Sessions

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If you have lost that link, you can either re-register with the correct sessions selected (please write 'updated' in the comment box), or write an email to the planning committee at workshops@wrrf.org letting us know what changes need to be made.

Opening and Closing will take place in Manley Hall.

Decision-Making Processes: How to Improve Yours

Ceal Craig, Ph.D., Retired Researcher & Technology Executive | Room 101

Decision making is more than brainstorming. It takes a diverse and open minded team using tools to cohesively evaluate and rate different decisions and solutions. Learn how to more effectively gather ideas and then select the optimum ones. Based on decision making research and practice.

Hands-on segments: Discussion and Q&A.

For any group interested in learning that decision making is a process and can be learned.

Intermediate Onshape: Let's CAD a Drivetrain!

Tamara Kawa, FRC 1967 Mentor | Room 104

Wanna brush up on Onshape? In this session, we'll use Onshape to CAD a drivetrain, from a basic sketch to completed rails and gussets. Topics will include variable studios, use of sketches and featurescripts, and - time allowing - how to make drawings.

Hands-on segments: Hands-on work and practice with CAD.

Intended for those who know how to make basic parts in Onshape but are interested in more advanced usage. Bring a laptop, three-button mouse, charger, an Onshape account, and perhaps some pencil/paper..

Match Strategy

Aidan Ferrer, FRC 1967 Co-Director | Room 204

Develop tactics for successful match play, whether that's through tailored drills at the lab, converting scouting data into a strong alliance, or recovering when everything goes sideways. If time allows, we will also open up the discussion to match review.

Hands-on segments: Discussion and Q&A.

Intended for any FIRSTers involved with strategy, ranging from drive team to scouting. Mentors and students are welcome. Bring a laptop or notebook.

More than a Team: How to Build a FIRST Family

Aimee Ding, President; Diya Vatsavai, Strategy & Assembly Lead - FRC 3256 | Room 206

An immersive session on student leadership within FIRST teams, and how to use that authority to create an inclusive team culture. We will cover 6-7 key details, ranging from setting team vision(s) to facilitating purposeful team bonding outside of robotics.

Hands-on segments: sifting through fake applications, choosing who to accept, presenting reasoning to the rest of the room (Inclusivity); identifying strengths and weaknesses of team members Aimee and Diya based on a short interactive skit/interview (Knowing your team); open discussion, case studies about fab and business on our own team, gender roles in subteams (Subteam balance); selected members have problems, how do you approach? (Second chances); Experiencing roleplay with fake bad mentors (Mentor involvement); choosing out of pool of fake characters that they accepted onto the team (Choosing leadership)

Intended for students experienced in leadership, new student leaders and students hoping to bring more inclusivity to their team. Bring something to take notes with.

Preparing for the Impact Presentation

Anh-Quan Nguyen, Team 649 Mentor | Room 102

We'll cover presentation techniques for the Impact Award presentation and tips on how to tackle Q&A.

Hands-on segments: Discussion and Q&A.

Designed for members and mentors of FRC teams seeking to curate an IMPACTful Impact presentation.

Beautiful Brandards (Branding Standards) by the Boba Bots

Amelia Naughten, Operations Captain; Fiona Guo, Imagery Lead; Ann Zhou, Publicity Lead; Olive Aguilar, Outreach/Media Lead - FRC 253 | Room 104

Branding is a crucial part of team recognition and visibility, and can help recruit members and raise team funds through merchandise sales. Participants will learn how to create and maintain a consistent brand for their team, using color theory and graphic design to improve existing branding.

Hands-on segments: Participants will work on implementing their branding through social media and merchandising, as well as creating or improving branding standards for their own team.

Intended for anyone interested in graphic design or improving their team's branding! No prerequisite knowledge needed. Bring a laptop OR tablet (to type on).

Electronics, Basic and Intermediate (1)

Mike Schmit, WRRF BOD | Room 101

This workshop covers electronics for robotics from the ground up. Introduction to the terminology of volts and amps, wire gauges, etc. Beginning theories of electricity, such as Ohm's Law will be covered. Learn about all the power distribution and electronic components in the FIRST kit of parts as well as common mistakes and pitfalls for new teams and new students.

Hands-on segments: Will have a few devices for people to see and use a multimeter

Intended for all starting with electronics (especially no experience in FRC). All supplies are provided, but may bring laptop to view slides.

Era of Physical AI and Robotics

Karthik Amirtharajan, Global Physical AI Developer Relations Leader at NVIDIA | Room 206

Learn about how Computer Vision, Vision-Language Models (VLMs), and World Foundation Models (WFMs) are being applied in industry to advance the field of Physical AI and robotics by enabling machines to perceive, reason about, and act within complex environments.

Hands-on segments: Q&A.

Intended for any and all students curious about the application of AI in robotics. Bring questions and something to take notes with.

Sticking to Deadlines and Delegating Work

FTC 6165 | Room 102

Discussion of team management & organization (how to stick to deadlines, delegate work, and use visual management systems). We will hold exercises in creating management spreadsheets and will have a brief Q&A at the end.

Hands-on segments: Discussion and Q&A.

Intended for high school robotics students in leadership roles or project management.

Curious about how the new District system will work in California? Want to know what AB 506 means for your team? Join this Q&A session to hear the latest updates and get your questions answered. Whether you’re a veteran mentor or just starting out, this is your chance to connect, learn, and get clarity on what’s ahead for California FRC. The session will be led by Luan Heimlich, Senior Regional Director for FIRST in Northern California, who has been part of the FIRST community for many years supporting teams, volunteers, and events across California and beyond, and is passionate about making sure every student has the chance to be inspired by STEM.

No registration is necessary for this specific session; it's open to anyone during lunch.

Avoiding Trainwrecks: Establishing Robust Training for FRC Teams

Athena Li, FRC 8033 Vice Captain & Training Lead | Room 104

Training new members is a crucial process for every FRC team, yet is consistently one of the most difficult parts of maintaining a sustainable program. In this session, we’ll draw on the development of 8033's training program over the past 3 years to see what worked, what didn’t, and gather principles and lessons to apply to your own program, from mechanical to software to operations.

Hands-on segments: May have a group discussion component towards the end to share ideas and get advice.

Intended for students and mentors who are interested in improving their team's member retention, engagement, and training! (prior leadership experience is not required). Bring something to take notes with.

Design Process and Prototyping

Milton Tran, FRC 9470 Design Lead | Room 204

This presentation will cover the design process for building FRC robots, moving through planning, prototyping, CAD, build and testing. In the prototyping section, we'll focus on effective strategies for subsystem development, including what materials to use as well as how to efficiently prototype subsystems for robots. For CAD, we'll discuss best practices as well as the thought process while making a detailed CAD. To wrap up, I will share some helpful resources for students to learn CAD and for mentors or educators to help students learn CAD tools.

Hands-on segments: None.

Intended for students who would like an introduction to designing robots or sharpen their existing design skills.

Electronics, Basic and Intermediate (2)

Mike Schmit, WRRF BOD | Room 101

A continuation of the session of the same name from the prior timeslot. This workshop continues to covers electronics for robotics from the ground up. Introduction to the terminology of volts and amps, wire gauges, etc. Beginning theories of electricity, such as Ohm's Law will be covered. Learn about all the power distribution and electronic components in the FIRST kit of parts as well as common mistakes and pitfalls for new teams and new students.

Hands-on segments: Will have a few devices for people to see and use a multimeter

Intended for all starting with electronics (especially no experience in FRC). All supplies are provided, but may bring laptop to view slides.

FRC Coding Basics & Intro to Control Systems

Swayam Shrimali, FRC 192 Controls Lead | Room 206

This session will guide students through the basic code structure of FRC, understanding subsystems and commands, and learning how to run a motor. From there, we’ll connect these basics to control systems concepts. We will be covering open vs. closed loop, PID tuning, feedforward, and how sensors make robots more reliable. By the end, students will see how simple motor code builds into precise, competition-ready mechanisms.

Hands-on segments: Hands-on practice.

Intended for students who are either new to programming in FRC or who want to expand into control systems concepts. Bring a laptop with WPILib installed, a GitHub account with Git (or GitHub Desktop for beginners) installed, and a notebook/pen.

Printer Dissection

FRC 840 | Room 102

An in depth, hands-on workshop where you will get to learn how inkjet printers work by taking one apart yourself using a variety of tools. You will also get to learn about how the unique design choices in a printer can be applied to robotics. Attendees will also be able to take home any interesting mechanisms or electronics they find in the printers.

Hands-on segments: This is a fully hands on workshop. We will give a very short presentation on the instructions and then attendees will have the rest of the time to take apart inketjet printers that we provide, using tools that we will also provide. They will see many unexpectedly similar mechanisms to what they have seen in robots and be able to learn about different methods to accomplish a task in robotics based on unique designs within the printers.

Intended for anyone interested in learning about unique mechanisms and industrial design choices. Bring something to take pictures/videos of interesting mechanisms (optional).

Bumpers 101

Peyton Tran, FRC 1967 Bumper Lead | Room 102

We will be going over everything bumper-related, from what they are, different ways to make them, and how to figure out what type of bumpers are right for your team.

Hands-on segments: If time allows, I will have attendees make mini bumpers and learn how to wrap bumper corners.

Intended for newer teams, teams that have struggled with bumpers in the past, or anyone interested in different forms of bumpers. Bring a device, safety goggles, and something to take notes with.

Influencing Students' Careers

Ceal Craig, Ph.D., Retired Researcher & Technology Executive | Room 101

How does FRC influence career decisions? Dr. Ceal Craig (Society of Women Engineers Fellow) will share current research on FRC influences, gender influences, and influences for young students of color. Identify processes, ideas, and approaches to help your students see FRC as a welcoming place, a place to build social cohesion, and experience the fun of problem-solving in engineering and computer science careers.

Hands-on segments: Discussion and Q&A.

Intended for team mentors, teachers, parents, and team leaders. Bring questions and an open mind.

Sensors, Electronics, and the CAN bus

Saketh Neeli, Co-Electrical Lead; Anish Rao, Co-Electrical Lead; Prakhar Rathore, Co-Software and Control Lead; Zachary Yeung, Member - FRC 846 | Room 204

Learn how to effectively diagnose issues on the CAN bus. Learn about various sensors, their uses, and how they work.

Hands-on segments: There will be live demonstrations of some of the topics we discuss.

Intended for intermediate to advanced FRC students. A basic understanding of voltage, current, and electronics is recommended.

Storytelling and Strategy through Design and Media

Clayton Ou, WRRF Conference Committee Advisor | Room 104

Design - graphic, industrial, fashion, or otherwise - isn't just about "aesthetic"; it can be a powerful tool for telling stories about and communicating a vision for your team as well. In this workshop, we'll look at how thoughtful use of layout and elements can tell its own story that complements but doesn't rely entirely on your content, and how some successful brands use these techniques strategically to tell a consistent story across everything they release.

Hands-on segments: Interactive analysis of video games (yes, we'll play video games in class...or at least look at them), websites, and consumer electronics.

(Just to clarify: when I say "design", I mean it in the sense of fields like graphic design, industrial design, product design, and so on - this isn't a robot CAD workshop!) Intended for both attendees with no prior experience looking to learn some design principles and approaches, as well as attendees who already have some design skills & theory down and are looking to develop a more unified and cohesive vision for their team image. We won't cover any specific design software, so whether you're used to a specific tool or none at all, you'll be able to learn things you can apply to your team. Bring something to take notes with.

The Art and Science of Machining

Rich Klopp, FRC 100 Mentor | Room 206

I will explain how cutting tools work, the machines that use them, the materials being machined, good practices, and useful rules of thumb.

Hands-on segments: None.

Intended for anyone who is involved in fabrication or design. Bring something to take notes with.

Challenges of Starting a FRC Team

Chuck Taylor, FRC 2643 & 10059 Mentor | Room 206

Lecture covering some of the obstacles to starting an FRC team, including finding students, mentors, teachers/admin, funding, meeting space, and equipment.

Hands-on segments: We will have time for interactive questions during the session and at the end of the lecture.

Intended for mentors, teachers and students thinking about starting a new team.

Dean's List Panel

Moderated by Katie Widen, FRC 253 Mentor | Room 104

Hear from Dean's List Finalists as they share their experiences applying, interviewing, and standing out as student leaders in FIRST. Gain practical tips and insight to strengthen your own application and showcase your impact on your team and community.

Intended for students seeking to grow as mentors and leaders on their team, as well as those wanting to prepare for Dean's List interviews and applications.

Featured Panelists

Cierra Yu, FRC 2813, was Dean's List Finalist at Pinnacles Regional 2025.

George Tao, FRC 840, was Dean's List Finalist at San Francisco Regional 2025.

Serena Koopmans, FRC 5026 Co-Captain, won the 2025 Dean's List Finalist Award at the Arizona East Regional. Additionally, under Serena's leadership, Team 5026 won the Autonomous Award and the Engineering Inspiration Award at REEFSCAPE regionals, giving Serena lots of experience interviewing with and talking to judges. Serena is excited to share strategies for answering questions and crafting a memorable persona, and willing to help applicants with mock interviews.

Sharon Zhang, FRC 253 Tech Captain, was Dean's List Finalist at Pinnacles Regional 2025.

From Manual to Meta: Developing Strategy from Day 1

Aidan Ferrer, FRC 1967 Co-Director | Room 204

How do we take a challenge each year and turn it into objectives? Are they the right objectives? Learn how to develop competitive goals and see if they're right for you and your team.

Hands-on segments: Discussion.

Intended for students and mentors who will have an active role in leading their team's design, or are curious to learn more about strategy. Bring a laptop or notebook.

Introduction to Vision

Athena Li, FRC 8033 Vice Captain & Training Lead | Room 101

Vision processing has become increasingly accessible to FRC teams and has raised the floor for robot automation. In this session, we'll learn about several approaches to and tools for vision and pose estimation in FRC, how to get started and integrate it into your code, and common pitfalls + how to avoid them.

Hands-on segments: None.

Intended for students/mentors with some FRC programming experience and are interested in adding vision capabilities to their robot! Bring something to take notes with.

Troubleshooting FIRST

Randy Leberknight, FRC 1967 Programming Mentor & Principal Firmware Engineer at Cala Health | Room 102

When a Robot fails, the number of possible causes seems infinite! Joysticks? Driver Station? networking? Software? Loose wires? Broken Robot hardware? This presentation offers a systematic process of narrowing down the cause(s) of problems, based on decades of troubleshooting experience.

Hands-on segments: troubleshooting

In the pits, programming, electrical and mechanical team members must work together, and this presentation is for all of them.

Detecting Game Pieces with Vision

Dhananjay Khulbe, Co-Software and Control Lead; Rhea Susarla, Co-Scouting Lead; Mihir Shankar, Software Member; Suheng Tan, Software Member - FRC 846 | Room 101

Learn two different methods to detect and locate game pieces on the field with a camera.

Hands-on segments: Features a live demonstration of our MonkeyVision, team 846’s vision solution.

Intended for intermediate to advanced FRC students with an interest in software and vision systems.

From Idea to Impact: Building Outreach Projects that Last

Audrey Li, Business & Operations Captain; Anukha Vusirikala, Marketing & Outreach Captain - FRC 1868 | Room 104

This session will cover everything you need to know about starting an outreach initiative from the ground up! Using one of our newest initiatives as an example, we will guide you through the process of creating impactful, scalable programs and getting team members involved with them.

Hands-on segments: We will host an activity to help participants develop new community outreach initiatives. Participants will brainstorm new outreach initiatives that address an issue in their community, and will build a timeline based on their goals for scaling.

Intended for high school students interested in leadership roles and creating outreach initiatives. Bring something to take notes with.

Simulation and Automated Testing

Ryan LeRoy, FRC 6238 Programming Lead | Room 204

A session covering the basics of simulation with WPILib, unit testing, mocks, and more! We'll also cover how to encorperate testing into your software development process.

Hands-on segments: I will do some live demonstrations of simulations and live code tests for an FRC subsystem.

Intended for anyone with a basic knowledge of FRC programming wanting to improve their code with testing.

University-Level Robotics

Maya Enriquez, President; Nina Wang, Mission Controls Lead; Kate Oxley, Mechanical Co-Lead and FRC 852 Alum; Samuel Spangenberg, Science Lead/Safety Officer - SJSU Robotics | Room 206

We plan to discuss the University Rover Challenge, the Design Process, and Robotics Safety.

Hands-on segments: We can use a Q&A section after our main presentation to involve the audience.

Intended for high school students interested in learning about larger interdisciplinary clubs and how different STEAM majors can mesh.

Will You Want a Pneumatic System on Your 2026 FRC 'Bot?

Gary Koerzendorfer, FRC 2643 Robot Inspector and Mentor | Room 102

Pneumatics - the use of compressed air to create motion - is less common in now in FRC. Many teams, including my own, have no students left who've seen, let alone implemented, a pneumatic system. Yet, pneumatics is still common in industry, including commercial aircraft; I'll show some examples. I'll demonstrate a complete FRC pneumatic system and explain the components; it's beneficial to teams to recognize when a pneumatic system may be a better option than electric motors. Time permitting we'll discuss programming of pneumatic systems, including techniques to give your 'bot an advantage on the field. Before the session, consider looking at the FRC Pneumatics Manual, this video on adjusting your pressure relief valve, and this video on the REV Pneumatics Hub.

Hands-on segments: I'll pass out parts of an pneumatic system for students to examine.

Intended for robot designers and builders, and the curious. Bring your phone for pictures, and a means of taking notes.