“Beyond Green, Beyond Mean, Beyond Your Wildest Machine”
I. Who Are We?
We are Green Mean Machine, the robotics team of the prestigious “Ion Minulescu” National College in Slatina, Olt County, Romania.
Although we are a rookie team at the beginning of our competitive journey, we have grown tremendously in a remarkably short period of time. Guided by our shared passion, strong team spirit, and dedicated mentors, we are constantly learning, building, and pushing ourselves further.
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II. Where Do Our Name and Slogan Come From?
Our name reflects the identity of our team. It is built around three key elements connected to both our school and our robotics journey:
- “Green” represents the green colour associated with “Ion Minulescu” National College;
- “Mean” (pronounced “Min”) is a direct reference to the name of our school and, indirectly, to our determination and desire to constantly improve;
- “Machine” represents what we create as a robotics team: mechanisms, robots, ideas, and solutions brought to life.
Our slogan, “Beyond Green, Beyond Mean, Beyond Your Wildest Machine,” follows the same three-part structure and is directly connected to our team name.
However, the repetition of the word “beyond” gives these elements a deeper symbolic meaning. It represents our ambition to go further—to move beyond ideas, thoughts, and aspirations and transform them into something real.
For us, robotics means imagining something that does not yet exist and then working together to make it possible.
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III. Who Guides Us?
Behind every successful team are the people who believed in it from the very beginning.
For us, those people are our dedicated coaches, Marius Perianu and Alin Dumbrăvescu. They helped bring this project to life and continue to invest their time, energy, and passion into our development. Through technical guidance, professional experience, creative ideas, and constant encouragement, they help us grow both as a team and as individuals.
Our peer mentor, David Luță, completes what we like to call our triangle of success. Having experienced many of the challenges of student robotics himself, he helps us see this journey from the perspective of someone who has already walked a similar path.
Together, they inspire us to learn, experiment, and keep moving forward.
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IV. What Departments Do We Have?
Our team is divided into four main departments, each with its own responsibilities and an essential role in our development:
- Public Relations — Technical and Non-Technical
- 3D Design
- Mechanics
- Programming
Although each department has its own area of expertise, none of them works alone. Robotics is a team effort, and our best results come from collaboration between all parts of the team.
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V. What Is Non-Technical PR?
The Non-Technical Public Relations Department is responsible for how our team communicates with the outside world.
Its members create videos and social media content, develop partnerships, communicate with sponsors and the community, and document our projects and participation in various events.
Non-Technical PR helps build the image that our team presents to the public—an image that should be consistent, professional, and determined.
The department also plays an important role in attracting and maintaining relationships with sponsors and partners, highlighting both our activity and the impact that their support has on our journey.
In short, Non-Technical PR helps tell our story.
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VI. What Is Technical PR?
While Non-Technical PR focuses primarily on our public image, Technical PR is responsible for documenting what happens behind the scenes.
Although the two departments share certain responsibilities, Technical PR focuses more closely on the technical development of our robot and the work carried out by the team.
Its members keep track of the components and parts used, document modifications and improvements, record testing processes, and present the results of those tests. Because of this, Technical PR works closely with every other department.
One of its most important responsibilities is creating the Engineering Notebook, which documents the evolution of our robot, the design process, the construction process, and other important technical details.
Technical PR ensures that our progress is not only made—it is also understood, recorded, and remembered.
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VII. What Is the 3D Design Department?
The 3D Design Department is where many of our ideas first take on a concrete form.
Its members design and develop the physical components of our robot using Onshape, an online 3D CAD platform used to create parts, mechanisms, and complete robot designs.
Working closely with the Mechanics Department, they verify dimensions and proportions, modify and improve designs based on testing, and prepare models for manufacturing, including 3D printing.
Before a component becomes a real part of our robot, it often begins as an idea on a screen.
The 3D Design Department helps transform that idea into something that can actually be built.
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VIII. What Is the Mechanics Department?
If the robot begins to exist on a screen through 3D design, it truly starts to come to life in the Mechanics Department.
Its members transform designs and ideas into real components, assemble mechanisms, and test everything we build.
Of course, not everything works perfectly on the first attempt.
Sometimes we need to replace a part, redesign a mechanism, or admit that an idea that looked great in theory does not work quite as well in reality.
But that is also one of the most exciting parts of robotics.
We try again. We find new solutions. We learn from our mistakes.
Every problem we solve brings us one step closer to the robot we imagined.
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IX. What Is the Programming Department?
If mechanics gives the robot a body, programming tells it what to do.
The members of this department work on the code that controls the robot and allows it to perform different actions during matches.
Programming is not simply about writing code and hoping that it works. It involves testing, debugging, making mistakes, and trying again.
Sometimes, even a very small error can affect an entire system. When that happens, programmers need to identify the cause and find a solution.
But the moment when the robot finally performs exactly as intended makes every failed attempt worth it.
Programming is where logic becomes movement.
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X. Who Supports Us?
No journey can be completed entirely alone.
Throughout our journey, we are fortunate to have partners who believe in us and in what we are capable of building.
INTERMAX, our main sponsor, provides valuable support for the development of our team and our preparation for competition.
We are also proud to be supported by Delta Aluminium, MimDragon, PanAdria, Popas Sport și SCADT, and we are deeply grateful for the trust they have placed in us.
To us, our sponsors are more than companies supporting a project. They are people and organizations choosing to invest in the passion, creativity, and potential of young students.
We hope to repay their trust through hard work, ambition, progress, and results.
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XI. What Are Our Aspirations?
Our first FTC season is ahead of us, and being a rookie team certainly does not mean having rookie ambitions.
We want to participate in as many events and meetings as possible, gain valuable competitive experience, and continuously improve—not only our robot, but ourselves as a team.
Our goal is to reach the Regional level, then the National level, and, over time, take the next step toward the FIRST Championship in Houston, one of the most important international events in the FIRST Tech Challenge program.
We certainly have a great deal to learn and even more to experience.
But we have ambition.
We have determination.
And we have the desire to succeed.
We also have the strength to face difficulties, the ability to learn from them, and the confidence that, over time, we can build something greater than we initially imagined.
Something that takes us beyond expectations.
Beyond what we thought was possible.
Beyond Green.
Beyond Mean.
Beyond Your Wildest Machine.
“Beyond Green, Beyond Mean, Beyond Your Wildest Machine.”