Winter fun

I came across this on the Make magazine blog: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/01/hunting_hydrogen_balloons_with_a_we.html and had to share it.

While most of the north is hunkered down with snow it's easy to find reasons to stay inside. Working with your FTC team is a great inside activity but these guys found a way to take some of the same engineering and get outdoors.

The "ordinance" used was a bit rudimentary but the whole project looked pretty cool. Now we need some FTC team to do this autonomously....

Check it out,
Ken

FTC and FRC

Just in case your team has not yet discussed it, talk about helping out an FRC team with their game this year. It's a great chance to expand your network of FIRST folks and participate in multiple FIRST events.

The rules in FRC allow those teams to partner with FTC teams to create the TETRIX "mini-bot." Show those FRC folks what FTC is all about while you're at it!

Ken

Minibots and FRC

In case those of you in the FTC world did not catch it, the new FRC game is using pieces from the FTC TETRIX kit.

Why? The Game Design folks in FRC wanted to add a new twist to their game and highlight the FIRST family of programs.

FIRST is all about inspiring the next generation of technology leaders. Robotics are the main "tool" we use - but there is so much more. Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition as evidenced by our awards, scoring, and ethos are the foundation of FIRST.

The sponsors involved, including colleges and universities (that will offer FRC and FTC alumni over $14M in scholarships this year), the coaches who make this work, and everyone from Dean to the day-of-event casual volunteer all combine to create the FIRST magic.

So, those of you in FTC, reach out to some local FRC teams. Give them a hand with design and some programming on the FTC robots. You'll make some great connections and help make FIRST an even stronger organization.

Ken