What is FIRST?
FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The program was started in 1989 by Dean Kamen and several others to inspire high school students to take a look at careers in the fields of science, technology, and engineering. Dean saw students idolizing sports players and movie stars instead of people leading the world in new discoveries and technologies. He wanted to show kids that engineering was fun and worth their time. With the popularity of sporting events, FIRST set out to roll a sports event and engineering all into one. Out of that effort, we get the FIRST Robotics Competition in its current form 13+ years later.
What is Invoved?
Every way there is a new season. It offically begins in early January with the FIRST Kick Off Event. This is the time when the national organization reveals the new game. Usually it is a 2 minute match where teams must design, build, run and maintain a robot to best play that years game. Past games have included moving balls, boxes, and triangle shaped goals. The robots have varied between toaster sized remote controlled boxes to 130 pound, five foot high automated machines. Students and mentors have only six weeks to complete the entire process before all the robots from every team must be shipped via FedEx to a holding area where they are stored until competition.
FIRST Compeition
FIRST is all about competing with other teams in a friendly, fair competition. Gracious Professionalism is a major part of FIRST and what makes this program very special. Even though team tries to be the best they can be, they also try to make everyother team the best they can be. If a robot breaks, teams are glad to offer aid in the form of people, knowledge or parts whenever possible. This is a very special feature of FIRST.
Competitions are held at two levels. The first is the regional level where 20-40 teams come together in around 30 locations around the United States and the world to match their robots in a head to head competition. Then the season comes to a close at the Championship Event in Atlanta, Georgia where 300 teams come together in the Georgia Dome. The event is like the Superbowl where some of the greatest engineers of our day come together to usher in the next era of technology with today's high school students. What could be more found?
