Registration Opens May 3rd

Hard to believe that FTC registration opens in just a few days. The dust has barely settled from Atlanta.

In any case we're excited to show you the details of the program for the upcoming season. That all starts with some additional kit options allowing teams to get involved at a lower price point with kits that un-bundle some of the components.

We did a pretty thorough analysis and found that teams were not using everything included in the kits. Many teams used more material - but would rather have the option of picking what that material would be - as opposed to us guessing to create the full kit.

You should have this info soon. Look for it in email form if you're a 2009/2010 team. I'll also post a link to it on the blog next week.

Take care,
Ken

Code Name - Samantha

By now you've probably heard about a new WiFi based communication system that will be introduced in the 2010/2011 FTC season. That project started over a year ago with a conversation at the FTC North Carolina Regional Championship with John Toebes.

John is an FTC coach and has also been involved with FLL and FRC. He embodies many of the great attributes of our community. He's smart, driven, and feels strongly about STEM and the next generation. In his spare time he's also the Director, Patents, for CISCO.

From that initial conversation in North Carolina John started experimenting with different communication architectures that would minimize or eliminate the issues we'd experienced with Bluetooth. What he developed, with the help of a small team, is a WiFi module that plugs into the USB port of the NXT brick effectively bypassing the Bluetooth system.

The benefits of this for FTC teams are in ease of connectivity. This includes both the initial connection and the management of data between computer and robot. There are some features that are also possible using this device including remote monitoring of robot condition. The main benefit however is a stronger/easier communication system.

At this point we've produced several breadboard versions and hardened the design with a beta production run of about 40 units. Some of you saw a few of these demonstrated in Atlanta. By mid-June production units will be made available to teams who register with FTC. All teams registering with FTC in the 2010/2011 season will receive a Samantha WiFi module at no charge - thanks to the generous donation of John and his team and funding from the Kauffman Foundation.

I think this project reflects the best from our FIRST community. Smart people coming together to solve a tough problem - and providing that solution to our students and mentors at no cost. There are very few communities that could come together to make something like this happen and we're all fortunate to be part of this one.

Ken

PS - The Samantha code name was chosen due to the fact that one of the developers has a daughter named Samantha.

Yes - we're back

A thousand apologies for "going dark" here for a few weeks. You all know that the entire FTC community was running hard preparing for Atlanta but that's no excuse not to take a few minutes to keep this blog updated...

In any case - thank you all for a wonderful week in Atlanta. It is a ton of work, much of it done by the hundreds of volunteers, but it is the most important work we can be doing.

On that note, I think Clay Jones said it best at our closing ceremonies. In addition to thanking people for "getting him out of the office" he talked about how FTC and the World Championship "recharged his batteries."

That's an important point to make. I've said it before but it's worth repeating. All of us spend time dealing with paperwork, sitting in interminable meetings, and the other "business stuff." That's all work, but it's a different kind of work than what we all did in Atlanta.

All of us here at FTC get our batteries recharged at events and the World Championship. Make no mistake, the days are long and our feet are hurting at the end of the day, but our spirits are energized. That comes from seeing the teams compete, the kids connecting with adults, and the look for accomplishment on the faces of the kids.

So - our commitment to you is to keep up the effort, keep improving the program, and continuing to honor the investment of time, energy, and devotion you all put into FTC and FIRST.

Thanks for a great season!

Ken

PS - FTC Guy made it back to NH safe and sound. From the photos we got it looks like FTC Guy really got around in Atlanta!