Star%ng a WI FTC Team ByFTC4106SupposableThumbs

6/12/2017

What is FIRST Tech Challenge

•  Youthrobo<csprogramaimedatteaching7th-12thgradestudentsreal-worldengineering,businessandinterpersonalskills.•  Ajudgedcompe<<oninvolvingarangeoftechnicalandnon-technicalareas.•  Asports-likecompe<<onwhererobotsbaKlewithandagainsteachotherwiththegoaltowinningachampionship.•  Ahands-onopportunityforstudentstodevelopskillsinmechanics,electronics,soLwareprogrammingandavarietyofbusinessskills.•  Coachesandmentorsteachteachconceptsandreal-worldskillsandbringperspec<vefromIndustry.

•  Studentsdesign,build,plan,compete,win,lose,succeed,fail,learn.

Flow of a season (Wisconsin) Timeframe Ac+vity

SeptembertoNovember/December Kickoff,startdesigning,building,programming

December/January Regionalcompe<<ons(1-3),possiblyadvancetostatechampionship

1stWeekendofFebruary StateChampionship(UW-Milwaukee),2teamsadvanceto“SuperRegionals”

1stWeekendofApril “SuperRegionals”(CedarRapids,IA)–PossibleadvancementtoWorldChampionship

3rdor4thweekendofApril WorldChampionship(Detroit)

YearRound ImproveSkills

YearRound Makeconnec<onswithacademia,industryprofessionals,otherteams

YearRound Dooutreachac<vi<estospreadFIRSTandSTEMinthecommunity

Time Commitment • RegionalLevel:4-6hoursperweek

•  StateLevel:6-10hoursperweek

•  SuperRegionalsLevel:10-20hoursperweek

• WorldsLevel:15+hoursperweekThereissignificantvalueintheprogramatanyoftheseengagementlevels.

First Year Startup Costs ($6,500-$9,000) •  FIRSTRegistra<on($275)

•  Tools($1,500)•  AlanWrenches,screwdrivers,hammers•  DremelTool•  Metalcubngsaw(recommendDeWaltDW872)•  CordedorCordlessToolset(Drill,sawzall)

•  Drills,blades,etc.•  Op<onalTools

•  BandSaw,Lathe,Mill,CNCrouter,logicanalyzer,voltagemeter,3DPrinter

•  Ini<alMechanicalKitofParts($1,000+)•  Needtodecideonwhichpartvendortostart

•  Ini<alElectronicsSet,incl.2setsofphones($1,500+)•  Newop<onsavailable(butunproven)•  GetenoughbaKeriesandchargerstohandlelongprac<ces.(min4)

•  ConsumableMaterials($200-$500)•  Lexan,sheetaluminum,paint,tape,etc.

•  Computersx2,printer($1200)•  LaptopforProgramming,anythingfromtablettodesktoptodoEngineeringNotebook,prin<ngofteammaterials,socialmedia,hun<ngfor

answers,etc.

•  RelicRecoveryGameFieldElements–canpurchase¼,½orwholethisyear($150-$600)

•  FieldPerimeterand<le($100-$900)•  About$650fortheperimeterand$250forthe<le.•  Manyteamsdonotbuythefieldperimeterintheirearlyyears.ItcanbemadefromPVCorwood,too.•  Manyteamsbuy½fieldandsome<leandworkfromthat•  NOTE:Wearesellingourolder(nicer)field

•  Supplies($250)

•  TeamT-Shirts($150)

•  TournamentRegistra<ons($175/regional,$250/state)

Lookforcrea+vewaystocutcosts!•  FIRSTsponsorshipofregistra<on•  Doesyourschoolalreadyhaveametals

shop?Thatishuge!•  Rummagesalesfortools–orputan

announcementoutatschooltohavepeoplebringunusedtoolsin

•  Cantheschoolprovidethecomputers?Canyouusethecomputerlabfor‘business’ac<vi<es?

•  Canaparentgetagentlyusedlaptopfromaparent’sworkplace?

•  NoteveryonestartswithafullfieldofgameelementsandmanyteamsgowithouttheperimeterorsimulateitwithwoodorPVCfortheirfirstseason.

A place to meet

•  Ideally,adedicated>25’x25’space•  Butalmostnobodygetsthat!

• Usually,sometemporaryspacetosetup,prac<ce,teardown•  Thefieldistheprimaryspaceeaterat12’x12’•  Ifyoudoapar<alfield,thiscanbeeasilysetupandtorndowneachprac<ce

• Manyteamsworkfrommentor’s/parent’shomes•  Probablyover50%•  Providesmorereadyaccesstofacilityany<me•  Basement,Garage,Unusedroom•  OLenmentorshavesomepreKyniceshopssibngdoingnothing

Mentors •  Twominimumateveryprac<ce

•  Strictlyspeaking,nospecialskillsneeded.Studentsdothework.

•  Tomaximizelearning,itcanbegoodtohavementorswithtrainingin•  Programming(FTCusesJavaonAndroidphones)•  MachineShopToolusage•  CAD(ifyouwillhavemillor3Dprint)•  Marke<ng/Business/Finance

•  Itcanbeagoodarrangementtohaveonecoachworkwithrobotstudentsandoneworkwithbusinessstudents.•  Recommendthateverystudenthaveac<vityinbothareas

Engineering Notebook •  Thisanessen<alar<factoftheteam’sjourneyinFTC.Ifyouwanttobenominatedforanaward,itisaminimumrequirementforallofthem.• Documenteverythingyoudoasateam

•  Outreach,aKendkickoff,design,brainstorming,build,test,compe<<ons,etc.

•  Thereisnostandard.Thereisnobestway.•  4106hascreatedawayfornewteamstogetstarted(weuseittoo)

•  Itisnotintendedtobeatradi<onalengineeringnotebookthattracksinven<onforpatents.•  Itismeanttobeastoryoftheteam’sjourney.

FTC Landscape (North Region, Global) •  Lastyeartherewereabout5,400FTCteamsintheworld.•  ThisissplitalmostperfectlybetweenWest,East,NorthandSouthregions• About1400teamsintheMidwest(North)region.•  Iowa&Michiganarethebiggeststatesintheregionduetogovernmentsupport• NorthSuperRegional(NSR)heldinCedarRapidsIowa

•  72teamsfrom13statesmakeNSR•  Spotsallocatedbystateteamcount,notcompe<<veness

•  MIgets14teams,IAgets16teams.MIisonlymiddleschool.•  WI=2,IN=3,OH=5,MN=6–manytopteamsforInspireandWorldChampioncomefromthesestates…

FTC Landscape (Wisconsin) •  LastyearWisconsinhad~40teamsthatcompeted.

•  Downabitfromthepreviousyears•  Held2regionals,needsmore.

• Wisconsin’scompe<<venessatthetopisveryhigh•  9956didn’twinanawardatWIstate,butwonInspire1statregionalandstatelevelinMissouri•  MOisconsideredastrongstate.

•  TheWIchampionshipdoubledthenumberofhighRPscoresintheMidwestwhenitwasplayedandaccountedfor~¼ofthemoverall.

•  Everyyear,everyteamthatadvancedpaststatehasdonewell•  Lastyear,forexample:

•  4106and9956madefinalsatsuperregionalsand10294washighlyranked.•  4106wasNSRRockwellCollinsInnovateAward3rdatNSR•  10294wasWorldEdisonDivisionFinalistCaptain.•  4106wasWorldMo<vateAwardFinalist•  4106Member(Tim)wonWorldDean’sListAward

•  75%ofteamsareinSoutheastWisconsin.

Where to get Help • GraciousProfessionalismisstronginWI.Manystrongprogramsarewillingtohelpnewteams•  Sometradi<onallystrongprogramstoaskforhelp:

•  4106SupposableThumbs(NewBerlin)•  4605RoboHackerz(BeaverDam)•  4116/8680/4115/etc.(MequonHomestead)•  265/5650VikingRobo<csandVikingII(Milwaukee)•  10686Phoenix(Madison–BadgerBots)•  6981HortonvilleRobo<cs(Hortonville)

• WebResources•  FTCForumsarethebestplacehKps://Lcforum.usfirst.org/•  RedditcommunityisgrowinghKps://www.reddit.com/r/FTC/•  ChiefDelphiisweak•  TwiKerisveryusefulforkeepingupwithteams(searchFTC)

State FTC Informa%on

•  StateFTCpartnerisUW-Milwaukee• ContactisJuliPickering(jlpicker@uwm.edu)•  Statewebsiteissuperweak

•  hKps://uwm.edu/engineering/our-people/community/2015-16-first-tech-challenge/

What happens at a Tournament

•  EarlyMorning:•  HardwareInspec<on•  SoLware/FieldInspec<on•  JudgingPanelInterview

•  LateMorning•  OpeningCeremony•  Qualifica<onMatchesbegin

•  Randomlyassignedpartner,randomlyassignedopponents

•  ALernoon•  In-PitJudgingforAwards•  Qualifica<onmatchescon<nueun<lcomplete(usually5matches)•  AllianceSelec<ons(generally3teamalliancesunless<24teamsatevent)•  ChampionshipRounds•  AwardsCeremony

Inspec<ons&Interviewsmighthappenthenightbeforeat2daytournaments.

Inspec%ons

Hardware:18”Box.Makesurebuildislegal,powers<ckersandsafetys<ckersareinplace.SoCware:EnsureallpropersoLwareisonphonesandthattheyarenamedproperlyField:Brieftesttoensurerobotbehavesproperlyinallgamemodes.Mustpassall3teststobeeligibletocompete

Judging

•  Usuallyapaneloftwotothreeprofessionals.•  15minwithteam,5mintoscore•  Canbreakup15minanywayteamwants•  Presenta<ons•  Videos•  RobotDemos•  Q&A<me

•  Bestteamsineachcategoryperpanelarethenjudgedforeachaward.

Robot Game

•  30SecAutonomous•  2:00DriverControlled•  Last30SecisEndGame•  2PointsforWin,1forTie• RP=bucketofpointsscoredbylosingteaminyourmatches.RPBreaks<esinQP.• PointsarebasedonrulesannouncedatKickoff

Alliance Selec%ons

•  Top4seedsarecaptains•  Eachpicksapartnerteam•  Thenif24+teams,theypicka2ndpartner• Canpickeachother

Championship (Elimina%on) Matches

•  Mustwintwiceregardlessof<es

•  All3robotsmustplayin1sttwomatches

•  Cancall1<meout

Awards & Advancement

•  Inspiregoestothetopoverallteam•  Think=EngineeringNotebook•  PTCDesign=robotdesignandprocess

•  RockwellCollinsInnovate=mostinnova<veandcrea<verobot

•  Control=mostimpressivecontrolalgorithmsinautoandTeleop

•  Connect=Howyouconnectedwithprofessionals

•  Mo<vate=HowyoukeepyoruteamgoingandhowyourreachouttoshareFIRSTwithotherteams,getmoreteamsgoing,etc.

•  3nomina<onsperaward•  Trophiesfor1st

•  FTCValuescommunityengagementVERYheavily,soInspire1st,2nd,3rdallaretopadvancementspots

•  Inspire1st•  WinningCaptain•  Inspire2nd•  Winning1stPick•  Inspire3rd•  Winning2ndPick(ifmade)

•  ThinkWinner•  FinalistCaptain•  ConnectWinner

Awards Advancement

The Dean’s List •  NamedforDeanKamen,FIRST’sfounder•  Individual“MVP”typeawardgiventotopstudentsineverystate•  Nominatedbyteamandcoachesas“semi-finalists”fromtheirteam•  Semi-FinalistsinterviewwithjudgingpanelsattheRegionaltournaments.•  Differentjudgesthenreviewallinterviewnotesatthestatetournamenttoselect2-4state-level“Finalists.”•  Consideredthe‘superstars’ofFTCintheregion.

•  ThesestudentsareallenteredintotheNa<onalcompe<<onandareinvitedtoFIRSTChampionshipforanawardsevent•  10ofthestudentsareselectedasDean’sListWinners.

Random Thoughts •  Customdesigningallthemetalwillcutcosts,butyouneedalotofmentorexper<seinmachiningandtherighttoolsorconnec<onstoametalfabshopthatwilldoittoyourCADdesign.•  Thereisno“Right”decisiononwhichbuildingsystemtouse.

•  WechoseActobo<cs,butREVandModernRobo<csarecatchingupinproductofferingsandTETRIXhasmorepartsthaneverandwastheonlyallowedsystemupto3yearsago.

•  Thesystemwiththemostpartswillbethemostexpensive.Youwillwanttousealltheparts!

•  Servoscanbeexpensiveifyouburnthemup!•  WerecommendtheREVsmartservo.Canbebothcon<nuousandfixedrota<onandcanbeprogrammedtolimittravel.

•  NeverRestmotorsoverTetrixmotors,butothersarecatchingup!•  FTCisbestwhenyoutakeadvantageofthefactthatithasalong<metolearnbeforeyougettocompe<<on.•  Competeasmuchasyoucan.Thisiswherethemostfunandthemostlearningoccurs.

A few notable differences from FRC •  Mentorsareexpectedtobemuchlessinvolvedindesignanddecisionmaking•  It’sadifferentengineeringproblemtocramacomplexrobotintoan18”box•  Muchsmallerteamsmeansmuchmorehands-onlearningbyeveryonewhocomes.•  Disengagedstudentswillreallystandout

•  Thereismuchmore<metoteach,more<metoconnectwithindustrywhiletheseasonisinprogress.•  Longerseasonencouragesdesignrefactoring.Embraceit!

•  Butresistthetempta<ontowatchYouTubeandcopy.

•  FRCteamssustainabilitymodelsaredifferentwithbiggersponsors,longerteamhistoriesandmanyteamsthatarementordependentforexistence.•  FTCteamshavefewersponsorsandlife<mes(sadly)areoLendrivenbythegradua<onofthefoundingmembers.

Resources

• hKps://www.firs<nspires.org/resource-library/Lc/start-a-team-checklist-and-resources

• hKps://www.firs<nspires.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resource_library/Lc/rookie-mentors.pdf