Our Mission

To help young minds discover the joys of engineering and working together as team, while developing STEM skills, leadership skills, and building FTC Robots that can compete and win. Inspiring a mind-set of innovation, collaboration, and sharing.

About Us

 

The X-bots are a community based FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team dedicated to sharing the wonders of STEM and FIRST. After four years in FLL the X-bots graduated to FTC in 2012. This is our sixth year in FTC.

Team consists of three twelfth graders:  Edward Tong, Isiah and Sylesh; one eleventh grader: Anoushka Chintada; one tenth grader: Arjun Mangipudi and three ninth graders: Tanisha Pagadala, Anish Mallik and Shawn Mallik. Since winning the Virginia/DC Division 1 FLL Championships in 2010, we have been FIRST ambassadors and have spread our love of FIRST to the community. We feel that FIRST has taught us many valuable life lessons besides STEM  – leadership skills, team work, and Gracious and want to bring that to our community and beyond.

	Anoushka Chintada Role – Team Lead,CAD Designer,Coach Business Lead, Engineering Notebook Team, Community Outreach
Hi, My name is Anoushka Chintada. I am an 10th grader at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. This is my 6th year of FTC, and I have participated in First Lego League for two years. Some of my hobbies are reading, playing piano and flute, and doing science experiments. I created a non-profit to help bring STEM to the community and am an officer on my school’s underwater robotics team. I enjoyed doing Science Olympiad and mentoring other FTC teams. In my house, FTC is a family event, with both parents coaching. I really love FTC and FIRST as they’ve both helped shape my life in so many ways. Last season I enjoyed going to Super Regionals. It was an amazing feeling to just be there, and I hope we can make it to Worlds this time around! My roles in FTC is maintaining the Engineering Notebook and building.
	Sameen Ahmad Role   –  Builder, Community Outreach
Hi! My name is Sameen Ahmad.  I’m a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. I enjoy reading, writing, and watching movies. I play volleyball and softball, and am an active member of my Girl Scout Troop. I also enjoy traveling – in particular, visiting National Parks. I’ve visited around 20 across 42 states. I also like learning languages and fun trivia. This is my first year doing FTC. It gives the opportunity to learn new skills and apply old ones, and rising to face the new challenges presented every season. I joined the X-Bots were our coaches are experienced and very helpful, and they create an inviting atmosphere conducive to team building and effective communication. My role on X-Bots is as a builder. I am one of the three builders on my team.
	Charlie Wu Role   – Programmer, Driver
Hi, my name is Charlie Wu, and I am a freshman at TJHSST. This is my 3rd year of FTC and I’ve been in FIRST for 6 years. Outside of robotics, I run cross country and do track. Some of my favorite things to do include computer programming and eating. I am looking forward to a very exciting season with X-Bots, and can’t wait to see what this season has in store for us. FTC lets me pursue my passion in robotics. I joined XBOTS because they are a fun and inspiring team. My role in our team is mainly programming, but I help with a lot of other things too.
	Neha Balaji Role   –  Engineering Notebook, Builder
Hello! My name is Neha Balaji. I am an 8th grader at Rocky Run Middle School, and this is my sixth year participating in First, and my second year in FTC. Previously on my team, I took up the roles as an engineering notebook organizer and a robot builder, on a specific mechanism. This year, I hope to accomplish more of my interests, such as learning to code our robot alongside with others using Java, and using CAD to create specialized pieces for the several mechanisms in our robot. In addition to FTC, I participate in several other STEM activities such as e-CyberMission, ProjectCS Girls, Science Olympiad, and ExploraVision. I also love participating in sports and so have taken up swimming as my primary sport. I love being part of the X-Bots  because of the commitment and comradely of our team.
	Arjun Mangipudi Role   –   Builder, Driver
Hello my name is Arjun Mangipudi and I am a 9th grader at Westfield High School.I am interested in the field of mechanical/aerospace engineering. I participate in track, Science Olympiad and Science Bowl at school.  I love travel, go to the gym to play basketball with friends and play video games. I participated three years in FLL and this is my first year doing FTC.  This is also my first year mentoring my community FLL team. I love the building part of FTC and that it is so hands-on and learn a lot about the robot game. I really look forward to continuing FTC for the rest of high school. I’m very excited to be with the X-Bots and hope we have a great season!
	Kathy Li Role   –   Builder, Engineering Notebook
Hi, I’m Kathy Li and this is my 6th year in FIRST, but first in FTC. Nevertheless, I am extremely excited to be working with robots this year. I am currently a sophomore at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Outside of school I engage in the school dance and FRC teams – all activities I love. In my almost nonexistent free time I enjoy knitting the scarf I have been working on for 5 years and getting crafty with my piles of construction paper. This is my 1st year of FTC and I love the team bonding aspect while making new memories through STEM.
	Dev Patel Role –  CAD Designer
My name is Anish Malik. I am in 9th grade and go to James Madison High School. I have done FLL for 4 years, and this is my second year doing FTC. Some of my hobbies include playing tennis, coding, building, and, of course, video games. I participate in Technology Student Association, Cyber Patriot, and American Computer Science League. My goals for the season are to make friends on the team and build a robot that functions well for the challenge. What I love about FTC: I like FTC because it is a hands-on learning experience and I am learning a lot. What I love about XBOTS: I like that all the team members are really nice and I get to help out in lots of building based tasks.
	Tanisha Pagadala Role   –   Builder, Engineering Notebook, Community outreach
Hi, I’m Tanisha Pagadala. I am an 8th grader at Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly, Virginia. This is my 2nd year in FIRST and FTC. Last year, I played many roles on my team including builder, working on the engineering notebook, driving and doing some CAD designing. This year, I plan to use my skills again and help our team succeed. In my free time, apart from FTC, I love debating on the school debate team, playing tennis, dancing, and playing the violin. I love the fact that in FTC  we get to work just like engineers and learn in the same ways they do. This is my first year with the XBOTS team and I love how  everyone learns in a very fun, hands-on way. I also like how XBOTS works to make a better community through outreach.
	Edward Tong Role – Programmer, CAD Designer, Builder
Hi, my name is Edward Tong, and I’m a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School. This is my first year of FTC and I’m excited to learn about everything that goes into making a competition robot. I enjoy designing things and CAD and programming. In my free time, I play video games and play with my dog. FTC gives you the freedom to design a robot that completes the task in any way you see fit. As a member of the X-Bots, I look forward to using my programming skills, and learning how to build and do CAD!

X-BOTS.. some milestones…