FRC Team 4048

Welcome to FIRST at Westborough High School

Our Team Competitions

Fall – Savage Soccer at WPI Winter/Spring – FIRST Robotics

Competition (FRC)

Savage Soccer Videos

Team47 interview Team47 match

What is FIRST?

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Founded by Dean Kamen in 1989, first competition in 1992 Based on partnerships, sponsors and mentors. Volunteer

driven “Gracious Professionalism” and “Coopertition”

Not funded by the school budget, no regular class-time. FRC = FIRST Robotics Competition. 6 weeks to design, implement, program, test, and deliver. But

there’s a lot more.

Mentors

Peter Bixby Derek Boucher Ed Burdick Rich Cheng David Dubois Maria Homberg Michael Homberg Louis Lung Michele Lung Arnold Oyola Pauline Sciarappa Sudha Subranmaniam

Mentors, cont.

All mentors must submit CORI application

We will adopt standard safety protocol to protect students and mentors – must have at least 2 adults and 2 students in any setting

Partners Organizations

JCPenney Westborough Education Foundation Westborough High School

We will have to do fundraising each year to sustain the program

Video

Watch this video of the 2011-2012 season

So what is an FRC team?

Treat team like a business. We have a budget We have a product to deliver We have a deadline to meet We have customers to satisfy And we want to keep doing it It’s all hands-on

What is FRC all about?

Building a robot?... Yes and no. We’re teaching skills not taught in school

It’s a team project unlike any you’ve done before Understanding the requirements & designing

accordingly Implementation & Testing Making tradeoffs and handling constraints Planning & Scheduling Collaboration, Teamwork & Communication Using software tools & building tools Analytic thinking

What is FRC all about? – cont.

Maintaining a presence – web site, social media Animation Business planning Project management Media relations Competition strategy Safety Coopertition, Gracious Professionalism It might well be the hardest and most rewarding

thing you’ve done thus far!

What’s in it for you?

Collaborative work Watching, listening, doing – learning hot to learn Analyze, design, debug, repair – learning how to

think Listening to others, give to others, receive from

others – learning teamwork Responsibility Leadership Interpersonal skills Public speaking, presentation skills

What’s in it for you?, cont.

Competing Working under pressure Communication skills Prioritizing / time management / scheduling Working with technology – free CAD/animation

software $15M in FIRST college scholarships! FUN!

How It Works - Students

Students will work in groups to accomplish tasks Mentors are there to help Students do the work and use mentors as resources. This is

your team. You grow with it. You grow into roles. You own it. Ask – there are no stupid questions Listen to your mentors, listen to your teammates Be open minded, be flexible, be humble If you can defend your thoughts, you’ve thought it through “Act locally, think globally” - focus on your part of the project

but understand the big picture Communication and documentation – do it!

Groups / Functions

General Design, Robot Definition & Strategy Mechanical design Software development Overall project management Business planning Web page CAD 3D Animator Media relations Social media Treasurer Photographer Video production / film-maker

Sample Timeline (Simplified)

Kickoff! Analyze and understand the challenge,

create strategy, plan schedule Design, order parts, build prototypes, use

the Kit-of-parts, CAD Test, refine, repair, repeat Bag-n-tag Elapsed time: 6 weeks … and that’s just the beginning.

Student Priorities

We want you to succeed in FRC but not at the expense of your grades

Manage your time; tell us if you think you need help

Remember – the final product is not the robot; it’s YOU.

Requirements & Expectations

We understand you have other commitments. Work within your group to schedule your time. Attendance will be taken.

You must participate in certain team functions such as fund raising and community awareness projects.

Safety training is required before using tools (this will happen in the pre-season)

Everyone must abide by safety rules and requirements at all times. No exceptions.

Do not damage school building, floor and property Daily workroom cleanup is for everyone! Proper behavior is expected at all times. There will be details in the handbook.

Team Fee

$150 per student. $200 max per family All funds go into the robotics team and go

towards the cost of materials, transportation, T-shirts, promotional goods, etc. The funds do NOT go into the general school budget.

We don’t know what our real expenses will be; depends on robot we build, whether we win and have to travel (!), how many events we compete in, etc.

As a reference – last year’s budget topped $13,000 including the cost of buying tools.

Communication is Key

Email – check it daily. Read it. Act on it. (Check ACTION ITEMS)

Parents get the same email the student do. Please read it and make sure your child acts on it if necessary.

Google team calendar All work must be documented immediately. Being able to give

clear, concise, detailed descriptions is a tremendous skill Documentation is for everyone, including yourself! Use team web forum Share! We have a youtube channel “FIRSTteam4048”, a

Facebook page “Team-Redshift”, and a team web site www.Team4048.org

How Parents Can Help

Be a member of Non Engineering Mentor Organization (NEMO)

Provide snacks for meetings Need 2 parents to attend all builds – for

safety and for student management/control Share rides to/from meetings Host a kickoff party on Sat Jan 5, 2012 Will employer support FRC team? Help get tools & supplies

Calendar 2012-2013

Savage Soccer – October ? to Saturday November 10   

FRC Preseason from Monday November 12 to Friday December 21- get you ready

FRC Kickoff Saturday January 5, 2013 Last day for Bag & Tag Tuesday 2/19/2012? WPI Regional (week2) Thursday-Saturday

3/7-9/2013 Boston Regional (week4) Thursday-

Saturday 3/21-23/2013

Short-Term To-Do List

Kit-of-Parts drive-train opt-out? Regional registration – 9/27 – week2 (WPI) or week

4 (BU)? Applying for grants Working on Web site Working on Fundraising Attending Leadership / Teamwork seminar – will

pick 2 or 3 days including weekend. Everyone must attend

Coming Soon

Keep an eye out for these: STIMS registration instructions FIRST Waiver WHS Waiver Team 4048 Waiver Student survey Student handbook Invitation for Leadership/Teamwork seminar Savage Soccer

Questions?