Cape Central’s Tiger Bytes Robotics Team Advances to State

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI)— The Cape Central Tigers robotics team, known as the Tiger Bytes, has secured a spot in the Missouri state competition after winning the Inspire Award at the Southeast League Championship.

Team captains Parker Estes and Noah Caldwell say they had thought about their award-winning robot for months, spending countless hours to working on its development since September.

“The first meet that we had, they said, ‘ we want to go to State,’” says robotics coach Julie Fuehne. “They were dead serious and focused from the start.”

The team’s journey includes growth for the students and the program. “A few years ago, we were kind of ‘dukey,’” Caldwell says. “Now, we’re in the spotlight alongside teams we’ve always looked up to.”

Their robot, cane be controlled by a gaming controller with custom-coded buttons, it was designed and fine-tuned through many hours of training on a replica competition field.

“Being even a little too slow can be the difference between winning and losing,” the team Estes explained.

Fuehne says that the program teaches more than just robotics. “It’s about teamwork, learning how to work with others, and gaining skills that shape who they will become.”

The Tiger Bytes will compete at Missouri S&T on March 7, working towards a chance at worlds.