What is FIRST?

About FIRST

FIRST is a program that inspires students to become leaders in science and technology through mentored, team based, robotics programs that build science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills.

To learn more about FIRST, go to their website at https://www.firstinspires.org/

How is FIRST creating the next generation of engineers?

FIRST's biggest goal has always been to prepare students for the future. Dean Kamen, FIRST founder, says FIRST's mission is "To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."

FTC

What is FTC?

FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) is a program under FIRST for students in grades 7-12 to design, build, program a robot to compete head to head with other teams. Throughout the season teams need to design, build. and program a robot to complete the tasks of the game. At the same time, work needs to be documented for the Engineering Notebook and Portfolio for judging at competitions.

At competitions, teams are randomly paired with another team to form and alliance for the qualification matched, of which each team plays about 5. After the qualification matches, a process called "Alliance Selection" takes place to make the alliances for the semi-finals and finals. These are played in a best of three tournament advancement style. Additionally at the competition, teams are judged on their design and interaction for awards. Throughout the year teams also take part in "outreach" to spread the word of FIRST and engineering to the community. This is very important as one of the main values of FIRST is spreading word in the community. Outreach from the team to people in the community helps share the values of FIRST with the world.

What do FTC teams do?

FTC has three major aspects: building, programming, and business. Building is in charge of designing and making the physical robot to accomplish the tasks of the year specific game. Programming is in charge of making the autonomous program of the robot and the driver operated program to control the robot during each match. Business focuses on the documentation of building and programming for the Engineering Notebook and Portfolio. They also work with groups outside of the team for outreach and fundraising. Team members can be part of several groups or specialize in one.

What is needed to start an FTC team?

Most FTC teams are associated with a school but that is not a requirement. A space to setup a field and work is needed but a dedicated space is not required. It is estimated to cost around $3000 to start a team for registration and buying parts/tools. After the initial cost, grants can be obtained for future funding and other fundraising can help start the team.

A sample budget and basic information about team funding can be found here.

FLL

What is FLL?

FLL (FIRST Lego League) is another FIRST program for students in elementary school and middle school. It is a more simplified robotics program to give and introduction to students. Teams of 4th-8th grade students are challenged to build a robot to complete missions specific to that year's game. Additionally, teams need to complete and Innovation Project related to the challenge of the year.

How does FLL lead into FTC?

A lot of the students in FLL choose to go into FTC in high school from FLL in middle school, but can start as early as 7th grade. The skills from FLL in middle school allows for a smooth transition from FLL into FTC. These skills are then developed even more in FTC to prepare for post education careers.

What do FLL teams do?

FLL teams work towards the major aspects of building a robot and completing and Innovation Project. For building a robot, each year the field has different "missions" for the robot to complete and score points. The robot also must be programmed to complete the missions completely autonomously in a two minute and thirty second run. The Innovation Project is the other part of FLL. Each year, a new challenge is released with a theme. For the project, teams must identify a problem being faced related to that theme and create a solution to the problem. This include researching the problem, researching solutions to create a new one, and talking to experts in the field to gain information. During the competitions, the teams run their robot three times to get the highest score they can. The teams are also interviewed by a panel of judges about their project and robot design to win awards and possibly advance to the next level of competition.

What is needed to start an FLL team?

FLL teams are a lot less expensive than FTC teams. The biggest things needed are Lego Education kits and the year specific field. The kit allows the team to build their robot every year, reusing parts. The field is made of Lego elements on a playing mat inside of a field table. This field is different every year giving new challenges each year.

I want to be on an FTC/FLL team! What do I do?

Before anything you should figure out if you want to be part of an FLL team or an FTC team. This gives just a brief overview of both so it is recommended to look at firstinspires.org for more information. After choosing, you can take a look on the "Project Data" section of this website or talk to people at your school to see if there is already a team in your area. If there is not, reach out to us through "Request at Your Location " and we will help start the process of creating a team. If you have any questions or would like information about if there is a team in your area you can email us at: KrakenPinio@gmail.com

Information about FIRST, FTC and FLL from https://www.firstinspires.org/

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