idealtech.xyz

We know there's a lot to think about when you're getting started with FIRST Tech Challenge. So we wanted to start you off with some of our general building best practices so that you have a couple specific things to think about when you start building your robot.  �         Design to facilitate easy repair. Make sure that every part is accessible and easy to fix for quick and painless pit repair. �          Build the robot for competition. Consider the outcome of different types of collisions and add guards and bumpers in the design to minimize impact. Protect wires and position motors so that the end of the wire is inside the robot body. �         As screws, nuts, and washers are removed from the robot or from early prototypes, check them for damage and discard or mark parts that are no longer perfect. �         Keep drive wheels symmetrical. Asymmetrical wheels will make the robot behave differently when turning in one direction or the other, which makes it more difficult for

Hello from the FIRST Tech Challenge HQ Team! It�s time to start preparing for our season launch, coming up fast in September! While it may seem early to be thinking about this year�s competition, now is the best time to be reviewing your �Getting Started Checklist�! Rookie teams need to be aware of what should be done in preparation for the season, to make sure your team is ready for FIRST Launch! You can start by finding the 7 Essential Steps for starting a FIRST Tech Challenge team. It all starts with understanding what the FIRST Tech Challenge is, and where you can find help in your own town! Joining FIRST Tech Challenge means becoming part of a team that works together alongside your local community to make it to the World Championship! You�ll work with others who have similar interests, learning how to program and build your robot, while developing important skills that will help you become a STEM professional. The FIRST Tech Challenge is one of four programs  within FIRST that

In honor of #NationalSelfieDay and the FIRST Day of Summer, FIRST Tech Challenge is announcing our very FIRST 2018 summer contest! Get three new-to- FIRST friends to sign up to learn more about #FIRSTLaunch2019 and you�ll be entered to win some sweet summer sunglasses.  All you have to do is:  Write a Facebook post celebrating FIRST launch Tag us @FTCteams Tag three new-to- FIRST friends Include this link in your post: https://bit.ly/2Mb6MPX Repeat steps on twitter for an extra entry! Get ready for #FIRSTLaunch2019 and our #CountdowntoKickoff! Contest closes 6/30!

We�re excited to share the news that FIRST Tech Challenge will be making World Championships even louder next year! We�re expanding our footprints in both Houston and Detroit from 128 to 160 teams at each event. More teams mean more fun, and higher levels of competition from teams around the world. FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship registration fees will increase to $2,000 per team. This is the first increase in registration fees since we started the program back in 2007. The elimination of Super Regional events and those costs should help teams offset this increase. Season registration fees remain at $275, and we continue to drive down costs for rookie and veteran teams to obtain hardware and electronics. Our goal is to change the culture, inspiring more students by showing them the fun and excitement of STEM and Gracious Professionalism embedded in the FIRST culture. We do that by getting more and more students, coaches, volunteers and sponsors on board. We�re proud of the work

Most of you reading this are quite familiar with Gracious Professionalism� and Coopertition� . These are key ethos of the FIRST � experience across all programs and help guide us year round. You may not be as familiar with FIRST � �s core values. I�d bet that most folks would not know that the individual programs publish their own core values� and while similar � they�ve been different in each program. Since each program was created and developed on their own separate timelines, choices on format and content developed differently too. FIRST � Tech Challenge  has had the wonderful benefit to look at FIRST �  Robotics Competition , FIRST � LEGO League  and FIRST � LEGO League Junior  for inspiration and best practices. About 12 months ago a cross functional team was pulled together with a plan to synthesize these values, pulling them all together and developing a unified list. What a great project, and I can say the team who contributed finished it fully inspired. These core values will