In September, both teams lost some members who had reached the age limit, but two of them chose to stay on as mentors to support their younger teammates, splitting evenly between the two teams. As a first step, the teams decided to change their names, marking the beginning of the story of the "Bottegai" and the "SustainaBot."

 

Why the name "Bottegai"?

 

While brainstorming a name, we wanted something that would evoke both craftsmanship and robotics. After a few brainstorming sessions, Giulia, a new team member, suggested "Bottegai." This term recalls traditional artisans, shopkeepers dedicated to manual and creative work, and it also contains the word "BOT," linking it to the world of robotics and our experience in the robotics club.

 

Preparation and Qualification

 

Compared to previous years, this new season stood out immediately with a key change: in-person preparation rather than remote work, both for the robotics portion and the scientific project. During regional qualifications, we succeeded in advancing to our first national finals, which took place in Rovereto. Here, we won several awards, including the prestigious Northwest Champion Award.