Igniting engines…
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HEPHAESTUS

FTC DECODE — 2025–2026 Season · Thessaloniki, Greece

Our robot is an FTC robot built by a Greek team for the FIRST Tech Challenge. It took months of imagination, design, iteration, and dedication by our 8-member team to bring it to life.

The robot features a Mecanum Wheel drivetrain for omnidirectional movement, a chain-driven intake system, a single hooded flywheel shooter for minimal weight and maximum accuracy, and a 3-stage cascade lift with a double-claw mechanism for specimen handling.

At our regional event, our team earned the Think Award — recognizing our exceptional approach to the engineering design process and technical documentation.
🏅
Think Award
FTC DECODE · 2025–2026 Season · Greece
HEPHAESTUS Robot
20:1
Intake Gear Ratio
500
Intake RPM
3
Cascade Lift Stages
1ST
Greek FTC Robot

Technical Specifications

🚗 Drivetrain

Custom-shaped base with Mecanum Wheel System for omnidirectional movement. Built with aluminum, PLA, PETG, and TPU materials.

🔄 Intake

Chain-driven system with a 20:1 ratio 500 RPM motor. Selected for direct angular velocity transfer and rapid specimen capture.

🎯 Shooter

Single Hooded Flywheel — chosen for low power consumption, lightweight design, and high repeatable accuracy. Zero vibration stability.

⬆️ Lift

3-Stage Cascade Lift for rapid elevation with smooth extension. Optimized for quick cycle times during EndGame.

🦾 Claw

Double claw mechanism with rubber grips and a high-torque servo for secure and reliable sample handling.

📍 Localization

Two dead wheel odometry combined with a GoBilda PinPoint sensor. Navigation uses Pure Pursuit (Circle Line Intersection) algorithm.

Programming & Strategy

🤖 Autonomous

Shoot as many artifacts as possible into goals, ignoring patterns to save time. Focus on maximizing scoring efficiency with custom task scheduler.

🕹️ TeleOp

Focus on completing the Goal RP with optimized cycles, minimal unnecessary movement, and emphasis on reliability over speed.

📐 Navigation

Pure Pursuit algorithm (Circle Line Intersection) for smooth autonomous paths. Custom Task Scheduler with Single-trigger, Continuous, and Decay task types.