First Robotics Competition
What is FRC?
First Robotics Competition (commonly abbreviated as FRC) is an annual robotics competition organized by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). High school teams from around the globe have six weeks to design, build, and program a robot to compete in a specific competition. The teams do not know what each years game will be until the Kickoff, which marks the beginning of the build season. There are a specific set of guidelines as to what you can and cannot do or use on your robot, such as the 120 lbs weight limit, and maximum perimeter of 112 inches.
The Teams
Every team that is registered is given a team number, and they are allowed to pick a name for their team. Each team has mentors and students. Mentors can be anyone from professional engineers to parents. FRC is meant for the high school level, but FIRST is not particularly strict on this. My team had numerous students who are below the high school level (I was one for two years). Teams get funding from sponsors and/or from team members, with some big sponsors being Boeing, JCPenny, Nasa, PTC, and others. Teams meet at a variety of places, from high schools to the basements of heating and cooling companies.
There are currently over 5000 teams across the globe have registered, although not all of these are still active.
The Competitions
Every year the competition changes, however specific rules remain the same, such as weight limit and robot perimeter. Games often involve inner tubes, balls, or other projectiles or objects that the robots have to be able to manipulate. Last years game revolved around the shooting of frisbees into goals located at each end of the playing field, and then hanging from a steel bar for extra bonus points at the end of each match. This year's game involves the launching of 3 lbs, 25 inch diameter balls into goals at the end of each field. At the kickoff, there is an animation of the game, here's a link to it:
After the build season, teams compete in regional competitions; these very in size, depending on the location. At each competition, each team is assigned a 10'x10' "pit", where they can work on their robots. Safety glasses are required to go down in this area because small power tools are required, and robots could potentially do damage.
After the regionals, the top 3 teams get free admission to Worlds, where teams from across the world come to compete for the final win. Currently, Worlds is being held at the Edwards Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. It will be held here until 2017, where it will then move back to Atlanta, Georgia. If your team did not qualify for Worlds, you can still pay an admission fee to get in.
The Robot
The robot has a weight limit of 120 lbs, a frame perimeter of 120 inches, and the robot cannot be above 60 inches at the start of each match. The total price of parts used for each robot may not exceed $4000, and no individual part may be more than $400. If you would like to read the entire list of rules, here's a link (it also includes game rules and field specs).
Some teams have all of their parts manufactured for them, but my team has a shop with drill presses, a lathe, a band saw, a mill, and other tools, along with a stock of aluminium. We machine the entire robot ourselves. We are not the only team to do this either.
FAQ
Q. How can I get involved?
A. A great place to start is FRC's website:
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc. Many schools have an FRC team, you could also inquire if your school has one. If not, talk to someone about starting a team, it's a lot of fun! If you are homeschooled or your school is not in a position to create a team, there are other teams you could perhaps join, or you could even make your own. I personally have not done this, so I don't know the details, but again, FRC's website is a great place to get started.
I'll add more if any of you have questions.
Pictures
2012 Game.
Will add more.
