By 2018, Zebra Robotics had a new team ready to test its mettle on the world stage. Wooducks — made up of Nikhil Thiyagarajan, Srijay Mundalur, and Shounak Roy — earned their spot through a strong regular season, finishing first at the GTA Regionals before heading to Canada Nationals in Montreal, where they placed third and secured their qualification for the World Robot Olympiad Internationals in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
In the lead-up to Internationals, the team made a bold call: a major redesign of their robot’s drivetrain, swapping in larger wheels for extra speed. It was a calculated risk — and one that didn’t pay off the way they’d hoped. The bigger wheels sacrificed the precision their missions depended on, and despite multiple adjustments and troubleshooting attempts on-site, the team couldn’t dial the accuracy back in before the competition clock ran out.
It’s the kind of result that stings in the moment — but it’s also exactly the kind of lesson robotics competitions are built to teach. Speed means nothing without control, and sometimes the most valuable thing a team brings home isn’t a medal, but a hard-earned engineering principle they’ll never forget.
Beyond the competition mat, Wooducks made the most of representing Canada abroad — forming new friendships with teams from around the world and exploring Thailand from Chiang Mai to Phuket to Bangkok before heading home. A tough competition result, wrapped in an experience the team will remember for years.