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Electrostatic discharge events (aka �ESD events�) have the potential to disrupt the normal operation of competition robot.   As a robot moves across the floor of a FIRST Tech Challenge field, the robot tends to accumulate positive electrostatic charge on its metallic frame due to a physical phenomenon known as the triboelectric effect .   The charge that builds up on the frame can be significant (on the order of 25kV or higher).   If the charged robot touches another conductive object (such as a metallic game element, the perimeter wall, or another robot) that is at a different electrostatic potential value, an electrostatic discharge can occur and current will flow from one conductive body to the other as the charges equilibrate. These ESD events can disrupt, or in rare cases, damage the Control System electronics on a competition robot.   Charge is transferred from wheel to floor due to the triboelectric effect. Electrostatic buildup is a problem in robotics compet...

After reviewing over one hundred amazing applicants, FIRST Tech Challenge and the Game Design Committee are pleased to announce the newest addition to the Committee, Jessica Bollin Smith! Jessica joins us from Ohio, where she pursued Mechanical and Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Toledo. For the past six years, she has worked as an electrical systems design engineer. In her spare time, she mentors two FIRST Tech Challenge teams and referees for FIRST Lego League local and state tournaments. She has become immersed in FIRST over the last seven years. Jessica joins the Game Design Committee just in time to help us finalize the game for the 2018-2019 season. She will then continue on for the next year as we plan for our 2019-2020 game. Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Jessica!

Team 6220 Centripetal is part of Swerve Robotics club from Woodinville, WA . This season, Team 6220 had a unique opportunity to assist the FIRST Tech Challenge with testing and roll-out of a newly approved electronics module. Read on to learn about their experiences with the new REV Robotics Expansion Hub. Q: Tell us a little bit about Team 6220 Centripetal.  How long have you been participating in the FIRST Tech Challenge?  Who are the members and mentors that make up the team? A: 6220 has been in FIRST Tech Challenge for 5 seasons, but our current team make-up has been together for 2 years. We have 8 students, a coach/hardware mentor, and an assistant coach/software mentor. Our coach is Dr. Fraser, and our Assistant Coach is Dr. Geffner. As for students, our team captain this year was Jarrod, who put a lot of time into team management. Our systems engineer was Miyu, who did a lot of our CAD and notebook, and who also made a VR simulator of the game in Blender. Our hardware ...

2016 Dean�s List Award Winner Anika Yardi was chosen to speak at the 2016 Supporters Summit this past July. The Supporter Summit runs in conjunction with the Dean�s List Summit, where the 10 FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition Dean�s List Award Winners are invited to Manchester for a whirlwind of events! Anika was chosen to speak at Dean Kamen�s house, with Dean, Woodie Flowers, Don Bossi, and numerous vendors and supporters of FIRST in the audience. We�re excited to share her speech, which is a story of her journey of starting out as a student with no robotics experience, to a leader of her FIRST Tech Challenge team! It was the fall of my freshman year, 2013. My robotics journey was supposed to last for five minutes. It was the beginning of the year in ninth grade, and I had promised my new friend Delia that I would go with her to Room 361 to check out a robotics club. It was the end of lunch, and as a result, the end of the interest meeting the club had planned for ...

The FTC season is well underway. Scrimmages, Meets, and Qualifier events have officially started, and in some places the State Championship is coming up within the next couple of months. But did you know that there is still time to apply for the Dean�s List Award? Laura Irvine, a 2015 FIRST Tech Challenge Winner has this to say to any Mentor or Coach that has been thinking about nominating their students for the Dean�s List Award. �Apply! Apply! Apply! Don�t be afraid because you think other people do more than you, because it�s not really about that, it�s about how you make the most out of FIRST for yourself and the people around you. Plus the entire experience was a ton of fun, and I met lots of amazing and inspiring people along the way.� This past July, the ten   FIRST Tech Challenge and ten   FIRST Robotics Competition 2015 Dean�s List Award Winners were flown to Manchester as part of winning the Dean� s List Award. For FIRST Tech Challenge, this was a celebration of th...