FIRST Tech Challenge · Team #16953

Fire Robotics

Six subteams. One machine. Built entirely by students.

Meet the subteams Sponsor the team Upcoming events
Proudly supported by
Best Brains · Fernway Builders
Fire Robotics robot 16953 — front three-quarter view
Fire Robotics robot 16953 — side view

Team 16953 — this season’s robot.

Who we are

A student-run FTC team from Livingston, New Jersey. Every season we design, machine, and code a competition robot from nothing — and get our community hooked on STEM while we do it.

The Fire Robotics team
The team behind #16953.
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Design iterations
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Custom 3D-printed parts
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Hours of 3D printing
The engine room

Six subteams, one machine.

Every part of Fire Robotics is student-owned — split across the technical build and the team that powers everything around it.

Technical
01
Build & CADDesign, fabrication, and 3D-printed parts.
Hardware
 02
CodeAutonomous, driver control, and vision.
Software
 03
LogbookThe engineering notebook and portfolio.
Documentation
Non-technical
04
OutreachSTEM events and mentoring younger teams.
Community
 05
MediaVideo, social, and the team’s story.
Storytelling
 06
FinanceBudget, sponsors, and grants.
Operations

From kickoff to competition.

All six subteams working in parallel against one ticking clock.

Fire Robotics designing in the pits at a competition
Kickoff

Game reveal & strategy

The new challenge drops. The whole team breaks down the rules, scores the objectives, and decides how we want to play.

Weeks 1–4

Design & prototype

Build/CAD models mechanisms while Code stands up the software base. Finance locks the parts budget; Media starts filming; Logbook captures every decision.

Weeks 5–9

Build & program

The robot comes together. Autonomous routines get written and tuned. Outreach ramps up events in the community.

Weeks 10+

Drive practice & iterate

500+ iterations don’t happen by accident. We test, break, fix, and refine right up to match day.

Compete

Tournament

Everything on the line. Engineering portfolio, robot performance, and the team’s story all get judged together.

Upcoming events

See us in action.

Sat, Nov 14

STEM Workshop

Livingston Public Library

Outreach
TBA

FTC League Meet

Livingston, New Jersey

Competition
TBA

FTC Qualifier

Location TBD

Competition
Awards & recognition

Recognized at every level. We’ve earned FTC’s top judged awards and advanced to the FIRST World Championship and the New Jersey State Championship multiple times.

FIRST World Championship
Qualified and competed on the world stage.
State Championship
Advanced across multiple seasons.
Top Award

Inspire Award

FTC’s highest honor — the team that best represents the program.

Judged

Think Award

For our engineering notebook and documented design process.

Judged

Connect Award

For connecting with the engineering community and planning ahead.

Judged

Innovate Award

For a creative, innovative robot design.

Judged

Motivate Award

For our team brand, spirit, and spreading STEM.

Individual

Dean’s List Award

Individual recognition for a standout student leader.

In the news
TAPinto Livingston · Dec 2019
Livingston team debuts FTC’s first internationally designed robot
Read the article →
Beyond the robot

Our reach doesn’t stop at the field. We’ve turned the build into a following — and the following into more kids who care about STEM.

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YouTube views
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TikTok views
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Student subteams
Outreach impact

STEM shouldn’t wait for high school. So we take it to classrooms, community events, and younger teams — everywhere a kid might catch the spark.

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people reached across our community, in person and online.
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Students reached
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Events & workshops run
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Younger teams mentored
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Volunteer hours logged
Fire Robotics presenting robot 16953 to students at an outreach event
Built by our Code subteam

FTC ScoutPro

A scouting app for FIRST Tech Challenge. Every team, every match, ranked live — so alliance decisions happen with data instead of guesswork.

Coming soon to the App Store
FTC ScoutPro — regional team rankings
FTC ScoutPro — team profile with performance breakdown
FTC ScoutPro — rulebook and league updates

Live rankings

Every registered team, sorted by performance rating and refreshed automatically throughout the season.

Real match results

Scores, records, and autonomous / tele-op / endgame breakdowns pulled straight from official event data.

Alliance helper

Partner recommendations that weigh scoring output, role diversity, and consistency — not just totals.

Your team, your page

Claim your team number to manage its robot profile, strategy notes, and alliance details. One team per account.

Privacy policy App support

Fuel the fire.

Sponsors and supporters — we’d love to hear from you. Take a look at our 2026–27 sponsorship packet and business plan below.

Email the team Sponsor packet Business plan Follow @fire_robotics