JoeBotics
St. Joseph’s Academy was the 1st all-girls school team in Missouri to compete in FIRST robotics.
JoeBotics, St. Joseph’s Academy’s robotics program, was established in the 2013-2014 school year. This is the tenth season that JoeBotics is competing at the FIRST Tech Challenge level. Each year FTC presents a new game for the season, and the team works together to design, build, program, and test a robot to meet the challenges of the game. During the first eight years of the JoeBotics program, the team advanced to the Missouri State Championship seven times, and won numerous individual and team awards. For the ninth JoeBotics season, the program has expanded to include a second team.
2022-23 JoeBotics Update
Both JoeBotics teams participated in the St. Louis South League Tournament. This event was the culmination of months of hard work, including three meets and the tournament. Each team built robots to address this year’s challenge and presented their engineering portfolios to a panel of judges.
In addition to being chosen for an alliance in the playoff matches, they won the Innovate Award for their unique mechanism design. The first version of their design started with two straws from Cup
of Joe and some fishing line, and developed into one of the most unique and effective lifting mechanisms. The final design incorporated repurposed parts from 3-D printed prosthetic hands.
The team also placed 2nd for the Connect Award for taking their robot to Sci-Fest at the St. Louis Science Center and for their assistance in building a mechanical prop for the school’s production of Beauty and the Beast. The team’s connection to Boeing, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and the background of the team mentors all contributed to the selection.
Several team members also made the Dean’s List Semi-Finalists.
