Ah, yes, Bob.

Bob was our first robot, and it showed. For much of the build season, we focused on having a mobile robot. We went through pair after pair of motors, trying to find a pair that wouldn't tear the robot apart (which ruled out the CIM motors), would hold together (which ruled out the drill motors), and move the robot. We settled on the pair of window motors in the kit.

Somehow, two small window motors were capable of moving the robot. Don't ask us how it did. With about a day and a half until the ship deadline, we added a small arm designed to uncap and re-cap the mobile goals.

Bob held up pretty well at the Palmetto Regional, considering what it had. The arm, it turned out, had a air cylinder that we weren't allowed to use, which meant we had to turn the cylinder into a Very Expensive Structural Member. The arm never really worked, but we still managed a respectable ranking of 27th out of 42 teams, with a record of three wins, four losses, and one tie.

In the fall of 2004, Bob was disassembled for parts.