Fluffy Terminators are go: Rising robotics team on the march

A Helensburgh team of nine teenaged robotics fanatics emboldened by recent successes is set to take on the best the Asia-Pacific region has to offer.

With a champions award & first-place innovation award under their belts from 2025 challenges, the Fluffy Terminators will compete at the Asia Pacific Open Championships (APOC) in July 2026.

Co-mentor Crystal Wilson said the whole team had grown in confidence and skills to advance to this stage.

“We’re seeing these kids succeed both on and off the field, it flows into their school work as well as their other robotics teams,” Crystal said.

The Fluffy Terminators assembled in 2023 when two Helensburgh mums, Crystal and Tenille, began hosting six teenagers eager to challenge themselves. The original squad included Tenille’s four daughters and Crystal's daughter, along with a friend of theirs.

“Tenille and I started the team by request of the kids,” says Crystal, a nurse by profession. 

“We’re very 'hands-off' mentors. The kids do the work. We seek guidance from the engineering community when needed, but the students are the ones building and programming.”

For the nine current members, aged 11 to 18, the team provides a specialised education program their schools don’t offer. Because none of the students’ five local schools run the FIRST Tech Challenge program, the community team is their primary outlet for high-level robotics.

“These kids have gotten so much out of this that cannot be obtained anywhere else,” Crystal says.

“The majority of our team suffers from some sort of disability, mainly hidden ones. For them to work together and be this successful is a huge achievement.”

The social aspect is just as important as the mechanical one. The team regularly shares meals during meetings and has formed a tight-knit circle.

“One of the biggest things they've gotten is their friendships,” says Crystal.

“These kids are often the misfits at school. This is the one place they feel they are accepted and not judged by their peers. They’ve learnt to socialise, they have developed lifelong friendships, new mechanical skills, new CAD skills, being resilient and engaging with the community.”

The group lives and breathes robotics, and many members juggle multiple programs, including the high-level First Robotics Competition (FRC) with Project Bucephalus. Most of the team are looking at careers within engineering, with many undertaking engineering studies via distance education.

“Their skills have been built from their experiences in both FRC and Lego robotics but as each level of the FIRST program is different, they have had to adapt their skills each year to ensure they are working with the FTC framework,” Crystal says.

“There are strict guidelines on what we can use on the robot such as a maximum number of motors and a specific control and driver hub.”

The team works together to design, manufacture and program custom robots for each season’s specific game, announced by FTC each September. Keeping with their signature purple and black colours, their robots are named after shades of the colour: Heliotrope (2023), Wisteria (2024) and their current machine, Byzantium (2025).

“They love the challenge of building and programming robots. All the kids have their areas of strengths, but they are able to all work as a team and create their robot each season,” Crystal says.

“The kids in our team do all the hard work and they do all have strengths in particular areas. We have students who are very good at the programming side and they are beginning to teach other team members ... even the mechanical kids will impart their knowledge on those that aren't as mechanical.”

The group reached fresh levels of success in 2025 as alliance captains at the Wollongong Qualifier, winning the top ''inspire award". This honour recognises not just the robot’s performance, but the team’s community outreach. In a rare feat, they won top awards in two separate robotics competitions – FTC and First Lego League (FLL) – on back-to-back days.

 “We achieved what not many teams can do in winning the top award in two competitions in two days. Tenille and I were beyond proud of the kids,” Crystal says.

“The resilience the students showed to compete in both alongside each other was remarkable and they should be super proud.”

Every year since their first competition in 2023, the team has been scored highly and progressed to the national level competition, taking on the top 40 teams from across Australia. Last year, they went on to win the top innovation award at the nationals. But their efforts as a group go far beyond a winning track record.

“The kids like to showcase their robot at demonstrations or events,” Crystal says. “We always enjoy ComicGong, where the public can get up close with our robot. Other events we have done are school demonstrations, science week events, market days and Lego Discovery days. The team would love to get their robot into more places if schools and workplaces were interested.”

Despite their success, the team has found that running a top-tier robotics team from a living room and converted garage comes with significant hurdles. Without school funding, the team relies on fundraising to cover travel, event registration, and specialised parts often shipped from the US.

“It is expensive to run a robotics program,” Crystal says. 

“Our biggest expenses are generally travel and accommodation. Sponsorship does help, but we are always looking for new sponsors as what doesn't come from them comes out of parent pockets.”

Team members are working with their other teams on Project Bucephalus robots for competition in March, focused on world championships in May in the US.

Following the US trip, they will regroup as Fluffy Terminators to refine Byzantium for the Asia Pacific Open in July 2026.

Beyond the trophies, Crystal says the greatest highlight is seeing the students grow off the field.

“Students have shown resilience in being gracious in their losses, working with other teams to help their alliance succeed, and problem-solving on the spot when things go wrong.”

Achievements to date

• 2023: Motivate Award (Wollongong Qualifier), Connect Finalist (Nationals).
• 2024: Connect Award (Wollongong Qualifier), Sustainability Award (APOC).
• 2025: Inspire Award (Wollongong Qualifier), 2nd Place Think Award (Nationals).
• 2025: Champions Award & 1st Place Innovation Award (FLL).

Support the team: The Fluffy Terminators are seeking new sponsors and are available for robot demonstrations at schools or workplaces. They also offer mentorship for those looking to start their own robotics journey.

Website: fluffyterminators.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Fluffy-Terminators-FTC-61556004861629/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluffyterminatorsftc/?hl=en