FTC Season 2025–26 · Decode

BYTE BATTALION

A team of young engineers, builders, and innovators competing in FIRST Tech Challenge — and making an impact far beyond the field.

30758 Team Number
10 Members
FTC Program
TX Texas
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Who We Are

Byte Battalion is FTC Team #30758 — a passionate group of student engineers, coders, designers, and leaders dedicated to the world of competitive robotics.

We compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), where students in grades 7–12 design, build, program, and operate robots to compete head-to-head. We don't just build robots — we build futures.

Byte Battalion team
▸ The Battalion · FIRST in Texas

Many of our members came up through FIRST Lego League (FLL) before making the jump to FTC. We were mentored by the Robo-Players at Radha Govind Dham, who helped us learn CAD, Java, and the spirit of gracious professionalism.

CAD & 3D Design Java Programming GoBilda Platform STEM Outreach Community Impact
The People

Meet The Battalion

Team Founder Age 14
Vishruth Thota
Vishruth Thota
CAD Lead Programmer Builder
Initiated and coordinated team formation. Has done FLL for 2 years and been CADing for 6 months. Fascinated by the concept and design of how robots function — loves tackling challenges.
Age 14
Ishaan Kandula
Ishaan Kandula
Builder Driver
First year in robotics, joining to explore Computer Science and try a new experience. Loves learning new things — excited to see where coding and engineering can take him.
Age 14
Gautham Avuthu
Gautham Avuthu
CAD Lead Driver
Strong interest in engineering and designing creative solutions to hard problems. Loves the moment when weeks of hard work and failure finally come together to show success.
Age 12
Rishabh Upendra
Rishabh Upendra
Outreach UX Design Portfolio
One year of FLL before jumping to FTC. Strong passion for engineering and technology. Aspires to study an engineering-related field in college.
Age 14
Pradyun Chicirala
Pradyun Chidirala
Backup Driver Builder
Started coding with block-based programming in 5th grade. Values programming and 3D design. Fun fact: pretty good at solving a Rubik's Cube. 🎯
Age 15
Sanmati Upendra
Sanmati Upendra
Lead Programmer Web Design CAD
Coding since age 10 with experience in Python, HTML, and JavaScript. Did FLL in 2024 and jumped to FTC for the challenge. Built the original team website.
Age 14
Riya Tikkireddi
Riya Tikkireddi
Financial Planner Outreach Portfolio
Two years of FLL experience before joining FTC. Loves building and assembling robot components. Passionate about outreach and helping bring robotics to more people.
Age 14
Alexia Sijo
Alexia Sijo
Outreach lead Portfolio Social Media Manager
2–3 years of FLL experience. First FTC season. Loves how the team truly works together in everything they do. Always encouraged to help out and try new things.
Age 15
Rhea Sunkara
Rhea Sunkara
Outreach Portfolio
First time in FTC. Inspired by her younger brother's FLL journey. Amazed that a working robot is something almost anyone can build. Leads the team portfolio.
Age 13
Vinay
Vinay
Human Player Builder Programmer
A valued member of the Byte Battalion, contributing to the team's mission and growth throughout the season. He has previous experience in FLL and this is his frist year in FTC. Inspired by his older brother's robotics journey, he is excited to be part of the team and learn new skills in robotics and programming.
▸ Sub-Teams
🔷
CAD Team
  • Vishruth (Lead)
  • Sanmati
  • Gautham
💻
Programming
  • Sanmati (Lead)
  • Vinay
  • Vishruth
🔧
Build Team
  • Rishabh
  • Vishruth
  • Vinay
  • Ishaan
  • Pradyun
📱
Social Media
  • Alexia (Lead)
  • Rishabh
🌍
Outreach
  • Alexia (Lead)
  • Riya (Financial Planner)
  • Rhea
  • Rishabh
📋
Portfolio
  • Rishabh
  • Rhea
  • Alexia
  • Riya
📋
Drive Team
  • Gautham (Lead Driver)
  • Ishaan (Driver)
  • Pradyun (Backup Driver)
  • Vinay (Human Player)
  • Vishruth (Driver coach)
Engineering

Our Robot

Decode season robot CAD render

Our Decode robot is built around a simple, reliable intake system designed to pick up BioBuzz balls efficiently and move them into our scoring system without wasting time or motion. The goal was straightforward: create a dependable mechanism that could intake quickly, stay consistent under pressure, and support our overall strategy during matches.

It’s just a basic intake that can intake BioBuzz balls. We kept the design practical and repeatable, which gives us room to improve reliability and consistency while staying focused on what matters most on the field: fast cycle time and smooth execution.

We program using Java via Android Studio and OnBot Java. Our programming team worked together systematically through W3Schools and team practice sessions to ensure every member understood the language — not just the coders.

Intake Basic BioBuzz Intake
Platform GoBilda Driver Chassis
Language Java
IDE Android Studio / OnBot Java
CAD GoBilda Templates + Custom
Control Hub REV Robotics
Season Decode (2025–26)
Design Lead Vishruth Thota
Our Journey

FTC Timeline

2023–2024
FLL Beginnings
Founding members Vishruth, Rishabh, Vinay, Alexia, Riya and Sanmati began competing in FIRST Lego League, learning the fundamentals of robotics, block coding, and teamwork.
FLL Program
2024–2025
Mentorship — Robo-Players
Connected with the Robo-Players at Radha Govind Dham temple, who jumpstarted our FTC journey — teaching us CAD, GoBilda chassis builds, and Java fundamentals.
Mentorship Begins
Summer 2025
Team Founded — #30758
Vishruth Thota initiated team formation and Byte Battalion was officially registered as FTC Team #30758. Members recruited, sub-teams formed, mission set.
🎯 Official Registration
Fall 2025
UTD Robotics Event
Most of the team attended the UTD robotics event organized by the Technobots. Supported mentors' AI camera tracker presentation and networked with global FTC teams.
Community Event
October 2025
Season Kickoff — Decode
FTC officially revealed the 2025–26 game challenge: Decode. Design sessions began immediately. CAD, build, and software teams worked in parallel to design our season robot.
🚀 Season Starts
Nov–Dec 2025
Build Season
Intensive build and programming sessions. Java coding practiced together via W3Schools. CAD designs finalized, parts ordered, and portfolio documentation began. Parents volunteered as FTC judges.
November 8, 2025
League Meet #1
Our very first FTC competition match! The team put months of preparation to the test for the first time — gaining experience in match play, pit interviews, and competing graciously against other teams.
TypeLeague Meet
W / L / T3 : 3 : 0
Ranking7th Place
🏆 First Match Ever
December 13, 2025
Winter Qualifier
A crucial qualifier event to test our readiness before league tournaments. Solid performance demonstrated the team's growth and mechanical/software improvements.
TypeWinter Qualifier
W / L / T3 : 2 : 0
Ranking12th Place
AwardsInnovate Award Winner
🎯 Innovate Award
January 10, 2026
League Meet #2
Second league meet. Challenging competition as teams continued to refine their strategies. The team applied lessons from earlier events and Winter Qualifier performance.
TypeLeague Meet
W / L / T2 : 4 : 0
Ranking15th Place
January 17, 2026
League Meet #3
Third and final league meet — a major turnaround! Strong robot performance and strategic alliance selections boosted our standings significantly ahead of the League Tournament.
TypeLeague Meet
W / L / T4 : 1 : 0
Ranking4th Place
🔥 Best Performance Yet
January 31, 2026
F&T League Tournament
League tournament competition featuring elimination rounds and alliance partnerships. Strong match performance throughout the bracket demonstrated the team's consistency and bot reliability.
TypeLeague Tournament
W / L / T4 : 1 : 0
Ranking6th Place
AwardsThink Award - 2nd Place Winner
🏆 Think Award
February 14, 2026
Semi-Regional Tournament
Competing at the regional qualifier level — a step above league play. Higher competition stakes, tougher alliances, and intense pit strategy. Byte Battalion earned alliance captain honors and demonstrated leadership across the tournament.
TypeSemi-Regional Qualifier
W / L / T3 : 2 : 0
Ranking9th Place
AwardsFinalist Alliance Captain • Connect Award Winner
🎯 Connect Award
February 28, 2026
Regional Tournament — Ruby Division
The highest level of regular competition for the 2025–26 Decode season. Teams from across Texas competed in the Ruby division. Byte Battalion brought everything we had built over the entire year to this major championship event.
TypeRegional Championship
W / L / T5 : 1 : 0
Ranking4th Place
🏆 Regional Championship
March 21–22, 2026
Texas State Cup — Armadillo Division
The final competitive event of the 2025–26 season! Teams from throughout Texas gathered at State Cup in the Armadillo division. A challenging bracket with fierce competition tested every aspect of our robot and team strategy.
TypeState Championship
W / L / T3 : 5 : 0
Ranking29th Place (State Level)
NotableExperience against top-tier teams
🌟 State Championship
Summer 2025
Summer Outreach Push
Between seasons, Byte Battalion turned its full energy toward community impact. The Outreach Team — Rishabh, Rhea, Riya, and Alexia — researched local partnerships, visited middle schools, and laid the groundwork for workshop programming. Team members began developing beginner STEM curriculum for younger students and actively explored grant opportunities to fund materials and expansion. Parents and mentors collaborated on formalizing the team's non-profit structure during this window.
☀️ Summer Mission
2026 Onwards
Growing — Year 2 in Progress
With our first full season complete, Byte Battalion is expanding its outreach mission, launching non-profit initiatives, and preparing to return to competition stronger, smarter, and more unified than ever.
🚀 Year 2 Begins
Community Impact

Beyond The Field

Our Mission

Beyond The Field

Byte Battalion believes that robotics is for everyone. Our outreach mission is to remove barriers, inspire the next generation, and build a community where every student — regardless of background — has access to STEM. We are actively working to formalize our community initiatives through a non-profit structure to expand our reach and impact.

10
Active Team Members
3+
Outreach Initiatives
2
Years FLL + FTC
∞
Students We Want to Reach
🏫
STEM Education Access
We actively work to introduce robotics and computer science to students who don't yet have access. Our team volunteers time to share what we've learned — from coding basics to robot building — with younger students in our community.
🤝
FTC Event Volunteering
Team family members including Sanmati and Rishabh's mom, Vishruth's dad, Vinay's Dad, Alexia's Dad, and any other team parents volunteered as judges at FTC events — giving back to the program that gave us so much. The battalion shows up, on and off the field.
🌐
Community Outreach
Our Outreach Team — Rhea, Riya, and Alexia — leads the charge in finding new communities and opportunities to bring robotics to those who need it most.
📣
Social Media & Visibility
Our Social Media Team documents the team's journey, shares wins and lessons, and builds awareness for FIRST programs in our region. Visibility is the first step toward inspiring others.
💡
Non-Profit Initiative
Byte Battalion is working toward formalizing our community work through a dedicated non-profit structure — enabling us to seek grants, raise funds, and scale our impact far beyond a single season.
☀️
Summer Programs & Mentoring
Between competition seasons, we focused on giving back — mentoring kids our age who are curious about robotics, and working closely with Lego Cyborgs, a local FLL team, to help them ramp up on building, coding, and competition strategy. The outreach team also visited local middle schools, researched grants, and developed beginner STEM workshop curriculum.
🚀
Paying It Forward
Just as the Robo-Players mentored us, we are committed to paying that forward. As we grow, our goal is to become mentors ourselves — helping new FLL and FTC teams find their footing.
Learning Never Stops

Off-Season Projects

Biobuzz robot CAD render
Core Skill Building
Biobuzz — From Zero to Robot

Our most foundational off-season project was designing our Biobuzz robot from the ground up on the GoBilda driver chassis. Starting from GoBilda's pre-downloaded CAD templates, our CAD team — led by Vishruth with Sanmati, Gautham, and Pradyun — learned how to customize and adapt designs to fit our robot's specific needs.

This wasn't just about following a tutorial. We took the base designs and modified them — adjusting dimensions, adding a custom linear slide and mounts, and iterating through multiple design rounds.

The knowledge built here became the foundation for our full competition season robot for Decode.

CAD Design GoBilda Platform Mechanical Engineering
Software
Java Programming Sprint
The whole team met regularly to work through Java fundamentals together on W3Schools. The goal: every single member understands the code, not just the programmers.
Community
UTD Robotics Event
Attended the UTD event organized by the Technobots. Watched our mentors present their AI camera tracker system, and learned from FTC teams worldwide about competition strategy and robot design.
🏆

A Shoutout to Our Mentors: The Robo-Players

We received incredible mentorship from the Robo-Players at Radha Govind Dham temple. They guided us through FLL, taught us how to build with Legos, supported us with block coding, and helped jumpstart our FTC journey — specifically helping Sanmati, Rishabh, and Vishruth transition into CAD and Java development. Their guidance, patience, and enthusiasm for robotics is a huge part of who Byte Battalion is today.

The Battalion in Photos

Team Gallery

From late-night build sessions and team dinners to competition day and everything in between — this is life in Byte Battalion. Click any photo to view full size.

Byte Battalion team at FIRST in Texas
The Squad

the whole battalion + one very photogenic robot

Team gathering
Team Bonding

team dinner before the grind

Team dinner
Team Bonding

bonding night, round two

Team dinner living room
Team Bonding

somebody said cheese

Team members eating
Team Bonding

still smiling before the all-nighter

Team at competition booth
Competition

showing up looking like the final boss

Team at pit
Competition

robot debugged us first ngl

Team with robot at FIRST
FIRST Event

Texas State Cup

Late night poolside studying
Behind the Scenes

we promise we did work today

Decode season robot CAD render
Robot Reveal

our decode robot — a mecanum-drive chassis built around a simple, reliable intake designed to pick up the biobuzz game ball and feed it into scoring position

Biobuzz game ball
Robot Build

our biobuzz project robot — mecanum chassis with a custom linear slide

↑ Click any photo to enlarge
Partners

Our Sponsors

Thank You

Powering The Battalion

Sponsors make Byte Battalion possible — from build materials and competition fees to travel and outreach programs. Want to support us? Get in touch.

Get In Touch

Contact Us

Byte Battalion #30758

We're a student-led FTC robotics team based in Flower Mound, Texas. Whether you're a potential sponsor, a student interested in joining, a parent with questions, or just someone who loves robotics — we'd love to hear from you.

Direct Email
bytebatallion30758
@gmail.com
Have a question, want to collaborate, or interested in sponsoring us? Shoot us an email — we read every message and will get back to you as soon as we can.
📷
Social Media
Instagram
Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content, competition updates, team highlights, and a look at everything that happens in the Byte Battalion universe.
@byte_battalion30758 →
▶️
Video Content
YouTube
Watch our robot in action, see competition footage, and get a full picture of what Byte Battalion is all about — from first build to final match.
@ByteBattalion30758 →
f
Social Media
Facebook
Keep up with the team on Facebook — events, milestones, and updates from the Byte Battalion family.
Follow us →
🎵
Short-Form Video
TikTok
Quick robot clips, behind-the-scenes chaos, and competition day moments — the battalion in short form.
@bytebattalion30758 →
📍
Based In
Flower Mound, Texas
We're a community team operating out of the DFW area. We compete in the North Texas FTC region and are always looking to connect with nearby teams, sponsors, and STEM advocates.
North Texas FTC Region