Iona Fusion started out as a handful of students from Years 9 to 11 curious about robotics, code and engineering in mid-2018 with the goal of competing in Australia’s off-season FRC event Dual Down Under at Macquarie University. It did not take long for FRC’s promised “hardest fun you’ll ever have” to take hold as our robot took shape. The weeks of prototyping, coding, testing and building over school afternoons, weekend and school holidays paid off as we went on to win DDU that year with the 2019 international competition in our sights.
With a handful of new recruits joining the team we set out not just to have a competition-ready robot but to design and build a winning robot with the goal of securing a place in the FRC Championships in Houston, Texas. To do so would require a robot offering a competitive advantage to alliance teams and a high degree of automated controls capable of capitalising on point-scoring during the short 2 minutes and 30 seconds of match time during the Deep Space game. Our award-winning polycarbonate robot Poly combined with a focused drive team, reliable pit crew and data gathering scouts delivered a successful place in the South Pacific Regionals in Sydney in March 2019 which secured our ticket to Houston. Hard work, collaboration and the generosity of our 2019 allowed us to compete as the highest rookie seed at Australian and world championship level in our first FRC competition.
The team has since doubled in size including a successful First Lego League team in the primary school and younger high school team members to ensure the future sustainability of our team reaching the goals of FIRST robotics within our school. In DDU 2019 we competed with an all-female drive team. During the off-season and preparation for the 2020 Infinite Recharge game we trained younger team members in key areas of ideation, computer-aided design and manufacturing, and coded motion profiles for assisted robotic manoeuvring and precision.
Our goal is to continue to aspire to First’s mission within our school and to extend the lessons and leadership in science and technology to the greater Port Macquarie region through partnerships with like-minded businesses and individuals. We aim to represent the creativity, opportunity and culture of the Mid North Coast and all of Australia in STEM industries and growth.
To find out more about us please contact us to arrange to meet the team in action as we build and test our latest robot.
The mission of FIRST® is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
FIRST Mission
We express the FIRST philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition through our Core Values:
- Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
- Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
- Impact: We apply what we learn to improve our world.
- Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
- Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
- Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!