ABOUT US
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We are a small co-ed FTC Robotics team from Northern Virginia, with members ranging from ages 15-18. As part of building robots for the yearly First Tech Challenge, we use Android Studio and Java to program our robot and a variety of parts, stemming from Rev Robotics, Andymark, and Tetrix. We also use Fusion 360 (CAD) to design parts and mechanisms, and spend time taking classes at the Nova Labs maker space to optimize robot design by using tools such as the laser cutter, the 3D printer, and even composites.
Meet Our Members
Coach Jeff
Programming
Jeff is the programming mentor of the team. This is Jeff’s third year in Innovotics as a mentor along with his son Ben, who is also in the team. Jeff works at Boeing as a software engineer and has over 20 years of experience in Java programming. Jeff’s goal is to share his programming knowledge with the members, help them to learn, have lots of fun, and mostly, go to the World Champion with the team this year. In his spare time, Jeff likes to travel, learn new technology, and try exotic foods around the world.
Ben
Programming Leader
Ben Szeto is currently a senior attending Oakton High School. He wants to become a software engineer when he grows up. He enjoys swimming and playing video games in his free time. He joined the team with a hope to learn more about how to make the robot, and also about programming the robot with Java.
When Ben was in fourth grade, his cousin’s robotics team had advanced all the way to the world championship. Then, with his younger cousin, Sam, he traveled with the robotics team to St. Louis to spectate the competition. From there he had not only acquired memories, but had also been inspired to join this robotics team. With this experience in the past, he will work with his utmost effort and try to get to the same place he went with his cousin in the fourth grade.
Evan
Programming
Kevin
Buissness Leader
Matthew
Build Team
Colin
Build Team leader
Colin Dixon is a senior attending Oakton High School. After his first year of FTC robotics, he is very excited to start his second season and continue developing his skills in the robotics field. Though he is not sure about a future career, he wants to pursue something STEM related. In his spare time, he likes to play video games, play basketball, go fishing, and fly drones. He enjoys tinkering around with drone parts and computer parts. He enjoys working on the mechanical side of robotics and would like to explore the programming side a little more this year. Colin learned about this team last year from a friend at school and joined this team to learn more about robotics and how to build a robot. After learning in his first year in robotics he has learned how to use and create things in fusion 360, but is still learning and improving each day.
Eric
Programming Team
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Joy
Business Team
Joy Szeto is a rising 8th grader who is attending Rachel Carson Middle School. In her spare time, she enjoys playing piano, reading, and watching Netflix. After watching her brother, Ben's marvelous experience with the team last year, she was encouraged to join. Despite having no prior experience in the field, Joy is excited to learn new things and gain experience. She is eager to improve her managing skills and hopes to contribute to the team. Though she is still unsure about her future career, she hopes to explore more interests by joining the team.
Jason
build team
Milo
Build Team
