteer hours by announcing for unofficial robotics competitions. A good announcer can also share their passion for the game with their audience.

While the KoiBots started off rough during their qualification matches, losing two games in a row at first, they were quickly able to bounce back and secure a seat in the playoffs. At their highest, the team ranked 8th out of the 20 competing teams.

Luckily, when the top eight teams had to choose their alliance partners, the KoiBots were able to pair up with team 8592, also known as Newton². During First Robotics Competitions, teams are encouraged to ally with each other in the spirit of ‘coopertition,’ meaning that teams should help each other in order to compete fairly. In order to take the title, the KoiBots would need to beat seven other partnerships in the playoff championships. While the KoiBots and Newton² made it into the semifinals, they were sadly eliminated after losing two matches.

Looking Onward

Despite not winning, the KoiBots put their best foot forward in Bunnybots, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the process. The team is ready to move on to the challenges of the build season, where all the experience, new techniques, and lessons learned will be used to swim up to even greater heights.

The KoiBots will be hosting an open house on December 13 at the Arlington Career Center from 9:30-2. Please attend with friends or family to participate in the fun and learn more about STEM.

Photo credits: Kaelyn Hendricks, Steve Nystrom, Chris Schultz, Winston Greenwood, Toby Mickelson, and Yara Shomali