FIRST starts the New Year with a new challenge

When the non-profit group FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) kicked off the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) season on January 3 at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH, it introduced a new robotics game it dubbed RECYCLE RUSH.

In addition to the 800 present at the university for the kickoff, nearly 75,000 high-school students on approximately 3,000 teams at 107 venues around the globe got to see the new game simultaneously via live Comcast NBCUniversal broadcast. Sponsored by NASA, Comcast NBCUniversal, and Massachusetts-based PTC, the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff event served as an opportunity for teams from all over the world to come together as a community, seeing the new game unveiled and sharing in the excitement.

The new RECYCLE RUSH playing field seen in the drawing (upper left), was unveiled as a reality (lower right) in January at this year’s FRC kickoff at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH.

Basically, RECYCLE RUSH is a recycling-themed game played by students in two Alliances; each Alliance has of three robots. The robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of swimming-pool “noodles” (long plastic flotation devices) that represent litter. In keeping with the recycling theme, all the game pieces used are reusable or recyclable by teams in their home locations, or by FIRST at the end of the season.

At the kickoff, FIRST Robotics Competition teams were shown the RECYCLE RUSH playing field for the first time and received a parts kit containing motors, batteries, a control system, a PC, and a mix of automation components worth tens of thousands of dollars. What they did not get with the kit were extensive instructions; although they’ll work with adult mentors, they are pretty much on their own to design and construct their robots. The kit suppliers include 3M; AndyMark, Bimba Manufacturing, BURNDY, Cross the Road Electronics, ebm-papst, FedEx; Gates Corporation, igus, Innovation First International, Microsoft; National Instruments, NVIDIA, PTC, Rockwell Automation, and SolidWorks.

The students have six weeks to design, build, program, and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge. Then their teams will participate in one or more of the 105 Regional and District events that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students.

One of the great things about FIRST is that what the kids come up with in the next few weeks may well change the way our world works. To follow the progress of the competition, visit www.usfirst.org.