Jeff Rice
For The New Era
FIRST is an acronym for “For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology”. The basic premise behind FIRST is to give teenagers a six-week period in which to build a robot to compete in a game where the rules change every year. Each year, high school teams from all over the world receive an identical kit of parts. Upon delivery of the kit, the teams spend an intense six weeks brainstorming, designing, building, and testing their robot.
The FIRST Program is driven by strong community, educational, and professional partnerships that share a multitude of talents with the young minds they mentor. Through activities like robotics, FIRST tries to convey the message that our world can and will be drastically influenced by the advance of technology. FIRST encourages young minds to think in different ways to solve a problem, and to seek opportunities to gain knowledge so it can be used to make the world a better place. Through this program I have been able to challenge myself in many areas of higher learning, and be a part of something that will someday possibly shape the course of our world.
Involvement in FIRST is also responsible for my choice of electrical engineering as a future career. Real world applications of mathematics, engineering, and science allow thousands of high school students to experience the dynamic world of technology in a competitive arena. Through the exposure of FIRST, I have developed a widespread network of friends from many different backgrounds, talents, and cultures. Partnerships are formed with professional mentors who provide guidance and direction for the next generation entering the work force. Corporate sponsorships from local area businesses investing their time, talents, and resources help these young minds reach forward into a dynamic future.
Local FIRST Teams represented in our Mid-Valley region include: Corvallis, Philomath, Santiam Christian Academy, West Albany, South Albany, Crescent Valley, and Venture Crew #308. These competent and highly successful award-winning programs are a source of pride, inspiration, ingenuity, and deserve recognition of their peers and communities.
These teams are comprised of a high school student group integrated along with teachers, professional engineers, computer professionals, mathematicians and scientists. This partnership works together to design construct a robot for the competition. Team #1359 (also known as ìTeam Scalawagî) consists of students aged 14 to 18 from seven different area schools. This enables even students from small communities unable to support a team to participate in this life-changing program. Our team is managed by elected student officers and each dedicated member contributes towards its success.
The FIRST Robotics Team that I am active in is also recognized as Boy Scout Venture Crew #308. As a part of Scouting, Team #1359 maintains a strong year round co-ed program that includes other non-robotic outdoor activities, such as rafting and camping. Typical activities for members each year involve fundraising, recruiting new members, visiting schools or community groups to spread the message of FIRST, community service, and of course, attending the Robotics Competitions. Team Scalawag boldly flies a Jolly Roger flag hoisted atop the pirate ship mast as part of the attention-grabbing pirate theme carried out in every aspect of our team, including our pit staging area, team member shirts, and even the robot itself.
Participating in the Robotic Competitions involves thinking on many levels, from brainstorming, strategies, solving programming issues, designing, building, and operating the robot. At all times FIRST teams are mindful that they represent and epitomize the ideals and mission of FIRST. Gracious professionalism and good sportsmanship (a quality often absent from sporting events) among the teams at each Regional Competition is a refreshing sight to see. Each team does compete intensely to the best of their ability, but never overlooks an opportunity to assist another team, even to the point of helping with programming, de-bugging code, wiring, lending tools, etc. For the die-hard sports competitor and enthusiast, this concept would be difficult to digest. Each year, the level of learning increases and is shared openly by teams attending the competitions.
This year’s game was equivalent to a fast-paced three dimensional game of tic-tac-toe. There were nine goals spaced evenly throughout the field of play, all shaped like triangular pyramids. The team alliances could take possession of the goals by capping them with scoring objects (which were smaller red or blue triangular pyramids). The matches were played by three robotic teams (an alliance) against another alliance of three robotic teams. The objective behind using three teams on each alliance team increases opportunities to interface and work cooperatively with other groups to accomplish a set goal. These goals are similar to obstacles one might encounter in the real work world. Learning to work with others, using a broader knowledge base, seeking innovative ways to solve problems will help make our world a better, more efficient place for everyone.
This year Team #1359 was able to attend both the Pacific Northwest Regional (Portland, March 10-12) and the Silicon Valley Regional (San Jose, CA March 24-26). At the Pacific Northwest Regional, the team received the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award, which celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit the teamís comprehensive business plan in order to design, manage, and obtain team objectives with enthusiasm and vital business skills for a self-sustaining program. The Scalawags were also successful in placing second at the Pacific Northwest (receiving the Regional Finalist Award). At San Jose, the team made it into the quarter-finals and received the Team Imagery Award and the Engineering Inspiration Award, both highly coveted team awards. The Team Imagery Award recognizes a teamsí overall attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of both the machine and team appearance and presentation. The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates a teamís outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers, both within their school and their communities. Selection criteria includes: the extent and inventiveness of a teamís efforts to recruit students to engineering, the extent and effectiveness of the teamís community outreach efforts, and the measurable success of those efforts. This is the second highest honor that FIRST bestows to a team.
Soon, in the near future, it will become my turn to reflect back to others the knowledge I have gained from my FIRST experience. I will always be grateful for the dedicated and patient mentors who made FIRST a priority and challenged us to strive towards the next level of understanding. This is the last year that I will be competing as a team member of the Scalawags Team #1359, and, like most graduating students involved with FIRST Robotics, I, too, plan to continue my commitment as a FIRST Alumni mentor and volunteer.
Currently, Sweet Home has two very successful FIRST Lego League Teams: one at the Holley Elementary School and another at the Sweet Home Junior High. Lego Leagues are the stepping stone for younger students with an interest in technology and an excellent way to bring technology to our small community. Mentoring these local Lego Teams gives me an opportunity to share the knowledge I have gained. By the end of the Lego season next fall, I am optimistic that students from the Sweet Home Junior High Lego Team will seek membership on a FIRST Robotics Team. Someday, perhaps Sweet Home, too, will have enough interest and community support to organize a FIRST Robotics Team.
In the future, I am confident that the world will benefit from the future technological advances developed by a former FIRST participant. Involvement with FIRST has given me a great sense of accomplishment, and provided me with a group of peers and professional mentors who value and respect my contributions to a team. FIRST has truly become the motivational force behind an innovative sport for young minds all over the world.
If you are interested in more information about FIRST Robotics Team #1359, or to become a mentor or corporate sponsor, please contact the Team Advisor, Mr. Bill Buskirk at 541-757-2047 extension 202, or reach him by e-mail at: [email protected]”
More information is also available at the FIRST website “http://www.usfirst.org/” http://www.usfirst.org/