3m Dell NI Luminex IBM Houston Robotics Round Rock ISD

The FIRST Competition

FIRST

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is a youth robotics league founded by Dean Kamen (the creator of the Segway). This league is composed of 2500 plus teams from US to Brazil this is an international competition. This superb competition is a great experience for all, especially those wanting to advance into a technology related carear. There are two divisions in FIRST, FIRST Robotic Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). The robots in FRC are usually the size of a washing machine (you don’t want to get in their way!!). And FRC is great for those who want to go into a mechanical or electrical field. In the other hand the FTC robots are usually the size of a shoebox (but don’t underestimate them). The FTC robots are made from a Vex kit. And the FTC is great for young and upcoming software engineers.

This Year’s FRC Challenge: Lunacy http://usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?id=418

There will be 2 Alliances, a blue and red alliance, each composed of 3 teams, so they involve team work between the teams and strategy to win the round. Each round is composed of:

  1. 15 second autonomous/hybrid
  2. 2 minutes of tele-operation
  3. 2 alliances…like I mentioned above
  4. And each Team has:
    1. Coach (can either be an adult or a student): they deal with strategy
    2. Spotter
    3. 2 Drivers: Control the robot during the tele-operated phase

For more information refer to www.usfirst.org.

FIRST 2008 - Overdrive


FIRST 2008 Overdrive Game Field

FIRST 2009 - Lunacy


       LUNACY is played on a 54' x 27' low friction field. Robots are equipped with slippery wheels and payload trailers. LUNACY game pieces are “Orbit Balls” designated as Moon Rocks, Empty Cells, or Super Cells. Two three-team robot alliances collect and score Orbit Balls in trailers attached to the opposing teams’ robots. Human players are positioned around the perimeter of the arena and can score from their stations.

Robots are autonomous during the first 15 seconds of play, and teleoperated for the remaining 2 minutes. Trailers begin each match empty, and robots may be loaded with up to 7 Moon Rocks by their team prior to the start of the match. Human players are equipped with 20 Moon Rocks, less the number they load into their robot, and a quantity of Empty Cells and Super Cells determined by the outcome of their previous match. If a team has not yet played a match, the human player receives 4 Empty Cells and 2 Super Cells.

Moon Rocks and Empty Cells scored in an opponent’s trailer, at any time and by any player, are worth 2 points. Super Cells scored in an opponent’s trailer are worth 15 points. Super Cells must be “activated” before they can be played. Activation occurs when a robot delivers an Empty Cell from their Outpost to their Fueling Station. Empty Cells can be delivered throughout the match. Super Cells may only be played during the last 20 seconds of a match.

FIRST 2009 LUNACY Game Field