Introduction to the FIRST High School Robotics Competition

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Introduction to the FIRST High School Robotics
Competition
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What is F.I.R.S.T.?

• (Foundation for Inspiration and
  Recognition of Science and Technology) is a
  nonprofit organization that generates innovative
  programs to promote math and science, and
  technology for young people.
• The FIRST organization has three main bodies
• FIRST High School Robotics Competition
• FIRST LEGO League, Jr. Robotics Competition
• FIRST Science Center

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Who created FIRST?

• Manchester, New Hampshire entrepreneur Dean Kamen
  founded FIRST in 1989. Kamen realized that, in
  order for the U.S. to keep its technological
  lead, it had to inspire high school students to
  pursue careers in science and technology. His
  plan was to team high school students with role
  models from industry to compete in a sports like,
  robotics competition complete with the atmosphere
  of the Super Bowl.

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What is the FIRST H.S. Robotics competition?

• The FIRST High School Robotics Competition is a
  nationwide engineering contest now in its 12th
  year, which teams high school students from more
  than 35 states with engineers from businesses and
  universities. During the competition, each team
  builds a robot to specifications in six weeks,
  while preparing it to compete against other
  robots in a sports arena. Students get a
  hands-on, inside look at engineering and
  experience a real-time product development cycle.

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Havent I seen this competition before?

• Indeed, you may have seen this competition
  before. The National Championship is broadcasted
  on ESPN2 as well as is featured on many national
  television networks and publicized in numerous
  national publications.

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Greatest misconceptions about FIRST..

• My knowledge of robotics is limited, I wouldnt
  be that helpful.
• Im not good at building, you dont need me.
• I cant make the meetings, so I cant be of any
  help.
• This sounds boring.
• I cant work with high school students. Ehhh,
  just give them 5 years and they will be your
  co-workers!

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What does it take to be a part of FIRST?

• Everyone can be a part of FIRST. It is truly a
  cross functional effort. Students, co-workers,
  teachers, parents are all encouraged to become
  part of the action.
• Team may have some of these task/positions Robot
  Construction, Multimedia Design, Web Page Design,
  CAD/3-D Animators, Public Relations, Travel
  Personnel, Finance Personnel, Team Spirit Staff,
  Rules Enforcement, Competition Coaches, Pit Crew
  Staff, Cheerleaders, Shipping Crate Building,
  Cart Building, and More....

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What other corporations sponsor FIRST teams?

• More than 250 corporate university sponsors
  support FIRST teams. A few of them are listed
  here
• Many companies sponsor more than one team or are
  also a Regional Competition sponsor.

GM (15) NASA (35) Delphi (10) Motorola Johnson
Johnson Proctor Gamble
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Are there other teams in our area?

• Pierson High School, Sag Harbor, NY
• Deer Park High School, Deer Park, NY
• Bay Shore High School, Bay Shore, NY
• East Islip High School, Islip Terrace, NY
• Patchogue-Medford High School, Medford, NY
• Hauppauge High School, Hauppauge, NY
• Island Trees High School, Levittown, NY
• And many more!

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WARNING

• Participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition
  can cause the gears in your head to rotate at an
  excessive rate of speed. It is a fun and fast
  paced program. You may find yourself holding
  large amount of ice to your head at times to keep
  yourself from over heating!!!

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Previous Challenges

• The general game concepts and building material
  are pretty standard each year. However, details
  of the challenge are kept secret until the
  Kickoff in January.
• 2005 - Triple Play - Play Tic-Tac-Toe by
  stacking tetrahedrons
• 2004 - Raising the Bar - Score soccer balls in
  goals and have robot do a chin-up from a 9
  high bar.
• 2003 - Stack Attack - Gather storage bins and
  stack for point multipliers.
• 2002 - Zone Zeal - Score soccer balls in goals
  and place the goals in specified zones to score
  points.
• 2001 - Diabolical Dynamics Score small balls in
  two 8 tall goals and balance goals on a
  teeter-totter.
• 2000 - Co-Opertition FIRST Score balls in a 5
  high trough and lift your robot up in the air on
  a pull-up bar.
• 1999 - Double Trouble Drive your robot onto the
  puck and raise your teams floppies (pillow) 8
  feet into the air.

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Robot Building Materials
ADDITIONAL PARTS EMT PVC Water Pipe Copper Water
Pipe Plywood Aluminum Sheeting Polycarbonate
Sheeting Fiberglass Matting Sprockets
GREEN BOX Bearings Control System Supplies Speed
Controller Wired RF parts Joysticks Documentation
GRAY BOX Fasteners Motors Pumps Pneumatics Rods
Shafts Sheets Materials Boards Small
Parts Springs Sprockets
Provided by FIRST with registration
Provided by team
The kit of parts is subject to change each year
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The Gray Box

• Items in the gray box may include wire,
  pneumatic actuators, material samples, window
  track parts, a pneumatic cylinder, wheel chair
  wheels, and motors.

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When does all of this take place?
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What are the various aspects to a team?
Robot Building Competition
FIRST TEAM
Chairmans Award
30 sec. 3-D Animation
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What are the parts to the entire project?
Programming
Mechanical
Playing Field
Electrical
PROJECT GROUPS
Budget Travel
Rules Strategy
CAD / 3-D
Other
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Other Tasks Progression

• Travel Planning
• Kick Off
• Material Acquisition
• Playing Field Construction
• CAD/Animation
• Chairmans Award
• T-Shirts Ship Date
• Competition

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CAUTION
FIRST can cause serious side effects, such as the
sudden urge to turbo charge a kitchen appliance.
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More about the 3-D Animation Contest

• AutoCAD donates drawing software and 3D Studio
  MAX animation software to each team. Teams use
  this software to draw parts and prove their
  designs before the actual construction. Using
  this software is optional.
• The 3-D Animation Contest is a tangent activity
  to the Robot Competition. Teams may choose to
  produce a 30 second animation video to submit to
  the video contest.
• NOTE Be careful not to get your resources too
  involved in the animation. Especially rookie
  teams, you certainly want to make sure that you
  have a robot to compete with.

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What is the Chairmans Award

• The Chairmans Award is given to the team which
  best exemplifies the ideologies of FIRST. All
  teams have a presentation which they enter to the
  contest. These presentations along with good
  sportsmanship and teamwork are the grounds by
  which the contest is judged.

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How many team members are necessary?

• The size of a FIRST team varies. Some teams in
  the past have had as few as 6 people on them,
  others may have 100 people involved. The
  average size of a team is usually about 50
  people. Obviously with more people the team can
  diversify into many different areas and the team
  members can learn / specialize in one particular
  role. A good rule of thumb is 1
  adult/engineer/teacher for every 2-3 students.

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How is a team organized?
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What is the time commitment needed by a team
member?

• The amount of time a team member spends on the
  project depends on their involvement. During the
  six weeks of building, meetings with the complete
  team would be held for 6 hrs on Saturdays and 4
  hrs on afternoons (either one or two) during the
  week. Group meetings may also be held according
  to their task. There are also pre-season meetings
  (bimonthly) during the Fall, as well as the time
  that team leaders and coordinators must spend to
  make the event possible.
• Most individuals get more involved and earn
  additional time at their convenience.
  Individuals involved in building the robot or
  making the 3D animation may find themselves
  working 20 hours a week.

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What about my real job?

• Generally, if you are organized and manage your
  time well, participating in FIRST doesnt effect
  your real job. It just gives you a few more
  things to do during the day.

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Travel ScheduleTraveling to both competitions
are optional.

• Long Island Regional Competition
• Hofstra University
• March 23-25 2006
• Thursday - Saturday
• National Competition
• April 2006
• Wednesday - Saturday

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What are the rewards?

• The best award of all is the sense of
  accomplishment one receives by being a part of
  FIRST. In addition to winning a robotics
  competition, there are awards presented for a
  number of other accomplishments. Recognition is
  given to teams who best exemplify the ideologies
  of FIRST, produce the best 3-D animation segment,
  show tremendous team spirit at the competitions,
  or best display good sportsmanship.

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Mentor rewards

• The opportunity to inspire young people.
• To show the high schools students the fun and
  excitement of science and math that goes beyond
  school books.
• A chance to improve your team building,
  leadership, and time management skills.
• To build stronger relationships with your
  co-workers.
• To better educate your future co-workers.

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Student rewards

• A compelling actual, physical, hands-on
  experience that builds character.
• A truly unique opportunity to learn.
• An opportunity to see that science and math goes
  beyond school books.
• Proof that the fundamentals that you learn in
  school are good for something.

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Resources needed by a team

• A place to meet - on weekdays, on weekends, after
  hours
• A place to build the playing field
• 50 feet x 50 feet x 20 feet
• A place to work on 6 to 10 computers
• A place for construction
• Access to manufacturing machinery - lathe, mill,
  drill press, band saw
• Tools - screwdrivers, wrenches, saber saw, drill
  press, table saw.

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Technical needs of mentors.

• Machining
• Electronics
• Welding
• Construction
• Millwork
• Computing
• Physics
• Mathematics

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Corporate rewards

• Opportunity to spread the word about your
  company.
• Another reason for someone to work at your
  company.
• A chance for employees to think outside of the
  box.
• A program to motivate and energize the workplace.
• To promote science and technology education.
• To improve the future workforce of your company.

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What is the financial role of the corporate
sponsor?

• The corporate sponsor provides the funding for
  the registration fees (currently, 6,000),
  building supplies, travel arrangements and the
  mentors for the project.
• Additional support in the form of work space,
  computers, machining equipment, and building
  materials may also be required.

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Why should ltACMEgt sponsor a FIRST team?

• FIRST is an excellent addition to the Corporate
  Training Program.
• By being a part of FIRST, it shows that your
  company is concerned with the education of its
  future corporate staff.
• FIRST maintains the excitement, enthusiasm and
  curiosity in your work force.
• FIRST will make your company work smarter, by
  being involved in a high profile competition to
  display teamwork and rapid prototype-development
  task.
• FIRST allows everyone to develop a stronger
  camaraderie with colleagues and fell good about
  their contributions.

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I want to make ltACMEgt a part of FIRST, what do I
do next?

• Gain the support of the your company Employees
  as well as the corporate financial support.
• Gain the support from a local high school--thats
  easy because chances are they are already trying
  to be a part of the action.
• Pass what you have learned here today to a
  colleague and get your department involved!
• Start to acquire material and extra resources
  necessary (hardware, computers, workspace,
  tables, chairs, etc.)

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Startup Costs

• Registration Fee 6000
• included the kit of parts, control system (you
  get to keep) and entry fee for one competition
• Practice Playing Field 1500
• Carpet, 4 x 4s, piping, clamps, drivers station
  unknown items
• Prototyping Additional Part List Items 1500
• PVC, plywood, sprockets, belts,
• Tools Machinery 1,000
• Hand tools, power tools, drill bits, machine
  bits, etc.
• Total Startup Costs 10,000

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Regional Competition CostsApprox. 50 people will
be taken to the regional competition for 3 days
(Thursday to Saturday)

• Registration 0
• 1st competition included in initial fees
• Shipping Cost for Robot 300
• Bus Transportation 0
• Hotel Accommodations 0
• Meals 0

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Championship Competition Costs Approx. 40 people
will be taken to the Championshop Competition in
Atlanta, Ga.. for 5 days and 4 nights (Wednesday
to Sunday)

• Registration 6,000
• Air Transportation 9,000
• Based on 225 per person
• Bus Transportation
• To / from the airport 300/300 in Atlanta.
• Accommodations Packages through FIRST -
• All inclusive 4 night package -Double or Quad
  355-500 pp
• On our own off site accommodations
• Hotel 80.00 pp/per night, Food , Transportation

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Miscellaneous Costs

• Kick off expenses 500
• Team Uniforms 1000
• T-Shirts and possibly jackets
• Trading Buttons 250
• A FIRST tradition

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How do I obtain additional information??

• To learn more about FIRST
• Visit their Web site at www.usfirst.org
• Visit our website at www.westisliprobotics.com
• View the video take entitled FIRST Foundation
  The Competition
• Call us
• John Zuhoski, West Islip Lead Teacher
• To learn more about the FIRST program see some
  of the excitement, visit some of these web pages
• FIRST's WWW page http//www.usfirst.org
• DELPHI's WWW (lots of pictures)
  http//www.chiefdelphi.com/pics/pictures.pl
• XEROX's team WWW page http//www.X-Cats.org/
• KODAK's team WWW page http//www.geocities.com/Ca
  peCanaveral/Galaxy/3714/MarshallKodak.html