The De La Salle Robotics team, the “AutoPilots” (Team 7762), competed against 40 other teams at their first district competition, March 13–14, at Milford High School.

The AutoPilots delivered a strong performance, finishing with a 9–3 record and earning an 8th-place ranking out of 40 teams. Their success in qualification matches secured them the role of captain for the 5th-ranked alliance heading into the playoff rounds. After selecting two partner teams, the AutoPilots entered the elimination bracket with momentum and confidence.

Despite their strong showing, the team went 1–2 in the playoffs and was eliminated from the competition.

Faculty moderator Mr. Rob Black was pleased with the team’s performance.

“It was a great showing for the AutoPilots, and we finished better than we thought we would against some really good competition,” Black said.

Looking Ahead

With another competition approaching, the team has already turned its attention to improvements.

“We have a lot of work to do over the next two weeks to prepare for the next competition at Troy Athens High School,” Black added. The event will take place March 27–28.

As they prepare for their next competition, the AutoPilots are focused on several key upgrades. The team plans to improve the robot’s shooter speed and accuracy while also refining its autonomous routines and vision processing capabilities.

Senior Gabe Enghauser, a four-year team member, emphasized one potential addition.

“We hope to add a climbing mechanism to our bot,” Gabe said.

With these adjustments in progress, the team remains optimistic about its chances moving forward.

“If we do better there than we did today, we have a chance to make states,” Black said.