Tag: Base

  • FTC Robot Build: Starter Kit and Drive Base Kit Upgrade Ideas

    FTC Robot Build: Starter Kit and Drive Base Kit Upgrade Ideas

    Quick Summary: Building a reliable, high-performing robot for the 2025-2026 DECODE Season is one of the most rewarding parts of the FTC robot build process. Whether your team is using the Studica Robotics FTC Starter Kit or the FTC Drive Base Kit, both systems provide a strong mechanical foundation. However, the real power lies in following an iterative design approach, where you prototype, test, analyze, and refine your robot over time.

    This article guides teams through practical, beginner-friendly methods to upgrade both kits while enhancing their engineering skills.

    Why Iteration Matters for Your FTC Robot Build

    One of the most valuable lessons in FTC is understanding that robots are not built once; they’re built over time. Every test, every failure, every small adjustment moves your team closer to a stable, high-scoring machine.

    Both Studica Robotics kits are designed to support that iterative design process:

    Iterating early and often helps teams:

    ➡️ Improve driving performance

    ➡️ Test mechanisms in real-world conditions

    ➡️ Make informed upgrades instead of guessing

    ➡️ Build confidence with hardware and mechanical systems

    The Engineering Cycle Behind FTC Iteration

    Iterative design in FTC is not a random trial and error process. It is a structured engineering cycle that mirrors professional engineering practices. Every improvement your team makes follows the same core steps found in professional engineering:

    Define → Ask → Imagine → Plan → Prototype → Test → Iterate

    Engineering Design ProcessThis cycle helps teams:

    ➡️ Identify what needs to change or improve

    ➡️ Explore constraints, rules, and existing solutions

    ➡️ Brainstorm multiple ways to solve the problem

    ➡️ Select an approach that fits strategy and resources

    ➡️ Build quick prototypes to try ideas early

    ➡️ Test designs on the field to gather real performance data

    ➡️ Refine based on what the tests reveal

    Using these steps gives teams a clear, repeatable method for refining mechanisms, improving scoring consistency, and strengthening overall robot reliability throughout the season. Review the full breakdown of the Engineering Design Process.

    How to Iterate Effectively During Your FTC Robot Build

    No matter which kit your team uses, these principles ensure smarter, safer iteration.

    ➡️ Make one change at a time to isolate what works and what does not

    ➡️ Test early and test often to see real performance in the field

    ➡️ Take pictures and document changes to save time during troubleshooting

    ➡️ Keep wiring organized to reduce disconnects and simplify servicing

    ➡️ Build with symmetry when possible to make balancing and reinforcement easier

    Iterating with the Studica Robotics Building System

    The Studica Robotics building system is designed for easy reconfiguration, ideal for rapid prototyping and refinement during an FTC robot build.

    The Studica Robotics Structure AdvantageThe Studica Robotics Structure AdvantageKey Advantages:

    ✅ Radial Hole Pattern:
    The unique hole pattern makes most structural pieces universally compatible, allowing parts to be easily repositioned or swapped.

    ✅ Versatile Structural Components:
     Available in multiple lengths and colors for refined prototyping:

    ✅Easy to Swap and Adjust:
    Consistent hole spacing allows teams to:

        • Reinforce weak points
        • Add bracing
        • Change wheel types
        • Adjust motor layout
        • Mount sensors cleanly

    This flexibility is exactly what teams need when refining their robot design.

    Upgrading the Starter Kit for Your FTC Robot Build

    The FTC Starter Kit provides the baseline components for this season’s DECODE Starter Bot. It is designed to help teams:

    • Begin programming both autonomous and tele-op
    • Drive-test early
    • Understand drivetrain behavior
    • Work with OMS components
    • Add prototype mechanisms to the FTC Starter Bot to evaluate ideas early in the season.

    Once the Starter Bot is assembled and tested, teams can begin upgrading it.

    FTC Starter Kit Upgrade Ideas

    1. Add Low-Profile U-Channel Wheel Guards:
      Prevents field elements or other robots from catching on the drivetrain.
    2. Experiment with Different Flex Wheels:
      Different durometer (hardness) ratings affect how flex wheels compress and interact with game pieces, helping teams fine-tune intake behavior.
    3. Explore Motor Options:
      Studica Robotics offers Maverick HEX shaft motors with multiple planetary gearbox options available.
      Teams frequently choose between higher torque options and higher RPM options, depending on their drive strategy or mechanism needs.
    4. Reinforce the Chassis:
      Extra brackets or beams help maintain rigidity as mechanisms are added.
    5. Transition to a Mechanism-Ready Chassis:
      Many teams take the FTC Starter Bot’s scoring mechanism concepts and move them onto a more competition-ready Mecanum chassis. This helps teams learn:
      🔹 How to mount mechanisms cleanly
      🔹 How to maintain access to wiring
      🔹 How to improve scoring consistency

    FTC Starter Bot: Shooter on Mecanum Chassis

    This example takes the scoring system from the Studica Robotics FTC Starter Bot and places it onto a refined, competition ready Mecanum chassis. It’s a great starting point for teams looking to practice drivetrain control, get comfortable with strafing, and improve scoring efficiency.

    FTC Starter Bot: Wheel Guard Configuration

    This variation keeps the core Starter Bot design but adds wheel guards to boost durability and protect the drivetrain. The guards help prevent walls, other robots, and game elements from catching on the wheels or interfering with rotation.
    FTC Starter Bot Shooter with Mecanum WheelsFTC Starter Bot Shooter with Mecanum Wheels FTC Starter Bot with Wheel Guard blogFTC Starter Bot with Wheel Guard blog
    What it demonstrates:
     How teams can reuse a proven mechanism while upgrading mobility for smoother alignment, better field positioning, and more consistent scoring.    		 What it demonstrates:
    A simple, low-effort upgrade that improves reliability without significant structural changes.

    Upgrading the FTC Drive Base Kit

    The FTC Drive Base Kit provides a complete mecanum drivetrain with omnidirectional movement, giving teams flexibility when designing mechanisms. Unlike the FTC Starter Kit, the FTC Drive Base Kit only provides the materials needed to create a drivetrain, giving teams total creative freedom to design their own scoring mechanisms.

    FTC Drive Base Kit Upgrade Ideas

    1.  Reinforced Mecanum Wheel Guards – Helps protect rollers during contact-heavy gameplay using:
      🔹 Standoffs
      🔹 T Brackets
      🔹 End Piece Plates
      🔹 Low-Profile U-Channels
    2. Vertical Motor Mounting – Some teams choose to mount motors vertically to create a clean underside with space for:
      🔹 Odometry
      🔹 Sensors
      🔹 Cable routing
    3. Leave Room for Sensors and Expansion – The area under the 288 mm U-Channels is ideal for:
      🔹 Odometry pods
      🔹 Distance sensors
      🔹 IMU stabilization mounts
      🔹 Future scoring mechanisms
    4. Improve Structural Rigidity – As teams add mechanisms, reinforcing the drivetrain with additional brackets or cross-members helps maintain frame strength.

    FTC Drive Base Kit: Protected Drivetrain with Odometry Support

    This version doesn’t include scoring mechanisms, but it features reinforced wheel guards designed to shield the Mecanum rollers and support the drivetrain during high-contact DECODE gameplay and space for odometry pods.

    FTC Drive Base Kit: Vertical Motor Mount for Under-Channel Odometry Space

    This design is a more competition-focused refinement of the FTC Drive Base Kit v2. The motors are mounted vertically, leaving a clean channel beneath the 288 mm U-Channels—perfect for odometry pods, sensors, or future add-ons. It also includes reinforced Mecanum wheel guards built using standoffs, T-brackets, end plates, and low-profile U-Channels to help protect the wheels from hard impacts.
    FTC Drivebase Kit with Wheel Guards and Odometry Kit Top ViewFTC Drivebase Kit with Wheel Guards and Odometry Kit Top View FTC Drivebase Kit vertical motor mount drivebaseFTC Drivebase Kit vertical motor mount drivebase
    What it demonstrates:
    Wheel guards and integrated odometry pods for more accurate autonomous tracking and movement.    		 What it demonstrates:
     A clean, expandable layout optimized for sensors and autonomous performance.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What’s the main difference between the FTC Starter Kit and the FTC Drive Base Kit?
    The FTC Starter Kit includes everything needed for a baseline Starter Bot. The FTC Drive Base Kit is drivetrain-only, giving teams full freedom to design.

    Do I need special tools to upgrade the FTC Starter Bot?
    No. The unique Studica Robotics hole pattern allows parts, motors, gears, and other components to connect easily without special equipment.

    Can I use the FTC Starter Bot for prototyping?
    Yes. Many teams test early mechanisms or scoring ideas on the FTC Starter Bot.

    Can the FTC Drive Base Kit support advanced mechanisms?
    Absolutely. Its open layout is designed for sensors, scoring systems, and expansion structures.

    Should I choose torque or high-RPM motors?
    It depends on your design. Many teams prototype with different planetary gearbox ratios on their motor to determine their preferred performance.

    Why is iteration so important in FTC?
    Each change helps teams improve reliability, score faster, and understand how mechanical decisions affect robot behavior.

    Where can I learn more about the engineering design process?
    Learn more here: Dive into Robotics with the Engineering Design Process

    Closing Thoughts

    Both the FTC Starter Kit and FTC Drive Base Kit give teams a reliable starting point for their FTC robot build. Most teams improve performance by using the design-test-refine process reinforcing structure and refining layouts throughout the season. These adjustments help teams understand mechanical behavior while gradually developing a more consistent robot.

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  • Born on Third Base | HESA

    Born on Third Base | HESA

    Cast your minds back to January of 2024, when the federal government suddenly decided that housing was an issue, international students were the problem and implemented a complicated and irritating-to-implement set of caps that were 35% lower nationally than for 2023 (and in Ontario significantly more than that). Then, in 2025 came another set of changes including a 10% cut in the national limit. And then, on top of that, a set of new conditions on post-graduate work visas were imposed which were specifically designed to depress demand for certain types of education.

    To the extent that the world outside post-secondary education absorbed this news and didn’t dismiss it outright because Ontario colleges in particular “deserved it” for pouring gasoline onto a housing shortage bonfire, the reaction to all this was: “boy, losing nearly half your international students is really going to lead to a financial pinch”. But this reaction was wrong in two ways. First, that 50-percent was an average – in most cases, institutions either saw drops that were either significantly higher or significantly lower than that. Partly, this was because the federal government designed the cap drop to hit provinces unequally (Ontario to the max and Quebec not at all, for instance) and part of it had to do with the fact that some provinces distributed the cap hit in some peculiar ways (see back here for an earlier blog on this).

    But second, and most importantly, not many institutions actually even met these significantly-lowered quotas. Talk to folks in institutions these days and they will tell you that it’s not that the caps are too low, but that demand for Canadian post-secondary has simply dried up: no one wants to come to Canada anymore. I believe this. Former Immigration Minister Marc Miller did a serious number on the reputation of Canada’s post-secondary. If you go around accusing institutions of fraud and deceit and imposing clampdowns on student visas (it wasn’t just the caps – visa processing times are up and visa refusal rates are rising too), foreign students might get the idea that the country doesn’t want them, and so they never apply in the first place. I am sure Marc Miller would deny ever wanting to dry up demand, but it is exactly what his ham-fisted, Attila-the-Hun in a China shop approach to student visas managed to achieve.

    (And still, so many bien-pensant people think Liberals are the good guys on higher education. Or think more federal involvement in the higher education file would be a good thing. God Save Us All.)

    Anyways, as a result of this, universities and colleges are in a funk and wondering if and when international students will come back and (partially) save their bacon, financially speaking. But what is shocking, to me at least, is how unbelievably passive the sector is. They are waiting for students to come. Just waiting. ‘Why don’t they come?’ people ask. ‘It’s that darn Marc Miller! Nothing we can do about it’.

    You see the problem with the international student industry in Canada is that institutions themselves never grew an overseas recruitment game the way UK and Australian institutions did. By the time Canadian institutions started thinking about the whole international-students-as-revenue thing, the feds had already created the student-to-permanent immigration pathway via our post-graduate work visas and the like. And then, when things got hotter, aggregators like ApplyBoard came along and made it so easy to attract students that a lot of Canadian institutions just never upped their ground game on student recruitment.

    You see, despite Canadian institutions’ tendency to congratulate themselves on their “international outlook” and their ability to attract international students, very few of them ever bothered to go deep either on recruitment tactics (spending time abroad, juicing the recruitment pipeline) or on paying attention to the international student experience on campus. Some did, of course, but I can count the number who would be considered on par with the top institutions in the anglosphere on one hand.

    When it comes to internationalization, Canada is the kid who was born on third base and thinks they hit a triple. So many unearned advantages. And so, when Attila-the-Minister came along and took away most of those unearned advantages, people did not know what to do. The simple answer – UP YOUR GROUND GAME IN A FEW KEY TARGET MARKETS FOR GOD’S SAKE – seems not to have been considered very widely.

    I suspect one of the reasons for this is a deeply unsexy one: internal funding formulas for non-academic units. You see, under the enshittification model that is widely prevalent in Canadian institutions (more so in universities than colleges, but the latter aren’t immune from it), when a budget crunch happens, everyone needs to cut back. And so, international units, far from being given more money to go fight for students in overseas markets, sometimes have to scale back their activities (or at least not increase them as they should). The idea that it takes money to make money does not fit easily with a budget model that bases this year’s budget on what you got last year plus or minus a percentage point or two.

    This is bananas, of course. Self-destructive, even. But even if you gave international offices more money, they wouldn’t necessarily know how to spend it. The born-on-third-base thing meant we never needed to fight that hard for international students – they just kind of showed up. The situation Canadian institutions are in right now requires a lot more bodies on the ground overseas, understanding individual city markets, developing relationships with schools and agents, and attending more fairs, in more cities and more countries. This is how Australia and the UK developed their international markets. We managed to skip a lot of that in the ‘10s. We are going to have to learn it now.

    The shock, pain and impact of both the visa caps and Marc Miller setting fire to the country’s reputation are all real. Never forgive, never forget (but also: never again wish for the federal government to be more active in post-secondary education). But institutions are not without agency here. My feeling is that in too many cases they are just throwing up their hands, either because they prefer not to spend on recruitment or are insufficiently skilled at doing so in the absence of a cuddly national image or an absurdly favorable visa system.  

    You want markets? Invest in them. Fight for them. If Canadian post-secondary education is as good as everyone claims it is, students will come. Passiveness helps no one.

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