The College of Applied Science & Technology at Weber State University launched a new robotics program that challenges students to think like engineers and scientists. The college will be the Utah Affiliate Partner for FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC®) and officially launched its 2012-2013 season with a kickoff event unveiling this year’s game, RING IT UP. FIRST® Tech Challenge ® Teams are made up of young people in grades 7 – 12.
FTC is a robotics competition for junior high and high school students. FTC® is designed for those who want to compete head to head, using a sports model. Teams of up to ten students are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and is programmed using a variety of languages. Teams, including coaches, mentors and volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as for well as for community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments. The ultimate goal of FTC® is to reach more young people with a low-cost, accessible opportunity to discover the excitement and rewards of science, technology, and engineering.
According to Cassandra Olson, who is the Teams and Materials Coordinator for the competition at Weber State, there are fourteen teams already registered. “We expect over 200 kids here to compete in March, from all over Utah and even nearby states like Idaho.” Olson also explained that the competition is made up of two alliances, each consisting of two teams of high school students who compete to score plastic rings on a set of pegs aligned in a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe™ board. Ring It Up! ™ is the eighth FTC challenge. There are more than 2200 teams competing worldwide, already surpassing the number of competitors in last year's competition. The team coaches are given a list of specific materials which they are allowed to use in building their robots. Students are also encouraged to develop their own parts using approved materials.
To learn more about and FTC®, check out the website at http://www.usfirst.org. To learn more about Utah FTC®, volunteer, or start team, go to http://www.weber.edu/utftc.