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The �offseason� has traditionally been the time that FIRST and our community use to gear up for the next season. As we�ve grown the offseason seems to almost be a thing of the past. Offseason events, workshops, and fundraisers have taken the place of much of that downtime. I think that�s due to two things. First, I hope people are doing it because they like it. If not, I can�t imagine we�d have the 150,000 volunteers that participate in FIRST each year. Our community of teams and volunteers is one of the most amazing things about FIRST � and you�re all cut from the same cloth. No wonder you like hanging around together. Second, people are doing it because it matters. The mission of FIRST is imprinted in our hearts and minds. Inspiring the next generation of technology leaders does not apply to just certain groups. If we only inspired certain communities, races, or regions we�d do a dis-service to those omitted. Not only that, we�d do a larger dis-service to ourselves and the world in ...

Dear FIRST Tech Challenge Community,  Super-Regional events were implemented in  FIRST  Tech Challenge starting with competitions held in 2014. Those hosts have done wonderful jobs creating an entirely new competition level within the program. This has allowed us to expand our capacity, provide teams more chances to compete, and continue to have a merit based path to World Championships . The success of Super-Regionals has cemented this competition level into the progression of  FIRST  Tech Challenge events. Our original four Super-Regional hosts agreed to three-years of hosting. This allowed them longer planning windows and leveraged the strong, cross-regional, organizing committees formed for this purpose. As we wind down the first three year cycle we've been working on the next three year cycle. The process to select the next series of Super-Regional hosts was lengthy, and covered most of 2015. We had hosting bids from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Iowa,...

Posted By   Mike Roberts on the Qualcomm Developer Network blog on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2015   Here�s a guest post from Ken Johnson, national director for First Tech Challenge . FTC is a program of local events in which students in grades 7 through 12 design, build and program robots to compete against other teams. This year�s kickoff is on September 12, when FTC�s �Sport for the Mind� extends to software development on Android and the Snapdragon� processor. What are you doing to create the next generation of developers? Most of us are just trying to keep up with technology and build the next killer app or breakthrough smart device. That�s fine, and that challenge will be there tomorrow (and the next day), but think back to what got you interested in being a developer. Just a...

Here at FIRST our mission is to inspire the next generation of technology leaders. That�s a pretty powerful mission, and one that�s hard to argue with.  The question is, how do we do that? Maybe more pointedly, how does the new FIRST Tech Challenge Android-based platform help? FIRST Tech Challenge teams are presented with a completely unstructured problem. They have a list of approved parts and an annual game . From those they must design, develop, build and test a robot. How does Android help better prepare students? While the mechanical and electrical engineering content of the program are about equivalent to prior years, the new Android operating system opens up many more opportunities for FIRST Tech Challenge participants to connect what they�re learning to the real world. FIRST Tech Challenge teams will learn how to program using Java , the backbone of the Android operating system. In doing so they will learn to be App Designers.  According to a January 2015 article ...

Director of FTC, Ken Johnson discusses the components you'll need to transition from an existing FTC robot to the new platform. Check out these videos to take a closer look at the new android device, power module, and legacy module. All of the necessary elements will be available for order from our new FTC storefront as soon as they're available. Click the photos below to see the videos! 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

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 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

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!