A Pittsburgh high school robotics team made worlds by engineering around budget limits

The Steel Dragons know exactly what they would buy with more money: carbon fiber, their own practice field and enough room to test a robot without borrowing space across town.

Instead, the Taylor Allderdice High School robotics team has learned to compete with polycarbonate, reused parts and quick pit repairs, pushing its green dragon-eyed robot Theodosia — named for their collective love of “Hamilton” — to the 2026 FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship in Houston.

For the Pittsburgh public school team, building a competitive robot has relied on engineering around a budget that shapes what materials they use, where they practice and how far they can go.

“Do we break down a little bit more? Yes, but as I said, we work around it. It gives our pit crew a lot of practice,” Steel Dragons president Izzy Stratman told Technical.ly.

Steel Dragons team members agreed that the biggest challenge they face is finances.