​On April 17-20, Team 4909 competed in the FIRST World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX. 

​Like previous events, the match structure is composed of qualification matches, followed by a double-elimination playoff bracket within each of the 6 divisions. The winners of each division funnelled into the final division, aptly named the Einstein Division. At the end of qualifications matches, Team 4909 placed 11th of 75 in the Hopper Division. During alliance selection, they picked by the 3rd seed alliance, consisting of captain Team 180 - S.P.A.M., Team 3357 - COMETS, and Team 108 - SigmaC@T Robotics. Overall, Team 4909 reached semi-finals.

On April 3-6, Team 4909 came together with 95 NEFIRST teams in West Springfield, MA to compete in the New England FIRST District Championship.

Like previous events, the match structure is composed of qualification matches, followed by a double-elimination playoff bracket within the 2 divisions, Richardson and Ganson. The winning alliances of both divisions face off on a combined field to determine the ultimate victor of the event. Team 4909 played on Richardson Field, where they ranked 13th at the end of qualification matches. Later during alliance selections, the team was selected by Alliance 4, consisting of Captain Team 8709 - Pathfinder Tech, and Team 2648 - Infinite Loop.

On March 14-16, Team 4909 - The Bionics competed at the University of Rhode Island District Event in Kingston, RI for Week 3 of the 2024 FIRST® Robotics Competition. This weekend-long competition took place at the Keaney Gymnasium and was the team’s third official event of the 2024 season. 

In the weeks prior to the competition, the team was able to focus on consistency. The software team updated code to improve the robot's performance during both automated and tele-operated periods and the drive team held extensive driver practices to consistently score game pieces with short cycle times.  

Like previous events, the match structure is composed of qualification matches, followed by a double-elimination playoff bracket. Team 4909 ended the first day of the competition undefeated and broke the event high score of 91 points in one match. After the end of qualification matches, The Bionics won 11 of 12 qualification matches and was tied in ranking points with the first-place team. However, the Bionics dropped down to 2nd place due to FRC's tiebreaking procedure. Despite this, Team 4909 captained the 2nd-seed alliance, partnering with Team 1058, “PVC Pirates” of Londonderry, NH and Team 8544, “Reinforcement” of Sutton, MA. 

During the playoffs, the alliance won three consecutive matches, moving on as event finalists. In the finals, the Bionics won their first match against the 1st-seed alliance. Unfortunately, this match did not count and had to be replayed due to a field error. Despite the previous success, the team's robot suddenly experienced a mechanical error in the drive train, causing the Bionics to lose the replay, and the following match. This ended the competition with the Bionics placing second, earning the title, "Event Finalists." Even though the Bionics did not take home a blue banner, URIDE was unarguably one of the team’s best performing competitions in team history. 

During the award ceremony, the judges awarded Team 4909 the Industrial Design Award, presented by General Motors. This award, "celebrates excellence in marrying form, function, and aesthetics within the realm of robotics." The judges specifically complimented the team's implementation of industrial design principles, including the use of precise machining and a compact design.

The Bionics' next competition will be the New England District Championship at The Big E fairgrounds in Springfield, MA from April 4-6.

Published on 3/18/2024 by Daniel Darris-O'Connor
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Name: Nathan Yee

Title: Team Operations member

Years on Team: 5 Years

Areas of Focus and Responsibilities: "As a part of Team Operations, I work on various projects that involve fundraising and outreach. I have also helped with managing the website, social media, and awards submissions. As a senior member of the team, I helped train younger members."

Impact FIRST has had:  “Team 4909 has given me a lot of opportunity for personal growth. I have learned important skills like communication, organization, problem-solving, and others. I have been able to get hands-on experiences with business functions that I wouldn’t have otherwise gotten. "

Favorite 4909 memory: "DCMP 2023 was a fun time with all of the energy and bonding experiences."

Plans After High School: "I plan on going to college to study business."

Ideal Job: "Managing the business functions of a non-profit organization."​

Name: Yash Patel

Title: Scouting Lead

Years on Team: 4 Years

Areas of Focus and Responsibilities: I work on design and manufacturing. This year I have been working on the intake. Last year I worked on the climber and the scouting software.”

Impact FIRST has had: “I was able to learn the engineering design process and the different tasks needed to build a robot.”

Favorite 4909 memory: “In 2021, we were in a match the robot fell which caused us to make improvements to the climber. After that, we successfully made triple traversal with our alliance partners.”

Plans After High School: I plan on going to college to study computer science. 

Ideal Job: Something related to computer science.