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Well, here are some of the basics. We are given a task to complete and we have 6 weeks to build a robot that will accomplish that task. There are certain requirements that the robot must meet and if the robot exceeds those rules set, you are not allowed to compete with that robot. This season, the robot has three (yes 3) height options. Going along with each height option, is a weight. Your team may choose a 4-foot robot at 120-pounds, a 5-foot robot at 110-pounds, or a 6-foot robot at 100-pounds.
This season, the challenge was to build a robot that could place pool inner tube rings on a 'spider'. The spider is a 10-foot tall, octagonal shaped structure that moves freely (chains). There are a total of 24 spider "feet" that tubes can be placed on to. Each robot has to place their rings as quickly and efficient as possible. Before the robots start the teleoperated period, there is a 15 second autonomous mode in which the robot will use a light/camera to place their ring onto the spider. Then, it is the 2-minute teleoperated period. Of course, seeing the spider may give you better insite as to what we have to truly accomplish. The structure may be found on the FIRST website, along with every rule and regulation.
Scoring!!!! For ever single tube that is placed, it is worth 2 points. 2 in a row equals 4 points, 3 tubes in a row equals 8 points. For every tube you get in a row, the point amount doubles. So if you get 8 tubes in a row, you get a whopping 256 points =O Each robot starts with a KEEPER (keepers are the alliance color, but they have FIRST on them as well) for the autonomous mode. If that KEEPER makes it on to the rack during autonomous, that KEEPER may not be moved or block. Each team then also has 9 inner tubes for the human players to hand/throw to the robots, and there are 9 inner tubes against the opposing wall that can be picked up. Each alliance also has 2 black inner tubes that are called BLOCKERS (4 blockers total). These blockers may be placed on top of the opposing alliance's tubes on the spider(EXCEPT FOR THE KEEPER!!!!!) The BLOCKERS allow the alliance to shrink the number of points their opponent is scoring.
BONUS POINTS!!!!!! For every robot that is 4-inches off the ground, the alliance will receive 15 points. For every robot that is 12-inches off the ground, the alliance will receive 30 points. No part of the robot may be touching the playing field; if they are, the points do not count. So only 2 robots can score bonus points.
Other basic rules: No robot may possess more than one (1) inner tube at a time. Human players CAN score on the rack by throwing the tube over the wall and on to the rack (this will be hard). No robot can be in the opposing alliance home zone in the final 15 seconds of the match; this allows everyone a chance to get the bonus points. If a robot is too aggressive, they may receive a YELLOW FLAG that they will keep on their robot for the remainder on the competition.
Alliance pairing: After the seeding matches, the top 8 teams will be placed in spots 1-8. Starting with the team in the #1 position, they will pick who they would like to join their alliance, followed by 2, 3 and so on. Then the team in the #8 spot will then pick first for the second round(8-1). Once each team has 2 other teams, the alliance pairing is done and it is onto the quater-finals, semi-finals, and then the finals. Scouting is what helps each teams see who would work well with them and get them into the finals and winning it.
Robotics is not just an American sport (yes I called it a sport). It was founded in New Hampshire, but has become a world renound sport. In the Trenton, NJ regional, there are teams from across, United States, a team from Canada, a team from Brazil, and even a team from Israel. We all have so much fun. Robotics has been know mostly for being a guy thing, but there are a good number of girls as well. Even thought the guys out number (us) girls by 3-1 or 4-1, we still have fun (wink wink haha) Just kidding! But it's so much fun to compete and we learn so much about ourselves, other teams, and so much more. Even about making alliances!!! Alliances will help you get to the finals and into the Nationals, so you better be friendly and know your robot when scouts come along.
There are also other little things like awards and what not that we can try to win. This year, we are trying to win the most honored award; The Chairman's Award. If you win this award, you have a free pass to the Nationals, even if you do not qualify for them. So, we are really hoping to win the Chairman's Award. Even though it is a hard award to win, and we wrote it in about 2 weeks, well planned on the outline for a week and wrote it in 2 days, we are still hoping for the best. We have very strong points that we think we may be able to win the judges over with. Even though the Chairman's award is the most saught after, we will be trying for all the different types of award FIRST offers.
Each year in early January, FIRST announces the competition or "game" for the year. FIRST teams pay a significant entry fee to compete and in return receive a parts kit of motors, gears, software, etc., that this year is valued at more than $12,000. Each team selects the parts from the kit it needs to build the robot of its design that will accomplish the stated challenge.
Following the six-week design and build phase, teams enter regional competitions. This year, there are 33 regional competitions with more than 1,000 U.S. high schools participating in the "game."
While each regional is held in an effort to identify the best robots, the competition really is centered on teamwork, collaboration and partnership. The "game" looks to reflect the real world of business, and as such has three-team alliances competing against each other -- and for every qualifying round, each team partners with two new teams through random selection generated by a computer program.
Alliances score points in two-minute matches according to how well their robots work together to master the challenge or "game." After each team's robot is involved in the same number of qualifying rounds, teams are ranked according to the scores earned, and eight three-team alliances are formed. The eight alliances battle it out in best-two-out-of-three matches in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds. One alliance emerges at the best -- just like the NCAA basketball tournament!
Regardless of who is the winning alliance, the real message that FIRST sends to every student on each team is that he or she is a W-I-N-N-E-R for being involved in the six-week process. All students are winners, because by working smart in science and technology with their teammates, they have survived and endured the frantic and intense effort to design and construct their team's robot.
Additionally, during that short time, students work long hours to design team logos, make team buttons and related paraphernalia, order team shirts and hats, hold rallies, raise funds to support their team's competition plans, promote their robot and the team to fellow students, and tell their team's story to their school and the local public through press releases and media stories.
Other W-I-N-N-E-R-S in FIRST are the teachers, team mentors, parents, engineers and other dedicated business professionals who work closely with the students to organize as a team and execute their competition plan. This real-world process involves assigning roles and delegating responsibilities; managing priorities; meeting deadlines; locating, developing and utilizing needed resources; managing team and personal conflicts; making strategic choices in refining the robot's design; and developing operational game strategies for their robot.
Once their robot is built, teams practice operating their robot and mastering "the game." Through it all, each team works many nights and weekends to bond and build a competitive robot and a winning spirit.
Through FIRST, our society is the ultimate W-I-N-N-E-R, as many students involved in FIRST move to pursue careers in engineering, the sciences, math and technology. Additional W-I-N-N-E-R-S in FIRST are the team and competition sponsors that contribute valuable human, financial and other resources with the goal to help build the skilled work force of tomorrow.
One major sponsor of FIRST is NASA, which sees that through FIRST, it can help develop the next generation of robotic engineers it will need for its future space missions.
There is more to FIRST than building the best-performing robot. The most coveted prize in FIRST is the Chairman's Award given to one team at each regional and to one team at the international competition. To win a Chairman's Award, a team must "tell" its story in a compelling written submission that highlights its teamwork and collaborative effort that it hopes in the view of the FIRST volunteer judges best exemplifies the true meaning and spirit of FIRST.
Each Chairman's entry can be enhanced with team photographs, quotes by team members, newspaper articles and TV spots about the team; a DVD or video and a written narrative that documents the team's journey; a descriptive Web site; a DVD of the team's AUTOCAD computer visualization of the competition; and shared life lessons learned from the FIRST experience.
FIRST teams also compete for other valued awards that celebrate safety, sportsmanship, quality craftsmanship, creativity, innovative engineering design, computer visualization, Web site design, robot imagery and entrepreneurship. Select "rookie" teams are recognized with awards.
A key value that FIRST looks to instill in all participants is "gracious professionalism" -- a coined FIRST term that means always doing the right thing for your team and the teams you compete against -- and doing it in a manner that would make one's grandmother proud. At any FIRST competition, one can witness "gracious professionalism" as a team gives another team a part to fix a robot or freely offers a competitor mental or manual expertise to solve a problem.
-A Selection Written In The Courier News That Appeared An A Sunday Edition Of An April Issue Of The Courier News, Written By None Other Than Mr. Donald Bowers :)
There are many different cities that hold regional competitions. Those cities are such as:
-Trenton, NJ
-Boston, MA
-Las Vegas, NV
-Long Island, NY
-Pittsburg, PA
-Denver, CO
-Houston, TX
-Even Some In Canada
JUST TO NAME A FEW
*1,133 teams
*28,000 high-school students
*16,000 mentors
*3,400 event volunteers
*7 countries
*33 Regional events
*1 Championship, April 27-29, Georgia Dome, Atlanta
*Close to $8 million in scholarships
*56 suppliers
*Over 2,000 sponsors
FIRST
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
