Hands-on learning drives Tennessee Tech robotics team to world championship
For the third consecutive year, Tennessee Tech University’s Autonomous Robotics Club is headed to a world championship, powered by hands-on learning and a team culture that welcomes students of all backgrounds.
The award-winning club’s competition team has earned a spot in the VEX U Robotics World Championship later this semester after a strong start to the year that included multiple top finishes and major awards. Participation in ARC is open to any student, regardless of major or prior robotics experience.
“Our core value is taking what we learn in the classroom and applying it,” said Coby Smith, ARC president. “You grow outside the classroom, and getting to see that learning put into practice in competitions and projects is really incredible.”
The VEX U Robotics Competition is the collegiate division of an international robotics program in which teams design, build and program robots to compete in an annual challenge. Each season introduces a new game that pushes teams to develop creative engineering solutions, detailed design documentation and reliable performance under time constraints.
This year’s challenge centers on a fast-paced “Push Back” game, where two robots work in tandem to move color-coded blocks into goal tubes with varying capacities spread across the playing field. Matches begin with a brief autonomous period, followed by driver-controlled play, requiring robots that can operate independently, respond quickly to human input and coordinate with a partner robot.
“It’s kind of like a sport. You have two robots working together, and the driver of each one uses a controller that’s very similar to the controller of a video game console,” Smith said. “At the finals, everyone crowds around and cheers on the final two competing teams. It’s fun and energizing to be there.”
Tech’s ARC meets daily to work on competition robots as well as several non-competition projects. The club fields three competition teams and draws students from a wide range of academic backgrounds, including mechanical engineering and computer science, as well as geology, political science, communication and more.
“We have no membership fees, no major requirements and no experience requirements,” Smith added. “If you’re interested in robotics, we’re willing to help you learn.”
ARC’s competitive success this season includes standout performances at two major VEX U tournaments. At a competition hosted by Monroe Community College in Michigan, Tech earned both the Design Award, recognizing technical documentation and presentation, and an Innovate Award for creative problem-solving.
“We created a Ferris wheel-style intake system that allows our robot to carry up to 18 blocks at a time, more than double the average robot’s pickup rate,” Smith said.
That same robot design continued to earn accolades at the University of Louisville’s VEX U tournament in Kentucky, where Tech’s ARC received another Innovate Award, an Excellence Award — the competition’s highest honor — and a tournament finalist finish. The Excellence Award recognizes overall performance across competition results, skills challenges and robot design.
“We’ve realized over time that winning competitions is all about consistency,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter how cool your robot looks — it’s how well it performs, match after match.”
The Excellence Award at Louisville secured Tech’s qualifying berth at the VEX U Robotics World Championship, set for April in St. Louis. It marks the club’s third consecutive appearance at the international event. In previous years, the team finished 16th and 30th, experiences Smith said helped the club identify areas for growth.
“That accumulation of experience matters,” he said. “We’ve learned what we did well and what we didn’t, and we’re ready for this year.”
Beyond competition, ARC is committed to outreach and mentorship. Members volunteer with local high schools and, for the first time this year, will host a high school robotics competition on campus Feb. 21. The event is expected to welcome about 12 area schools and an estimated 300 students, educators and spectators.
Smith credited Tech’s support for student organizations as a key factor in the club’s growth, noting that ARC has dedicated laboratory space to design, build and test its robots.
“When I first came to Tech, I didn’t even know I would join ARC, let alone become president,” he said. “Tech is incredibly supportive of its clubs, and that made all the difference.”
The club will compete next at events at Auburn University and in Bristol, Tenn., before turning its full focus to the world championship.
To learn more about Tennessee Tech’s Autonomous Robotics Club, follow @tntecharc on Instagram.