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Ken Johnson interviews FTC Team #4029 about the transition from the NXT system to the new Android-based platform. We're excited about the positive reviews! With some basic rewiring and a quick setup on your computer your robot can be transitioned to the new Android-based platform. Click below to see the student's interview at the Lexington Pilot event. For more information: Learn about the  FIRST  Tech Challenge Read the  Official  FIRST  Press Release Read the  FTC Technology FAQs webpage   Check out the  FTC Technology Forum

Our next installment of  FTC Tech Talk  gives a more in-depth look at the three programming levels that will be available to FTC teams . Ken Johnson describes the first level as an app that will be available to download on to your robot device and driver station device. The second level of programming that will be available is based on MIT App Inventor, which provides a scratch-like interface. The third level will be Java programming. Check out our video to learn more about the programming options that will be available next season.   MIT App Inventor:  http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/ Android Studio:   http://developer.android.com/training/index.html For more information: Learn about the  FIRST  Tech Challenge Read the  Official  FIRST  Press Release Read the  FTC Technology FAQs webpage   Check out the  FTC Technology Forum

Our next installment of FTC Tech Talk gives a more in-depth look at the technology transition. Ken Johnson discusses the hardware and electronics that can be carried forward with the new platform as well as the exciting transition to Java-based programming. Check out our video to see the configuration of the new platform. For more information: Learn about the FIRST Tech Challenge Read the  Official  FIRST  Press Release Read the  FTC Technology FAQs webpage   Check out the FTC Technology Forum

So many FLL and FTC teams had a blast participating in last year�s MiniBot Challenge that we are doing it again!  Are you ready? To play, you must design a MiniBot, measuring 12"x12"x12" or less, using only parts allowed in the 2014-15 FIRST � Tech Challenge Game Manual Part 1 or FIRST�LEGO� League allowed parts. The only exception to this rule is that the NXT does not have to be physically attached to your MiniBot (if it is, it must fit into the 12"x12"x12" space) and you may use an EV3 in place of the NXT brick. What does the mini-bot do?  It can do anything you want it to, but the cooler, the better.  That's because you're going to upload a video of your robot in action to YouTube and share the link with us.  We'll watch it and if it meets the time criteria (see below), we'll add it to a YouTube playlist.  Then the community will vote on the coolest Bot, and at the end of the contest period the MiniBot with the most likes (1 pt) an...

FIRST Tech Challenge is thrilled to announce a brand new video blog series to help teams and our community transition to the new FTC Android-based technology platform, powered by Snapdragon processors. FTC Tech Talk will bring you along through the transition with us, explaining the benefits of the changes and providing updates in real time. Ken Johnson, Director of FTC will be hosting FTC Tech Talk, so tune in each week for new updates. If you have questions please feel free to post them in the FTC Technology Forum , but remember to read through previous posts before posting and always use Gracious Professionalism . For more information: Read the Official FIRST Press Release Read the FTC Technology FAQs webpage Enjoy FTC Tech Talk!                  

Your FIRST Tech Challenge team just finished their first season. What are you going to do now? Why, share what you've learned by mentoring another team, of course! Fruit Salad and Octopi. That�s exactly what Team #6007 Octopi did. When FIRST Lego League team Fruit Salad transitioned up to FTC, Octopi was there to help. Likewise, Fruit Salad has been mentoring FLL team The Brick 6. It�s not easy to learn all the pieces of being a FIRST team. Sharing knowledge and experience with another group is a valuable way to give back to the community, which is exactly what Octopi and now Fruit Salad are doing. In addition to knowledge, the three teams share work space and resources, too, of great benefit to all three teams.  The Brick Six and Fruit Salad. �The part of FTC that was the most daunting when we were rookies was the actual competition,� said Octopi. They were able to help Fruit Salad be prepared for competition, plus the teams cheer each other on.  �Mentoring other FTC te...

3D Printing for FIRST Teams Authors: Kari Karwedsky, PTC , and Colm Prendergast, Mentor for FIRST Robotics Competition Team 1965 3D Printing Work Flow The 3D Printing Work Flow that we use is composed of 7 steps.   Step 1: Design your part using PTC Creo. Step 2: Export Model from PTC Creo in .stl format. Step 3: Prepare Model and Generate g-code file (or equivalent) for the printer. Step 4: Prepare and Level the 3D Printer Build Plate. Step 5: Load printer filament. Step 6: Print Model. Step 7: Clean up printed model. In this blog post, we will look more closely at Step 7. 3D Printing Step 7: Clean up printed model. Once the print job has been completed the first thing to do is to unload the filament. This is generally good practice and cleans out the extruder to avoid blockages. We usually run the load procedure first to ensure that the extruder flow is still smooth and there have been no problems encountered during the build process. After this has been verified remove the fila...