What is FIRST Robotics?
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 120 pounds that can complete a task, which changes every year. In 2010, the 19th year of competition, 1,808 high school teams with roughly 45,000 students from Brazil, Canada, The Netherlands, Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Mexico were involved. Some of its
programs include the
FIRST Tech Challenge,
FIRST Lego League, and the
FIRST Robotics Competition
Who started FIRST?
FIRST Robotics was started by Dean Kamen, the creator of the Segaway, a motorized scooter.
What does FIRST stand for?
FIRST is an acronym. The full name is "For Inspiration & Recognition of Science and Technology."
What is the game and kickoff?
Every year,
FIRST comes up with a game that FIRST teams must build robots to play. This year's game is called "Breakaway". In this game, robots have to navigate over two bumps in the field and score regulation-size soccer balls into the goals. The kick-off is the annual event in January when the game is officially announced. The game is unveiled and demonstrated to the public on this date. From the kick-off to the date the robot must be shipped to the first regional, teams have six weeks to build a robot that can play the game announced in the kickoff.
