2011 FIRST Robotics Competition

[AmericanSailor]

Hello Everyone!

Today at 10:30 E.S.T., via live simulcast from NASA, the rules and game for the 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition were broadcast. Now, over 2,000 teams both nationally and internationally will have six weeks to build a robot to compete in a game called LogoMotion!

LogoMotion Game Video

Now, some of you might be asking, what are you talking about? What is this? Well, for the past 20 years, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) has been encouraging and preparing students to prepare for the future by creating creating one of the most fun and competitive sports on the planet!. (Sorry, trying to control myself).

Winning, though satisfying and fun, is not our principal motivation. We participate under the banner of Gracious Professionalism. "Competition for the sake not of destroying one another, but for the sake of bettering and improving both competitors as a result of the competition." Preparing ourselves for the future and igknighting the earth with our spirit of Coopertition is integral to the experience of FIRST.

So, we are High School Students building a 120 pound robot in a hallway. Can anyone see where I am going with this? maybe? Astro in our lifetime? I'd place my bets on the future of these kids.

And if any of you participate in FIRST, I give you our best from team #3173, the IgKnighters of McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, NY.

btw, here is our team website that we just recently remade (and are still adding finishing touches): http://igknighters.com/Robotics/Home.html
and yes, students made it.

[jeffbert]

I viewed the video on your team's page, and noted that only a small portion of the event is actually performed by fully autonomous robots, while the bulk the 'robots' are remote controlled. This was last year's event. How much of the current event is fully autonomous?

[AmericanSailor]

The first 15 seconds of the match is completely autonomous with the bots trying to score with yellow tubes. During the final 15 seconds, the mini-bot race is also completely autonomous.

The video on our site is of this years event. The right column on the home page is all dedicated to this years game (LogoMotion), while there is a piece about last years game on the bottom of the left column (BreakAway).

[Astro Forever]

Wow, nice challenge! Tell us how it goes! Good luck!