FRC Team 3042 - Cobalt Catalysts

Cobalt Current keeps you plugged into Eastview Lightning Robotics — from build season progress and competition updates to community outreach and the people powering Team 3042.

Follow Eastview Lightning Robotics online to see how our students learn, lead, and make an impact through FIRST Robotics—both in the shop and in the community.

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FRC Season Resources: 2026 Team Calendar | FIRST Robotics | Rebuilt Game & Season Info

• Thank you to our incredible sponsors—AVR, Eastview High School, Gene Haas Foundation, General Dynamics, +GF+, Legacy Trailer Solutions, and Sagent Behavioral Health—for their generous support of our robotics program.
  
  
• 2026 FRC Game Reveal: Haven’t seen it yet? Check out the official game reveal animation for this year’s FIRST Robotics Competition game, Rebuilt, and get a first look at the challenge teams will be tackling this season.
  
  
• Duluth Regional Tournament (March 5–7): Have questions? A detailed travel itinerary will be shared with student families on Saturday, February 7. In the meantime, you can view the full tournament schedule here
  
  
• Parent Slack Workspace: Not on Slack yet? Our parent channel is the primary hub for team updates, travel information, and reminders. Haven’t joined? Please reach out to Coach Jason at jason.wainwright@district196.org for an invite.
  
  
• Know a Potential Supporter? Do you know an individual or business interested in supporting our team through a monetary donation, in-kind contribution, or sponsorship opportunity? We’d love to connect—please reach out and let us know!

• Digital Animation Award Submission: Please join me in congratulating Khiem, Isa, Brandon, and Nishanth for completing and submitting their entry for the Digital Animation Award (WPI)!

  
  This team has spent months crafting a 30-second animated short, weaving Blender, hand-drawn animation, and an original music score into one beautiful story. Their film, “Snapshots: A Forgotten Time”, follows a robot’s journey as it discovers a time capsule containing an old flip phone filled with photo memories—a reflection on how digital cameras have shaped our generation.
  
  
• Check out our ongoing video series documenting Team 3042’s journey through the REBUILT season. In this episode, we highlight how our BizOps team supports the program through digital animation and social media.
  
  
• SPARK Award – Nominate Someone Awesome!
  The SPARK Award is your chance to recognize teammates, mentors, or parent volunteers who go above and beyond for the team. A few times each month, we’ll celebrate selected nominees and share what they did to earn the recognition. Seen someone step up, lead, help others, or crush it behind the scenes? Nominate them here and help give credit where it’s due! ⚡
  

Here’s a look at the incredible progress our students have made across sub-teams over the past few weeks as we continue our REBUILT season.

BizOps

• Submitted our entry for the 2026 Digital Animation Award.

• Actively working toward completion of the 2026 Impact Award, with a submission deadline of Thursday, February 12.

• Coordinating additional outreach opportunities, including Highland Elementary Family Night, Dakota County Adopt-A-Highway, and engagement with the Apple Valley Villa Senior Living Community.

CAD/Design

• Collaborated as a team to define performance goals and design priorities for the robot.

• Learned and applied the fundamentals of Onshape for CAD development.

• Researched and drew inspiration from other competition robots.
  

• Created a complete CAD model in Onshape to serve as the blueprint for robot fabrication.

Control Systems

• Wired and powered the V1 robot, then transitioned it to Programming for testing and development.
• Finalized the V1 control systems design and shared it with the CAD team for integration.
• Wired and prepared all new batteries.

Fabrication

• Fabricated an earlier iteration of the control systems mount to support system testing.
• Built and modified the climbers to meet competition height requirements.
• Fabricated the V2 base plate to support robot layout planning across sub-teams.
• Continued hands-on training with CNC equipment and reinforced workshop safety protocols.

• Completed intake, spindexer, and feeder prototypes with finalized measurements.

• Defined robot layout and gear ratios and shared specifications with CAD.

• Constructed and tested turret, launcher, and V1 shooter systems.

• Built and modified climbers to meet height constraints.

Programming

• Planned command-based code structure for robot subsystems and mapped controller inputs.
• Researched, configured, and tested PhotonVision cameras using Orange Pi, including review of sample vision-processing code.
• Updated firmware and system images for motors, roboRIO, and radio in preparation for code generation using Tuner X.

Strategy

• Created a drive team evaluation test for students interested in being selected for this season’s drive team.
• Began planning scouting strategies for upcoming regional competitions.
• Supported other sub-teams by answering questions related to game rules and the official game manual.
• Monitored team updates and official FIRST Q&A to ensure alignment with current rulings.

Please review the Team Readiness Checklist to confirm all payments, registrations, and FIRST requirements are complete. Students with remaining items will receive a reminder sheet.

Important FIRST Requirement
FIRST Youth Registration and the signed Consent & Release form are required for students to participate fully in the season and in regional tournaments. Please complete these steps as soon as possible.

We’re grateful for the continued support of Legacy Trailer Solutions, a leader in custom trailer solutions for schools and organizations—learn more about their work by visiting their website.

How did your organization get involved with Eastview High School?
Legacy Trailer Solutions has strong ties to the Eastview community. President Justin Quilling, a 2007 Eastview alumnus, has always valued giving back and has stayed connected since graduating. Director of Operations Robin Cerio also has deep roots at Eastview, with two children who attended the school—one of whom was a member of the Cobalt Catalysts. Giving back to the community is a core value of the organization, and supporting Eastview felt like a natural fit.

What are a few key takeaways you’d like our audience to know about your business or industry?
Legacy Trailer Solutions designs and builds customized trailers for marching bands, drum corps, and school organizations like robotics teams. Their work involves solving complex spatial challenges—much like robotics itself—by balancing tools, equipment, and specific needs within a limited space.

What’s something exciting happening at your organization right now?
As a growing business, Legacy Trailer Solutions is taking on new and innovative projects, including prototyping unique trailer designs for schools with specialized needs. Collaborating on creative solutions and bringing new ideas to life is a particularly exciting part of their work.

What excites you most about supporting a FIRST Robotics team?
We are excited to support the Cobalt Catalysts because we see firsthand how the students’ work mirrors our own problem-solving processes. The skills students develop through FIRST Robotics—teamwork, creativity, and technical thinking—will serve them well in many future careers, and we’re proud to play a small part in that journey.

January Outreach: Snack Packs with Open Door Pantry

Our FRC Team 3042 – Cobalt Catalysts students came together to fill 100 snack bags for children in need, partnering with the amazing team at The Open Door in Eagan. This was a true team effort, and we’re incredibly proud of our students for giving their time and energy to support our local community.

A huge thank you to our team sponsor, Sagent Behavioral Health in Lakeville, for generously donating food items and plastic bags to support this outreach project. We’d also like to extend our sincere thanks to our mentors, who continue to lead by example and demonstrate to our students the importance of service, teamwork, and giving back.

Community partnerships like this make a real difference — and we’re grateful to be part of it!

• FTC State Tournament (Burnsville, MN): February 13-14, 2026
• Blue Twilight Week Zero (Eagan, MN): February 21, 2026
• Lake Superior Regional (Duluth, MN): March 5-7, 2026
• North Star Regional (Minneapolis, MN): April 2-4, 2026
• EVLR End-of-Year Banquet (Eastview High School): May 6, 2026

January is National Mentoring Month, and we’d like to extend a sincere thank you to our incredible mentors who dedicate their time, expertise, and energy to support our students and strengthen our program. Your guidance, encouragement, and commitment to FIRST values make a lasting impact both in and out of the shop. We truly could not do this without you.

Thank you to our mentors:
Andy, Andrew, Brett, Jason, Jill, John, Matt, Mike, Nick, Sunitha, Tom L., Tom T.

Eastview Lightning Robotics is proud to be affiliated with Eastview High School and Independent School District 196. We extend our sincere gratitude to our school administration—especially Dr. Rob Franchino and Principal Bruce Miller—for their unwavering support of our robotics program and students. Their commitment to innovation, student opportunity, and hands-on learning continues to make a meaningful impact on our team’s success.