For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
Encyclopedia
FIRST is an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen
Dean Kamen
Dean L. Kamen is an American entrepreneur and inventor from New Hampshire.Born in Rockville Centre, New York, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but dropped out before graduating after five years of private advanced research for drug infusion pump AutoSyringe...

 in 1989 to develop ways to inspire students in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

 fields. The organization is the foundation for the FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST Robotics Competition
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...

, FIRST LEGO League
FIRST Lego League
The FIRST® LEGO® League is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students ....

, Junior FIRST LEGO League
Junior FIRST Lego League
Junior FIRST LEGO League is a non-competitive robotics program designed for children ages six to nine. It is one of the programs established by FIRST.Jr.FLL follows the same topics given to FIRST LEGO League...

, and FIRST Tech Challenge
FIRST Tech Challenge
The FIRST Tech Challenge , formerly the FIRST Vex Challenge , is a mid-level robotics competition targeted toward high-school aged students. It offers the traditional challenge of a FIRST Robotics competition but with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit...

 competitions.

FIRST also operates FIRST Place, a research facility at FIRST Headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...

, where it holds educational programs and day camps for students and teachers.

Philosophy

FIRST seeks to promote a philosophy of teamwork
Teamwork
Teamwork is action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities....

 and collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...

 among engineers and encourages competing teams to remain friendly, helping each other out when necessary. Terms frequently applied to this ethos are Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition; terms coined by Woodie Flowers
Woodie Flowers
Woodie C. Flowers is an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His specialty areas are engineering design and product development, he holds the Pappalardo Professorship and is a MacVicar Faculty Fellow....

 and Kamen that support respect towards one's competitors and integrity in one's actions. Coopertition is patented under US Patent 7,507,169 by Dean Kamen.

FIRST Robotics Competition

The first and highest scale program developed through FIRST is the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), which is designed to inspire high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 students to become engineers by giving them real world experience working with engineers to develop a robot. The inaugural FIRST Robotics Competition was held in 1992 in the Manchester Memorial High School
Manchester Memorial High School
Manchester Memorial High School is a four-year comprehensive school in Manchester, New Hampshire with an enrollment of approximately 2,100. The school's Latin motto is "scientia est potentia."...

 gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...

nasium. , over 3,000 high school teams totaling over 46,000 students from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and more compete in the annual competition.

The competition challenge changes each year, and the teams can only reuse certain components from previous years. The robots weigh about 150 lb (68 kg), including batteries and bumpers, depending on that year's rules. The kit issued to each team contains a base set of parts. Registration and the kit of parts together cost about US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

6000. In addition to that, teams are allowed to spend another $3500 on their robot. The purpose of this rule is to lessen the influence of money on teams' competitiveness. Details of the game are released on the first Saturday in January (except when that Saturday falls on January 1 or 2), and the teams are given six weeks to construct a robot that can accomplish the game's tasks.

In 2011, teams participated in 48 regional and district competitions throughout March in an effort to qualify for the FIRST Championship in St. Louis in April. Previous years' Championships have been held in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 and at Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...

's Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...

. On October 7, 2009, FIRST announced that the Championship Event will be held in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 for 2011 through 2013.
Each year the FIRST Robotics Competition has scholarships for the participants in the program. In 2011 there are over $14 million worth of scholarships from more than 128 colleges and universities, associations, and corporations.

FIRST LEGO League

In 1998, the FIRST LEGO
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

 League (FLL), a program similar to the FIRST Robotics Competition, was formed. It is aimed at 9 to 14-year-old students and utilizes LEGO Mindstorms
Lego Mindstorms
The LEGO Mindstorm series of kits contain software and hardware to create small, customizable and programmable robots. They include a programmable 'Brick' computer that controls the system, a set of modular sensors and motors, and LEGO parts from the Technics line to create the mechanical...

 sets (NXT or RCX) to build palm-sized LEGO robots, which are then programmed using either the ROBOLAB software (RCX-based systems) or Mindstorms NXT software (for NXT-based systems) to autonomously compete against other teams. The ROBOLAB software is based on National Instruments
National Instruments
National Instruments Corporation, or NI , is an American company with over 5,000 employees and direct operations in 41 countries. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software...

' LabVIEW
LabVIEW
LabVIEW is a system design platform and development environment for a visual programming language from National Instruments. LabVIEW provides engineers and scientists with the tools needed to create and deploy measurement and control systems.The graphical language is named "G"...

 industrial control engineering software. The combination of interchangeable LEGO parts, computer 'bricks', sensors, and the aforementioned software, provide preteens and teenagers with the capability to build reasonably complex models of real-life robotic systems. This competition also utilizes a research element that is themed with each year's game, and deals with a real-world situation for students to learn about through the season. The simplistic nature of its games, its relatively low team startup costs, and its association with the Lego Group
Lego Group
The LEGO Group is a family-owned company based in Billund, Denmark, and best known for the manufacture of Lego-brand toys.The company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen...

 mean that it is the most extensive of all FIRST competitions, despite a lower profile and fewer sponsors than FTC or FRC. In 2009, 14,725 teams from 56 countries participated in local, regional, national, and international competitions, compared with around 1,600 teams in roughly 10 countries for FRC.

Junior FIRST LEGO League

The Junior FIRST LEGO League is a variation of the FIRST LEGO League, aimed towards elementary school children, in which kids ages 5 to 8 build LEGO models dealing with that year's FLL challenge. At least one part of a model has a moving component. The teams participate in exhibitions around the country, where they demonstrate and explain their models and research for award opportunities.

FIRST Tech Challenge

The FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), formerly FIRST Vex Challenge (FVC), is a mid-level robotics competition announced by FIRST on March 22, 2005. According to FIRST, this competition was designed to be a more accessible and affordable option for schools. FIRST has also said that the FTC program was created for those of an intermediate skill level. FIRST Tech Challenge robots are approximately one-third the scale of their FRC counterparts. The FTC competition is meant to provide a transition for students from the FLL
FIRST Lego League
The FIRST® LEGO® League is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students ....

 competition to the FRC competition. FTC was developed for the Vex Robotics Design System, which is available commercially.

The 2005 FVC pilot season featured a demonstration of the FIRST Vex Challenge using a 1/3 linear scale mock-up of the 2004 FRC Competition, FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar
FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar
FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar was the 2004 game for the FIRST Robotics Competition. The game included elements from previous years' games, including mobile goals, "capping" goals with large inflatable balls, and others...

. For their 2005-2006 Pilot Season, FVC teams played the Half-Pipe Hustle
Half-Pipe Hustle
Half-Pipe Hustle was the first official FIRST Vex Challenge game, taking place in 2005-2006. In this challenge, robotics teams built robots from the Vex design kit to compete in competitions across the United States and in other nations, in matches consisting of a 45-second autonomous period,...

 game using racquet balls and ramps.

For the 2006-2007 FTC Season, the FIRST Tech Challenge teams competed in the Hangin'-A-Round
Hangin'-A-Round
Hangin'-A-Round was the name of the robotics contest at the 2006-2007 FIRST Vex Challenge. The contest involved building a robot from a kit that could attain a higher score than the opposition by placing the softballs into the colored goals, possessing the “atlas ball”, and by being parked on the...

 challenge using softballs, rotating platforms, a hanging bar, and a larger 'Atlas' ball which is significantly larger than most Vex robots and harder to manipulate. Competitions were held around the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

For the 2008-2009 FTC season, a new kit was introduced, as FIRST moved away from the VEX platform and worked with several different vendors to create a custom kit and control system for FTC known as Tetrix
Tetrix Robotics Kit
TETRIX Robotics is a robotic kit by Pitsco, Inc., intended for educational purposes and the FIRST Tech Challenge.-Building system:The main structural TETRIX pieces are aluminum channel with a trademarked hole pattern that enables connections at multiples of 45°. The pieces are attached using bolts...

. Based around the LEGO Mindstorms NXT "brain" and including secondary specialized controllers to overcome the limitations of the NXT, teams use a Bluetooth link between the NXT and a laptop running FTC driver station software. A team's drivers then use either one or two USB gamepads to control their robots.

Support

FIRST itself is a self-supporting organization; however, individual teams almost universally rely on outside funding sources. It also takes significant outside funds to run regional events and the FIRST Championship. In 2010, FIRST was a recipient of a Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

 Project 10^100 grant.

Intra-team

Teams may request that team members, whether mentors or students, contribute to the costs of running a team. For example, members may pay a fee or donate tools and facilities.

Inter-team

Teams frequently give other teams support. This may mean providing funds, tools, or facilities. Gracious professionalism and coopertition are core tenets of the FIRST philosophy.

Community

The most common method of monetary and resource sponsorship teams comes through the community surrounding the team. Since the majority of teams are based around a school or a school district, schools often provide the infrastructure needed to run a team. Local governments and individual citizens may provide funds and other support to teams. Local universities and colleges often give significant funds to teams.

Corporate

Corporate donations and grants usually provide the majority of a mature team's funds. Major donors include BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...

, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

, Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...

, and National Instruments
National Instruments
National Instruments Corporation, or NI , is an American company with over 5,000 employees and direct operations in 41 countries. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software...

.

Government

Each year during his speech at the kickoff event, founder Dean Kamen gives the student participants a homework assignment. It often involves spreading the word about FIRST in various ways, such as increasing attendance at regionals (2005), mentoring rookie teams, making sure that FIRST-specific scholarships are applied for (2004), and researching the capabilities of motors and disseminating that information to other teams (2006). In 2007, Dean's homework was for each team to contact their government officials (e.g. mayors, legislators, governors, federal officials) and invite them to a FIRST regional or the championship to expose them to the competition and increase the level of political awareness of FIRST. In 2008, it was to inform the media more about FIRST. In 2009, the homework was for each team to have all students, mentors, and other persons involved with their team (past or present) register with FIRST. One goal of this registration process was to provide FIRST with data to demonstrate that many people had benefited from their experiences in FIRST robotics and to encourage more funding of robotics-related events.

At the World Championship in Atlanta, speakers have included former President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 George Herbert Walker Bush in 2008, and United States Secretary of Education
United States Secretary of Education
The United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession...

 Arne Duncan
Arne Duncan
Arne Duncan is an American education administrator and currently United States Secretary of Education. Duncan previously served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.-Early years and personal:...

 in 2010. In 2010, former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Jon Dudas
Jon Dudas
Jonathan W. Dudas served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office until January 18, 2009. He was nominated to the position by former President George W. Bush in March 2004 and appointed in July 2004...

 was selected to be the President of FIRST.

FIRST has received the attention of politicians in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 as well. Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 MPP Bob Delaney
Bob Delaney
Bob Delaney is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Mississauga—Streetsville for the Ontario Liberal Party....

 made remarks in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 regarding his experience at an FRC competition.

NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

, through its Robotics Alliance Project, is a major supporter of FIRST.

Timeline

Note: All years indicate the year that the championship for that game was held.
Year FRC
FIRST Robotics Competition
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...

 
FLL
FIRST Lego League
The FIRST® LEGO® League is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students ....

 
FTC
FIRST Tech Challenge
The FIRST Tech Challenge , formerly the FIRST Vex Challenge , is a mid-level robotics competition targeted toward high-school aged students. It offers the traditional challenge of a FIRST Robotics competition but with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit...

1992 Maize Craze
Maize Craze
Maize Craze was the game in the inaugural year, 1992, of the FIRST Robotics Competition. This game was played by four individual robots trying to collect tennis balls into their starting base...

 
1993 Rug Rage
Rug Rage
Rug Rage was the 1993 game of the FIRST Robotics Competition. In it, teams competed individually to score as many balls as possible in their goal. , it is the only year to see a decrease in the number of team competing.-Field:...

 
1994 Tower Power
Tower Power
-Field:The Playing Field was a carpeted regular dodecagon which measured across. The surface consists of a closed loop, low piled carpet. The perimeter of the field was defined by four-by-four boards. At the beginning of a match, there were 36 soccer balls arranged into 6 piles of 6 identical...

 
1995 Ramp 'n Roll
Ramp 'n Roll
-Field:The playing field is a carpeted modified T-shaped area. The goal area is made up of three ramps and two slopes leading to a square platform. In each match, three teams compete to put their own balls over a field goal.-Robots:...

 
1996 Hexagon Havoc
Hexagon Havoc
Hexagon Havoc was the 1996 game for the FIRST Robotics Competition. Seeding games of 1-on-1-on-1 were played double-elimination to determine the teams for the finals rounds. In the finals, robots played 1-on-1 in a best 2 out of 3.-Field:...

 
1997 Toroid Terror 
1998 Ladder Logic
Ladder Logic
Ladder Logic was the game for the 1998 FIRST Robotics Competition.-Field:The playing field is a carpeted, hexagon-shaped area with an tall central goal. Three horizontal rail goals extend outward from the center. Each ball placed on the rail goals scores points and each ball in the center doubles...

 
1999 Double Trouble
Double Trouble (FIRST)
-Field:The playing field is a carpeted, rectangular area. Alliances score points by positioning "floppies," their robots, and a "puck" on the playing field. "Floppies" are light-weight, pillow-like objects with Velcro-loop material located in its centre and around its perimeter. The "puck" is a...

 
Pilot Year 
2000 Co-Opertition FIRST
Co-Opertition FIRST
-Field:The playing field was a carpeted, rectangular area with two high goals located midfield, one goal for each alliance. There is a clearance bar under each goal. Between the goals is an wide ramp with a clearance bar, which robots may hang on to score points...

 
FIRST Contact
First contact
-In anthropology:* First contact , a first meeting of two previously unknown cultures* First Contact , a documentary by Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson* First Contact , a 2004 book by Mark Anstice-In music:...

 
2001 Diabolical Dynamics
Diabolical Dynamics
-Field:The playing field is a carpeted, rectangular area. Dividing the field in half is an high railing with a central bridge, which can tilt to either side of the field or remain level. Two high movable goals begin on opposite sides of the field. Around the perimeter of the field are two...

 
Volcanic Panic 
2002 Zone Zeal
Zone Zeal
Zone Zeal was the 2002 game for the FIRST Robotics Competition. In it, robots playing in alliances of 2 competed to move goals and balls into various zones within the playing field.-Playing Field:The playing field was divided into fifths called zones...

 
Arctic Impact 
2003 Stack Attack
Stack Attack
Stack Attack is the game for the 2003 FIRST Robotics Competition. In Stack Attack, two teams of two robots each attempt to win by moving large Sterilite bins into their zone and arranging them into stacks.-Layout:...

 
City Sights 
2004 FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar
FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar
FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar was the 2004 game for the FIRST Robotics Competition. The game included elements from previous years' games, including mobile goals, "capping" goals with large inflatable balls, and others...

 
Mission Mars
Mission Mars
Mission Mars was the 2003-04 challenge theme of FIRST Lego League. It revolved around the NASA missions to Mars with the Spirit and Opportunity rovers.-Project:...

 
2005 Triple Play
Triple Play (FIRST)
Triple Play was the name of the 2005 season FIRST Robotics Competition game.-Basic Description:Triple Play was the FIRST Robotics Competition game released on January 8, 2005. This is the first time the game rules PDF files were made available in late December to teams prior to the official...

 
No Limits
No Limits (FIRST)
No Limits is the 2004-05 FIRST Lego League challenge theme. It focused on solutions for aiding people with physical disabilities. The year's theme was introduced by the story Late for Lunch by James Patrick Kelly, which the described the life of a disabled child.-Project:Teams were tasked with...

 
2006 Aim High  Ocean Odyssey
Ocean Odyssey (FIRST)
Ocean Odyssey is the 2005-06 FIRST Lego League challenge theme. It centered on topics relating to the world's oceans and oceanography. The challenge was developed with the collaboration of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.-Project:Teams were...

 
Pilot Year: Half-Pipe Hustle
2007 Rack 'n Roll
Rack 'n Roll
Rack 'n Roll is the game for the 2007 FIRST Robotics Competition season, announced on January 6, 2007. In it, two alliances of three teams each compete to arrange toroidal game pieces on a central arena element known as 'The Rack'.-Classes:...

 
Nano Quest
Nano Quest
Nano Quest was name of the 2006-07 challenge theme of FIRST Lego League. It revolved around the emerging field of nanotechnology.-Project:Teams were tasked with identifying an application of nanotechnology, see where current research stands and creatively improve upon it...

 
Hangin'-A-Round
Hangin'-A-Round
Hangin'-A-Round was the name of the robotics contest at the 2006-2007 FIRST Vex Challenge. The contest involved building a robot from a kit that could attain a higher score than the opposition by placing the softballs into the colored goals, possessing the “atlas ball”, and by being parked on the...

2008 FIRST Overdrive
FIRST Overdrive
FIRST Overdrive was the 2008 game for the FIRST Robotics Competition, announced on January 5, 2008. In it, teams competed to complete counterclockwise laps around a central barrier while manipulating large diameter "Trackballs" over and under overpasses to score additional points.-Game...

 
Power Puzzle  Quad Quandary
Quad Quandary
In the 2007-2008 FIRST Tech Challenge robot competition, Quad Quandary is the first challenge theme replacing the former FIRST Vex Challenge, with similar general rules regarding the specifications of the robot and the game play...

2009 Lunacy
Lunacy (FIRST)
Lunacy is the game for the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition.Announced on January 3, 2009, the name and some of the features of the game honor the 40th anniversary of the first manned mission to the Moon . It is FRC's 18th game. This is the first FRC competition to use the cRIO Mobile...

 
Climate Connections
Climate Connections
Climate Connections was the 2008-09 FIRST Lego League competition. Its theme was understanding of the effects of climate and climate change.-Project:...

 
Face Off
Face Off (FIRST)
Face Off is the 2008-2009 competition event of FIRST Tech Challenge. Two teams compete to score points by placing pucks into designated areas.-Game rules:...

2010 Breakaway
Breakaway (FIRST)
Breakaway is the game for the 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition, announced on January 9, 2010. Robots direct soccer balls into goals, traverse "bumps" in the field, suspend themselves and each other on towers, and/or go through a tunnel located in the center of the field.In 2010, a new driver station...

 
Smart Move
Smart Move (FIRST)
Smart Move is the name of the 2009-10 FIRST Lego League challenge, released September 3, 2009. It is centered around transport and how to make new and more efficient forms.-Project:...

 
Hot Shot!
Hot Shot!
Hot Shot! is the robotics competition event in the 2009-2010 FIRST Tech Challenge. Two teams compete to score points by depositing whiffle balls into designated areas.-Field Description:...

2011 Logo Motion
Logo Motion
Logo Motion is the 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition game. Playing pieces are inner tubes shaped like the components of the FIRST logo. The primary objective of the game is to place them on racks to gain points. In the endgame, robots deploy smaller robots to climb a tower. Minibots must be made...

 
Body Forward  Get Over It!
Get Over It!
Get Over It! is the robotics competition event for the 2010-11 FIRST Tech Challenge. Two teams compete to score points by depositing colored batons in various types of goals...

2012 - Food Factor
Food Factor
Food Factor is the FIRST Lego League competition for 2011-12; released on September 2. It focuses on food safety and methods to prevent contamination.This is the first year that the name of the challenge theme of FLL is different from Jr.FLL...

 
Bowled Over!
Bowled Over!
Bowled Over!, released on 10 September 2011, is the 2011-12 robotics competition for FIRST Tech Challenge. Two alliances compete to score racquetballs into alliance-colored scoring goals. The name refers to two bowling balls on the field used for scoring points.-Alliances:In each match, the four...


See also

  • FIRST Robotics Competition
    FIRST Robotics Competition
    The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...

  • FIRST Lego League
    FIRST Lego League
    The FIRST® LEGO® League is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students ....

  • FIRST Tech Challenge
    FIRST Tech Challenge
    The FIRST Tech Challenge , formerly the FIRST Vex Challenge , is a mid-level robotics competition targeted toward high-school aged students. It offers the traditional challenge of a FIRST Robotics competition but with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit...

  • Junior FIRST Lego League
    Junior FIRST Lego League
    Junior FIRST LEGO League is a non-competitive robotics program designed for children ages six to nine. It is one of the programs established by FIRST.Jr.FLL follows the same topics given to FIRST LEGO League...

  • Dean Kamen
    Dean Kamen
    Dean L. Kamen is an American entrepreneur and inventor from New Hampshire.Born in Rockville Centre, New York, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but dropped out before graduating after five years of private advanced research for drug infusion pump AutoSyringe...

  • Woodie Flowers
    Woodie Flowers
    Woodie C. Flowers is an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His specialty areas are engineering design and product development, he holds the Pappalardo Professorship and is a MacVicar Faculty Fellow....

  • Vex Robotics Design System — originally used in the FIRST Tech Challenge
    FIRST Tech Challenge
    The FIRST Tech Challenge , formerly the FIRST Vex Challenge , is a mid-level robotics competition targeted toward high-school aged students. It offers the traditional challenge of a FIRST Robotics competition but with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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