FIRST – For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

 FIRST was founded by Inventor Dean Kamen in 1989. FIRST”s motive is to channel children's minds towards science and technology. FIRST wants to inspire innovation, foster life capabilities, self-confidence, communication, and leadership. FIRST puts a large emphasis on mentors and considers them the catalyst of thinking and inspiration.

 The code of conduct in FIRST is gracious professionalism. Gracious professionalism is the idea of treating teammates and opponents with respect and dignity. It may sound like gracious professionalism is dousing all the fun, but it doesn’t. The competitions still stay fierce and loud, but people are treated with respect. Give help to a teammate or even another team, but the main goal of this term is not to offend anyone. In other words, “They avoid treating anyone like losers. No chest thumping tough talk, but no sticky-sweet platitudes either. Knowledge, competition, and empathy are comfortably blended.

 Over the years, FIRST has definitely expanded. Over 155,000 students are involved in FIRST and roughly 40.000 mentors join the students. There are teams from most countries; some examples are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, and India.

 Although FIRST is now an international platform, this has not diverted the original focus of the organization. Even today, FIRST still promotes the basic values of life and they encourage students to pursue careers in technology, math, and science. Today, students who are involved in FIRST  pursue careers in technology, math, and science. Today, students who are involved in FIRST pursue careers in engineering, work in an internship or apprenticeship, are more likely to achieve a post graduate degree, more likely to pursue a career in science and technology, and are even more likely to pursue a career in engineering.

   Here’s how FIRST has specifically affected the PRHS Robolions:

“At first I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, and I knew it was time to pick a path. Getting involved with FIRST and robots has greatly influenced me, and now I plan to pursue a career in computer hardware engineering. FIRST gave me a chance to realize just how much i enjoy working with technology and building stuff with my hands.”
- Sunny

“Through FIRST, I have discovered that engineering is not only a feasible field of study for me, it’s an awesome one! I’ve made many great friends who are going into science of engineering as well. By working with awesome mentors, engineering is no longer some vague concept having something to do with bridges. It has encouraged me to look into the different fields and discover just how much engineering affects everyone’s lives, everyday, everywhere. Not only that, I have learned many time and project management skills. How to present an idea, when it’s necessary to move on from an idea, even what ‘I think it will be done in 30 minutes’ really means.”
- Nancy 

 

   If you have any questions or you are confused about FIRST, Georgia FIRST, or our team, then you might find these questions/answers useful. If you are still unsure about something after reading through these, then feel free to send us a message through the Contact Us Page. We would be glad to answer your question and add it to the list of FAQ.

What does FIRST stand for?

-FIRST is an acronym. The full name is “For Inspiration & Recognition of Science and Technology.”

 

What is FIRST?

-FIRST is an international organization dedicated to inspiring high school students about technology and engineering. It was created in 1992 to be an impetus for high school students to take a science or engineering course in college. The FIRST program has now spread outside the US and has programs in Singapore, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other nations.

 

Who started FIRST?

-The founder of FIRST is Dean Kamen. He organized the program to help high school students. He is also known as the creator of the Segway, a motorized scooter.

 

What is the purpose of FIRST?

-FIRST is designed to provide an enjoyable experience to high school students such that they may go into a field related to engineering and science. Dean Kamen saw a pressing need for such a national program. “…to create a world where science and technology are celebrated… where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes…” Dean Kamen uses engineering and ingenuity daily and believes that our high schoolers need FIRST to experience how fun, enjoying, and rewarding engineering is.

 

What is the FIRST logo?

-The FIRST logo consists of a triangle, a circle, and a square all linked together. This reflects the togetherness aspect of FIRST robotics. The different shapes represent the diverse participants of the program working together.

 

How long has it been in existence?

-FIRST was started in 1992 with 28 teams who competed in a New Hampshire high school gym. They played the “Maize Craze” game. Today, there are about 1000 teams worldwide with about 25,000 students participating nationwide.

 

What are “mentors”?

-Mentors are either teams or people who are interested in the FIRST program. Team mentors help rookie teams get off the ground. People mentors can be professionals, parents, teachers, and high school students from the local community who help the team. Many teams are parent and teacher mentored. Some teams (those who are better established) may use professional engineers to mentor. Many teams, like Team 1261, use local university students to mentor.

 

Does FIRST have any other programs?

-FIRST has three main programs; FIRST Robotics, FIRST Lego League, and FIRST Vex. FIRST Robotics along with VEX are geared for high school students, while FIRST Lego League is geared for younger children.

 

What are the costs related to teams?

-FIRST teams have two main sources of cost. The first source is the actual acquiring of parts and the costs directly related to making the robot. The other cost is in traveling to regionals, and, if the team qualifies, the national tournament.

 

Do you have to be a “geek” to go to nationals?

-It certainly depends on what “geek” means to you. If it means that you enjoy working towards a goal such as putting together an animation or building a robot from the ground up, and then going to competitions around the nation to watch your creations compete and cooperate to win matches and awards while having a blast with friends and teammates, then, yes, absolutely.

 

What is the process of building a robot?

-Once the game is released, our team starts its process of designing the robot. First, our team attempts to determine the best design and functions a robot could have. From there, prototyping occurs, and models are tested. From here, the actual robot is built, tested, debugged, and shipped.

  

What awards can be won from FIRST?

-In FIRST, there are many different awards that can be won. First and foremost, at each regional and the national competition, awards are given out to the teams who place, with the usual first place getting a gold medal, second getting a silver, etc. There are also many other awards, such as the Rookie All-Star Award (given to the highest placing team that is in its first season), the Website Design Award (given to the team whose website fits various criteria the best as determined by a committee), the Daimler Chrysler Team Spirit Award (for the team that cheers the best and generally shows the spirit of FIRST),and the Leadership in Control Award (awarded to the team which has superior programming of their robot). The most prestigious award in FIRST (considered even more prestigious than winning a competition) is the Chairman’s Award. This award is given to teams based on a submitted document by the team that shows how their team best embodies the spirit of FIRST.

 

What is the composition of the FIRST season?

-The official FIRST season begins in January, with the kick-off and the beginning of the six weeks in which teams can build their robot. During these six weeks, the robot must be completely built, after which teams are required to ship it to their first regional. In March, every week for five weeks, anywhere from five to seven regionals occur in various parts of the United States and Canada. Teams are allowed to enter two out of the twenty-seven possible regionals. After these regionals are finished in early April, teams travel to the national competition in mid-to-late-April.

 

How does one qualify for the national tournament?

-Unlike the regionals, only certain teams can go to the national competition. In order to go, a team can either be awarded a spot by FIRST or can qualify in various ways. Teams that win a national Chairman’s Award (no easy feat!), the seven remaining teams that registered in or before 1992, the national winners of the previous year’s competition, and the team that won the Engineering Inspiration Award, an award given for advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within the local community, at nationals the previous year are automatically given a spot at nationals. Teams who do not fall under these fields can qualify by winning a Chairman’s Award at a regional, winning an Engineering Inspiration Award at a regional, winning a Rookie All-Star Award at a regional, and winning a regional competition. Teams who do not qualify in these ways can still attend the national competition using the “Tier system.” Under the tier system, teams in certain brackets (or “tiers”) are offered a chance to accept a spot at nationals. FIRST divides the teams into brackets based on how long it has been since they attended the national competition, beginning with teams that have never attended nationals or that attended at least 8 years ago. From a certain date to another date, any team in the tier that applies for a spot at nationals is accepted. After the second date has been passed, FIRST moves on to the next tier, again setting a deadline for the teams within to apply. This process continues until all of the tiers have been covered. If a team did not apply during the time FIRST gave them, the spots that go unclaimed are left open to all teams that aren’t already going on a first-come-first-served basis.

 

Who is Dean Kamen?

-Dean Kamen is the founder of FIRST and inventor of the Segway Personal Transporter. He is only the coolest guy on the planet.. He has his own island and his own currency. An interesting fact: there is a secret room in Dean’s house that is only accessible by pulling on the “Ingenious Inventions Volume 4″ book in his library.