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FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Slide 2 Presented By Colton Mehlhoff FTC 4140 Fish in the Boat Modeling & Robot Design University of Minnesota Scott McDowell FTC 4140 Fish in the Boat Coach / Mentor High Tech Kids Slide 3 Why are we here? Learn more about FTC Compare and contrast FTC with FRC Destroy the Misconceptions More STEM More Robots!! Slide 4 What is FTC? FIRST Robotics program positioned between and overlapping both FRC and FLL 7 th 12 th Grade Up to 10 students on the team Two-on-Two, Driver Controlled Format 12 x 12 Competition Area Medium Sized Robots (18x18x18) 5-8 Qualification Rounds Top 4 Qualification Seeds are Alliance Captains Best 2 out of 3 Elimination Ladder Slide 5 Hook Surprise! FTC is not all about the Robot. As with all FIRST robotics programs, the robot is the hook to draw people into the program Real-World and Engineering skills are the core of what participants gain Slide 6 FTC Misconceptions FTC is a JV program FRC is the Varsity Sport for the Mind So, FTC must be something else?! Competition with Erector sets All Kit-of-Parts Robots Less Engineering Bigger Robots must be harder Slide 7 How is FTC Like FRC? Design & Build Robot Program Robot Alliance Format Drive Teams - 2 Drivers & 1 Coach Partners vs. Opponents Qualification Rounds Elimination Rounds Competitive Game Strategies Scouting Outreach Modeling Robot Web sites Business Plans / Strategic Plans Videos Marketing & Team Branding Corporate Sponsorships Work with Engineering Community High Energy Tournaments Slide 8 How is FTC Different than FRC? Robots are smaller 18x18x18 Limited by size and electronics vs. cost, weight and size Robots are slower than FRC No Bumpers FTC Robots tend to be more Complex & less Sophisticated Components are more restricted Build and Tournament Season combined Iterative Design dont have to guess right the first time No Human Player No Video Navigation Systems Engineering Notebook Slide 9 Advantages of FRC over FTC Cool Factor Robots are bigger & go faster FRC more recognized program Longer History Team & Program Legacy More sophisticated robot systems available Pneumatics, Electronics & COTS Large competition arena & easier for audience to see robot game More Programming options More Awards Deans List Woodie Flowers Award vs. Compass Award Better representation at the World Championships FRC 400/2600 = 15% FTC 128/3000 = 4% FLL 70/24,000 = 0.3% Slide 10 Advantages of FTC over FRC Longer combined build and tournaments season Iterative Design No Bag & Tag Smaller teams students can work on all parts of program Favors development of Generalists over Specialists Scales with number of students Robot is more transportable to demos & tournaments Learning curve is lower on the front end Cost - $2000 team startup costs Less space required More student driven with guidance from mentors More use of sensors and autonomous programming Slide 11 Why Start FTC teams? Scales with student population Team size limit up to 10 Cost $2000 for a startup team Different engineering skills than FRC Generalists more than specialists Progression of Programs Transition from FLL to FTC to FRC Allows for a new system of challenges every 3-5 years Iterative design Boys vs. Girls vs. Coed teams $500 Rookie Grants! Slide 12 Tetrix Building Systems Developed by LEGO and Pitsco Education 35% discount to FTC Teams 32mm repeating pattern aluminum system Reusable for multiple seasons Single 12VDC Battery based Up to 8 DC Motors Up to 12 Servos (4 varieties) Servo & Motor Controllers Slide 13 Matrix Building Systems Matrix Building System Geared to international teams Tetrix system outside the US is very expensive HiTechnic is the US distributor Closer to VEX building system Reusable for multiple seasons Single 9VDC Battery based Slide 14 LEGO Building Systems LEGO Mindstorms NXT EV3 not legal for 2013-2014 season LEGO Manufactured Sensors LEGO Motors Any LEGO Part Duplo Parts are not legal Slide 15 Communications System Samantha WiFi Communications Module Replaced Bluetooth four years ago Provides all communication between the Field Control System (FCS) and the Robot Limited Security & Susceptible to Disruption Slide 16 LEGO & HiTechnic Sensors Touch Light Color Infra-Red Ultra-Sonic Electro-Optical Position Detector (EOPD) Magnetic Force Angle Compass Gyro Tilt/Accelerometer Motor/Axle Encoders Touch Sensor MUX Sensor MUX Slide 17 Custom Developed Sensors HiTechnic NXT Super-Pro Prototype Board Must only connect to the named ports on the board Must be powered by the voltage available through the board Additional circuit boards may be connected to the Prototype board On board processor may not be re-programmed Slide 18 Legal Raw Materials a.Raw materials may be used in any dimension and quantity. Teams may use these raw materials to make any type of finished part. b.A Raw material can be any type of commonly available material including steel, aluminum, plastic (of any kind), fiberglass, carbon fiber, stone, wood (including paper, plywood, etc.). Also included are castable materials such as polymer resins, rubber, cement, etc. c.To be legal a Raw Material must be readily available to the majority of teams from standard distributors (e.g. McMaster-Carr, Home Depot, Grainger, etc.). Materials that are found in only one region or can only be obtained from a teams sponsor are not allowed. d.Materials in the form of angle, channel, tubing, sheet, film, blocks, etc. are allowed but these same shapes with post machined features (holes, slots, etc.) are considered to be Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Slide 19 Legal COTS a.Linear Slides b.Non-motorized Turntables and Lazy Susans. c.Lead Screws and threaded rod plus compatible nuts. d.Servo blocks (e.g. ServoCity Part # SB608SH and SB609SH), shaft adaptors, servo arms, ball links, shaft clamps e.#25 or #35 chain with associated links. f.Timing belts of any size and pitch. g.Gears of any size and pitch, including non-circular gears such as rack, worm, bevel, etc. h.Sprockets of any size and pitch. i.Pulleys including sheaves, timing belt, etc. j.Springs of any type and material (coil, extension, compression, leaf, etc.) that are used in a safe manner. k.Fasteners of any size, including nuts, bolts, screws, shoulder screws, washers, spacers, shaft collars, shaft couplers, rivets, Velcro, etc. l.Bearings of any type and material. Including bushings, roller bearings, etc. m.PVC, CPVC, PEX piping and fittings. n.Extruded o.T-slot aluminum construction material along with all compatible brackets and fittings (i.e. 80-20, Macron Dynamics, etc.). p.Wheels of any type up to 4 diameter. Wheels that have exposed features likely to cause damage to field and/or game elements are not allowed. Slide 20 Beyond the Building Systems a. Rope, cord, cable, monofilament, etc. These can be made from natural (cotton, wool, etc.), polymers (nylon, polyester, etc.), or metal materials. b. Rubber bands. c. Surgical or Latex Tubing. d. Non-metallic cable ties (also known as Zip Ties). e. Non-Slip Pad (e.g. McMaster-Carr Part #69275T54 or Home Depot SKU #134555). Packaging material must list the product as Non-Slip Pad. f. Adhesive backed tape of any type. g. Glue, cement, adhesives. Welding, brazing, and soldering are legal methods for assembling a robot. Slide 21 Programming Options 3 LabView licenses provide free with paid FTC team registration Icon based programming language 6 RobotC licenses can be purchased for $100 Text based programming language Slide 22 Judged Awards Inspire Award Top Award in FTC. Similar to FRC Chairman's Award. Winning team is competitive in all judged categories and performance. Think Award Judging how well teams documented their engineering journey. Engineering design process and Engineering Notebook central. Connect Award Judging how well teams connect with the engineering community. Business Plan, Strategic Plan & Outreach are central. Rockwell Collins Innovate Award Judging creativity in robot design and game strategy. Performance is a factor. PTC Design Award Judging teams use of CAD in their robot design. Unique robot design also key. Motivate Award Teams Spirit, Team Branding, Community Outreach Slide 23 Judged Awards (continued) Control Award (Optional) Use of Sensors and Software to improve robots reliability and performance. Promote Award (Optional) 1 minute Public Service Announcement (PSA) video on FIRST. New theme each year. Compass Award (Optional) 1 minute video recognizing an adult coach or mentor. Future Innovator Award Sponsored by the Abbott Fund. Judged at the national level. Work on solving one of several real-world issues. Slide 24 Performance Awards Winning Alliance Captain 1 st Pick 2 nd Pick Finalist Alliance Captain 1 st Pick 2 nd Pick Qualification Round Seeding Top 4 Seeds are Alliance Captains Slide 25 Tournament Hierarchy Scrimmages Put on and run by teams Regional Qualifiers (4-6x 16-24 Teams) 1-2 Regional Qualifiers per team 5-8 teams advance per Regional Qualifier Championship Tournament (24-36 Teams) MN Snow Drift 5-6 teams advance Super-Regional (4x 72 Teams) North Super-Regional (Iowa City, IA) 13 States in the North Super-Regional 20-25 teams advance per Super-Regional FTC World Championships (128 Teams) St. Louis, MO Slide 26 Advancement Criteria 1.Qualifier Host Team 2.Inspire Award Winner 3.Winning Alliance Captain 4.Inspire Award 2nd place 5.Winning Alliance, 1st team selected 6.Inspire Award 3rd place 7.Winning Alliance, 2nd team selected 8.Think Award Winner 9.Finalist Alliance Captain 10.Connect Award Winner 11.Finalist Alliance, 1st team selected 12.Rockwell Collins Innovate Award Winner 13.Finalist Alliance, 2nd team selected 14.PTC Design Award Winner 15.Highest Ranked Team not previously advanced 16.Motivate Award Winner 17.Highest Ranked Team not previously advanced Slide 27 Minnesota FTC Affiliate Partner High Tech Kids 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Run FIRST LEGO League (FLL) in MN FLL Affiliate Partner since Pilot Year 1998 509 FLL teams in 2012 Renewable Energy Challenge (REC) Cheryl Moeller, Executive Director Vicki Coaty, Programs Manager Vacancy, Programs Assistant Vacancy, Americorps FIRST Vista Slide 28 FTC Growth in Minnesota 2008-20095 Teams5 Rookies 2009-201010 Teams6 Rookies 2010-201117 Teams11 Rookies 2011-201223 Teams9 Rookies 2012-201336 Teams18 Rookies 2013-201460-75 Teams25-40 Rookies Slide 29 Starting a Team Build a Team Find interested Students Register Team Use TIMS to Register with FIRST $500 FTC Rookie Grants Attend Kickoff on September 7 th ! Slide 30 Team Startup Costs FIRST Registration$275 Robot Kit of Parts$665 Tetrix Resource Kit$199 Samantha WiFi Module$85 Regional Qualifier$150 State Championship$250 North Super-Regional$500 World Championship$1000 Spare Parts$1000 RobotC$100 Transportation$ Hotels$ Food$ Team Uniforms$ Give Away / Promotional / Marking Items$ Slide 31 FTC Season Timeline Registration OpenMay 10 th - Full KickoffSaturday September 7 th Workshops September-December Regional Qualifiers November-January State ChampionshipFebruary 23 rd North Super-RegionalApril 3 rd -5 th World ChampionshipApril 23 rd -26 th Slide 32 Minnesota FTC Kickoff Lakeville North High School September 7 th Workshops Ring It Up! Scrimmage Round Table Discussions Panel Sessions Information Booths Game Reveal Strategy Session Slide 33 Volunteers!!! With the explosive growth of the program in MN we are moving to a Regional Qualifier Model We need 3 to 4 times the number of Volunteers as last season Judges Referees FTAs Emcees Score Keepers Queuers Slide 34 Future FTC Trends FRC started out with 18 Robots, a standard Kit- of-Parts and a 2-on-2 format - Sound familiar? As parts were added and restrictions lifted, costs skyrocketed Cost and sustainability are serious issues for FRC Competition strongly favors teams with long histories FTC is essentially a reboot of FRC FTC is following the same path, but with more caution towards cost and balance to competition Slide 35 Where to Find More Info Official FIRST FTC web page http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc MN FTC Affiliate Partner web page http://www.hightechkids.org/home http://www.hightechkids.org/home FTC Blog http://firsttechchallenge.blogspot.com/ http://firsttechchallenge.blogspot.com/ Chief Delphi FTC forums http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=146 http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=146 MN GoFIRST http://www.mngofirst.org/ http://www.mngofirst.org/ PTC http://www.ptc.com/company/community/first/ http://www.ptc.com/company/community/first/ Tetrix Building System http://www.tetrixrobotics.com/ http://www.tetrixrobotics.com/ Matrix Building System http://matrixrobotics.com/ http://matrixrobotics.com/ RobotC http://matrixrobotics.com/ http://matrixrobotics.com/ Labview http://www.ni.com/labview/ http://www.ni.com/labview/ HiTechnic http://www.hitechnic.com/ http://www.hitechnic.com/ Fish in the Boat Team Page http://www.fishintheboat.org/ http://www.fishintheboat.org/ Slide 36 Video credit to Lancer Robotics FTC 3415