Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovating programs to build self confidence, knowledge, and life skills, while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With the support of many of the world's most well known companies, the not for profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge for high school students, FIRST LEGO League for children 9-14 years old, and Junior FIRST LEGO League for 6 to 9 year olds.
Anyone can be an important and valuable member of the Robotics team by trying their hardest to learn and contribute to the team. The team consists of sub teams which include mechanical, electrical, programming, 3D animation, speech, presentation, public relations, and spirit. New team members learn the basics of the metal and woods shops while getting in on the robot action in the "Bot Shop" located at 110 N. Pecatonica St, Winnebago.
Mechanical
The mechanical sub-team constructs the robot. Some sample components of past robots include the chassis, the drive system, the robot pickup, and the arm. The duties of the sub-team include welding, cutting, and manipulating different materials to use on the robot.
Electrical
Think wires! The electrical sub-team wires the robot, gets appropriate motors, builds the control panel, makes sure the batteries are charges, and perfects the joysticks. This group is also constantly called on to fix problems with past robots.
Programming
The programming sub-team has a very important job. It checks the robot to make sure it is functioning properly. This team is in charge of making sure the camera, controls, and motors are working properly. Programming and testing the robot in autonomous mode (the part of the game when the robot functions completely on its own) is another one of this group's many duties.
3D Animation
This sub-team creates a 3D animation for presentations, awards, and works extremely hard creating movies for the team. The work is hard and tedious, but does not get all the appreciation it deserves.
Speech, Presentation, and Public Relations
This group of students is involved with making Power Point presentations to sponsors and various community members interested in the robot and the robotics program. They have also taken charge of creating posters for several community outreach programs.
Spirit
The spirit team was started in 2007. This group holds meetings, makes plans for the mascot, creates posters, banners, cheers, and other spirit wear for competitions. Our mentors have been a big help with the spirit team.
Mentors
An important component to any successful robotics team is the mentors. These adults devote countless hours, not only supervising the team during build season, but also organizing fund raisers, community out reach events, transporting students, and are among our teams best cheerleaders and promoters. A big thank you goes to all those adults that help make our team successful.
As one can see, there are many areas that a student can contribute to a Robotics team. FIRST Robotics teams can use anyone's skills, no matter what they may be. That is why FIRST is such a great program. Many students have come together to find skills they never knew they had. The Robotics Program have brought together students and created a network of robotics connections throughout the country, not only forging lasting friendships, but creating connections to support our future students in science, technology, and engineering.
To learn more about FIRST, please visit the FIRST website at http://usfirst.org/.
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