An approximately $1500 robot — complete with a $2 bill and sponsors' names taped to its side — zoomed around a small ring, successfully pushing buttons, lifting objects, and tossing whiffle balls both via a controller and autonomously.

The robot is the project of the Dartmouth High’s 16-student robotics team. The group had worked on it since September, before competing against seven other teams in the First Tech Challenge scrimmage on November 19. Dartmouth High took second place to Natick High School, but only because of one main technical difficulty, said team President Ashley Vieira.

“The Wifi was not working well today. We had trouble connecting both of the phones,” said Vieira, explaining that a phone on the robot connects to another one that helps drive it independently of a controller. “We weren’t able to play our first round because of it,” said Vieira.

The team survived the remaining eight rounds, pairing up and strategizing with one school at a time to take down an opposing two-team alliance. The randomized matchups allow each team to both work with and compete against each other in some capacity.

”It’s beneficial because you know their weaknesses as well and you’re able to take advantage of that when you play against them,” said Vieira. As team president, Vieira said she mostly helps organize her own team, as well as lead strategy discussions with other teams, but those aren’t the only skills involved.

“This is an authentic engineering experience that you cannot get in a classroom,” said Engineering Teacher Sam Brodsky. “And you have to make it all happen by deadline,” he added. Brodsky said some students work on the electric system, some do programming, and others help build, but there are also students dedicated to marketing and obtaining sponsorships to fund the project.

The competition guidelines are released in September, and since then, the team has met for 90-minute sessions on Tuesdays to discuss goals, and has spent four to six hours building on Saturdays.

“That’s where most of the work gets done,” said Brodsky. “I don’t even know the coding they’re using. They’re doing it all themselves.”

He said the team has come far since it first formed three years ago, and took last place in the First Tech Challenge. It was then that a teammate — under the frustration of a malfunctioning robot — taped a dollar bill to the contraption, said Vieira. Now, however, the decoration is traditional, not an act of desperation, she said, although there are kinks to work out before the team moves to its first competition in Andover on December 11.

“I definitely got a lot more comfortable with the robot. It’s a good learning experience,” said Nick McMaster, explaining that he now understands how the competitions are set up.

The First Tech Challenge, however, spans internationally, with nearly 3,000 teams worldwide, said Brodsky. Statewide, there are 75 high school robotics teams participating in the challenge, he said.