The Hitchhikers
Team 2059, The Hitchhikers Robotics group, strives to build competitive robots, and spread the impact of STEM throughout our community by helping high school aged students gain vital knowledge about Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Project Management.
The Hitchhikers were founded in 2010 and have since produced one of the most successful robotics teams in North Carolina.
Playing in the FIRST Robotics Competition, The Hitchhikers have helped countless children gain a foothold in STEM education and have promoted sponsors on a world stage in front of thousands of viewers.
What is first?
FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen. Based in Manchester, NH, the 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity works to develop ways to inspire students in engineering and technology fields.
FIRST’s mission is to “inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.”
2026 Robot Overview
Name
“I Don’t Know”
Season
2026
Game
Rebuilt
Drivetrain
Swerve
When the 2026 challenge was announced, our team was excited to get started. This year’s robot, “I Don’t Know”, is built for the Rebuilt game with a swerve drivetrain for smooth movement and quick turns.
It uses a Meta Quest VR headset for accurate and easy automation on the field, and for automatically lining up for shooting. The design focuses on being reliable and effective on the field, as always
Team Blog
Keep up to date with what the team is doing by checking out our blog posts below. For more posts or older posts, check out our archive or click the button below.
2026 Season Week 2
Week 2 Rebuild! We are still busy designing, building, thinking, trying, programming. How are we going to drive, collect, shoot, climb! FUN!! We re-built the mechanism for moving the balls from the box to the shooter. The chassis is almost done, and we are trying...
2026 Season Week 1
Week 1 of the FRC 2026 Season Rebuild! We are busy designing, building, thinking, trying, programming. How are we going to drive, collect, shoot, climb! FUN!! We build the mechanism for moving the balls from the box to the shooter.
2026 Team Applications Open!
This year was one of the Hitchhikers' most successful seasons in many years. After earning a blue banner at the Wake County district event, becoming finalists in Pitt County, winning ANOTHER blue banner at UNC Pembroke, and making it to states, we couldn't be...
FNC District Wake County Event
WOW! What a weekend!! We ended up ranked 6th at the Wake County District Event after the qualification rounds. We competed in the playoffs as the Captain of Alliance 4. We chose Team 9032 RoboWhales and Team 5190 Falcon Fury to join our Alliance. After many tight and...
2025 Season – BUSY!
Greetings from the Hitchhikers! We have been busy getting ready for the 2025 Season. Finishing the updates to "Wonko", increasing the speed of collecting, placing Coral and climbing the cage. We have a few 2 coral auto programmed now, but still having a few...
2024 Season – Week 11
Greetings from the Hitchhikers! In Week 11, we are busy finishing the updates to "Max", increasing the speed of collecting, shooting and climbing. We have a few 3 note autos programmed now,