2025 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), one of the most influential youth robotics competitions in the world, was recently held in Shanghai. This year’s competition attracted 43 of the strongest teams from China, the United States, Australia, and other countries and regions, under the theme ‘REEFSCAPE.’
Pao School's sixteen-player FRC Robotics Team ‘10479 Powerhouse’ won the ‘Rookie All-Star Award’ at the competition, the only rookie team in China to receive this honor. Just six months ago, all the team members were complete novices. However, the young team has shown how passion and collaboration can unleash limitless potential.
During the award ceremony, the jury remarked on the exceptional qualities of the team, and praised their robot's perfect L4 projection capabilities, which helped them achieve the goals of FIRST. Team 10479, a young team formed only six month ago, was given the Rookie All Star, an achievement that is particularly noteworthy, as most of the participating teams were high school students, yet the Pao Middle School FRC 10479 team distinguished itself in the highly competitive field.
Rookie All-Star Award
After the competition, Middle School Principal Ada Wang commented that the award not only showcased the students' strengths in technological innovation but also reflected the successful implementation of Pao School's whole-person education philosophy. She added, “We are incredibly proud of every member of Team Powerhouse.”
The competition goal was to save coral reefs from simulated algal invasion, a task testing robotic technology while posing comprehensive challenges for teamwork, strategic planning, and innovation. Participating teams were required to design robots that could act as coral caretakers, transplanting artificially cultivated ‘corals’ back onto the ‘reef’ and collecting ‘algae’ to simulate key aspects of restoring the marine ecosystem. The competition featured two alliances (each consisting of three robots) competing on the ‘Coral Rescue’ field for a duration of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, divided into a 15-second autonomous phase (AUTO) and a 2-minute and 15-second manual phase (TELEOP). The robots needed to collect two scoring items, ‘corals’ and ‘algae,’ to win the match by scoring at the reef, processing stations, or collection nets.
The team members of FRC10479 demonstrated exceptional initiative and teamwork during the competition. Despite facing unfavorable draw conditions, they remained undeterred, focusing on performing well in every match by ensuring thorough inspections. They worked tirelessly with their mentors to make timely repairs to the robots, ultimately earning the recognition of the judges.
The FRC10479 team, named Powerhouse, was officially established by Pao Middle School in September 2024, with Ms. Hongyi Xue, Middle School Head of ICT, serving as mentor. Ms. Hongyi Xue holds a master’s degree in Computer Science from Rutgers University. Prior to her teaching career, she worked for five years as a senior software engineer at Yahoo Inc. in the US. Hongyi has taught computer science at both middle and high schools in the US and China, bringing extensive educational experience to her role. She said that Pao school provides students with the opportunity to participate in the FRC program as early as the middle school stage. This long-term development model is a key feature of Pao School’s ICT education, allowing students the greatest possible time to accumulate experience, enhance their skills, and continuously experiment and innovate in practice.
Currently, the FRC10479 team consists of 16 students, divided into engineering, programming and electronic control, strategy, operations, and outreach groups. The team schedules weekly sessions to learn the fundamentals of robotics, and also engages in activities such as recruitment, operations, and outreach. Regular training takes place once a week, increasing to all-day sessions on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as evening practices during the week as the competition season approaches. After the January season began, the team spent two months designing and building their robot, demonstrating exceptional teamwork and innovative capabilities.
This year is Ms. Xue’s first year working as a coach for the FRC. In her view, the project is “akin to running a tech startup." Students need to have a solid technical foundation, as well as a wide range of abilities in project management, brand operations, and team building. These skills are highly transferable and will provide a strong foundation for the students' future career development.
Through the competition, the students enhanced their skills in technical work, as well as those involved in teamwork, communication, and adaptability. In the post-competition reflection, each student documented this process of personal growth and achievements in detail:
May the members of FRC10479 Powerhouse find continued success and even greater growth during the upcoming US regional competitions.
