Students of Team 1506 Metal Muscle are state champions. Metal Muscle, along with its alliance partners Team 217 Theunderchickens and Team 6090 Wayland Wildcats, took first place at the FIRST in Michigan State Championship presented by DTE Foundation.

They will be among more than 600 high school teams competing April 19–22 in the 2023 FIRST Championship presented by BAE Systems in Houston. The event is the culmination of the season.

Metal Muscle is one of 10 teams based at the Kettering University Robotics Community Center. The team has partnered with the University for more than a decade, as Mechanical Engineering Professor Dr. Henry “Doc K” Kowalski was one of the team’s founders. 

The Flint community team consists of nine players from Grand Blanc High School, Powers Catholic High School, Goodrich High School, Lake Fenton High School and Genesee Early College. A home-schooled student also is part of the team.

“We are proud to support area teams with workshops, tools and a place to complete their builds,” said Kim Shumaker, Robotics Community Center and Outreach Director. “The skills these students learn through FIRST Robotics give them a great foundation for Kettering University and a successful career in the STEM industry.”

The 9,600-square-foot Robotics Community Center opened in 2014. It features machining and designing areas, a regulation-size practice field and bays for teams to store equipment.

“Having the Robotics Community Center is a huge help and really allows our students to test the robot in as close to real game action as we can,” said Don Ridge, Lead Mentor for Metal Muscle. “Having the full field just steps from our build site gives us an advantage in learning how to drive and score the field. It’s also a good selling point for future students looking to join our team. Once we give a tour of the facility, they really want to become part of the action here. If we did not have the Center, I am not sure the team would have survived this long.”

Metal Muscle has consistently qualified for the championship since 2017, except in 2020 when no competition took place.

“The team is very excited to be going again,” Ridge said. “It is a wonderful experience for all students and mentors alike. We get to see some of the best teams and robots in the world and talk to those students too.”

In FIRST Robotics competitions, teams have six weeks to design, build and prepare their industrial-size robots to compete in a field game against robots from other teams in multiple competitions. This year’s field game, called CHARGED UP, tasks teams with using their robots to bring game pieces back to their respective sides of the competition area. In the first 15 seconds of the match, robots operate autonomously. Drivers control the robots during the remaining two minutes and 15 seconds. Teams earn bonus points if their robots dock or engage with their charging stations. 

Kettering awarded its first two scholarships to FIRST Robotics students and hosted its first kickoff event in 1999. Since then, the University has awarded more than $5.5 million in scholarships. 

The University has hosted two FIRST Robotics district competitions each year since 2008. In addition, the University hosts several robotics workshops.

To learn more about robotics at Kettering University, click here.