We don't wait for the torch. We become it.
A ten-year FIRST Tech Challenge team from Shanghai — built on warmth, responsibility, and capability. This is Reflection.
The ten-year story- Founded
- 2016 · 10th season
- Base
- Shanghai, China
- This season
- 15 members · DECODE
- Aim
- World Championship
Ten years. One obsession — to build better.
Ten years of
devotion.
Founded in 2016, 19859 is about to turn ten — ten years woven from late-night debugging, hard-fought matches, and one generation handing the torch to the next. More than 130 members have come through; 130 lives reshaped by FTC. We don't just build robots. We build a belief: that passion can light the future.
True inspiration isn't waiting for the torch — it's becoming the light yourself.
Not a claim —
a track record.
Every result below is verifiable on FTCScout — five sanctioned FTC seasons, ranked in the top 4% of 8,278 teams worldwide.
Regional champion alliance, plus Design and Control awards.
FTC's highest judged honor, recognizing the whole team.
Champion + Innovate at the invitational we co-founded.
Six ways into
our world.
Hover a panel to step inside — each opens onto a different corner of the team.
Swerve 3.0, a three-motor auto-aiming turret — explore it in 3D.
EnterDECODE explained — and the strategy that won Chongqing.
EnterPedroPathing, Pinpoint odometry, and one-button auto-aim.
EnterFifteen members, seven mentors, one second home.
EnterSister teams, CycleZ Lab open-source, and the Silicon Valley Invitational.
EnterThe partners who make a student dream worth taking seriously.
EnterShot on location.
Every angle earned.
Four systems,
drawn from the notebook.
Meet SISI.
This season we refreshed our identity around an elegant, energetic pink mechanical snake, with our team mascot SISI (思思) as the core visual IP. The robot's exterior carries the same logo and mascot motifs, and our whole range of materials was rebuilt around the new visual system.
We tell our story in video too — the season documentary Never Forget Why We Started passed 2,000 views, and a ceremonial robot reveal carries our engineering aesthetic to the community.
Built with support.
To every sponsor who has stood with 19859 — your equipment, funding, and trust let a group of students build robots and compete boldly. You gave us more than resources; you told us a young person's dream is worth taking seriously.
Read the full
engineering notebook.
Our complete season — strategy, robot iterations, software, the team, mentors and outreach — exactly as we documented it for the judges.
Download the notebook (PDF)
工程笔记 · PDF
Build something with us.
Sponsors, mentors, fellow teams, press — or just to say hello. Tell us what's on your mind and we'll write back.
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