Greetings Teams,
I’m looking for 50 FRC teams to evaluate movement analysis software. I know this is short notice, and it’s a quick turn around, but if your team would like to lend us a hand between now and Dec 31st, I’ve got an opportunity for you. Here’s information on the software and here are the system requirements for your computer and video camera. Teams participating in the evaluation will have to take three online training sessions, evaluate their robot design and performance using the software, create and upload at least one video here, and complete evaluation questions by December 31st.
We’ll announce the teams that are chosen for the evaluation on November 13th. Dartfish will start emailing software and licenses to those teams shortly afterwards and everyone will be able to see the evaluating team’s progress online by December.
If you’re interested here’s where you can apply to participate.
71 days until Kickoff
See you there!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
A day late, but with good reason
Good Afternoon Teams,
I know I missed my usual blog posting day yesterday. Things have been a busy around here. Registration for Kickoff, Second Events and Championship are all open (by the way unrestricted registration opens next week at Noon, on November 5th). Construction of game elements is underway (and taking up most of the available workspace). The space FIRST shares with See Science Museum has to be cleared out because the Dinosaurs are coming (which is creating a challenge as we look for enough room to pack road cases for the fourteen fields we’ll have on the road this year). Kit of Parts items are starting to come in (cross your fingers they will all arrive in time). And we’re recruiting volunteers to run events (which involves background checks and lots of training).
As if we didn’t have enough to do, we’re also preparing what we’re calling the Delta field for its first trial run this weekend at River Rage in Manchester, NH. We’ve been playing around with lower cost field construction options with the idea that maybe if we had more fields we could hold more events. The ideas for using the Delta field are just in the planning stage, but the Delta Field itself is starting to take shape. I want to thank the River Rage planning committee for this opportunity to test it under field conditions. In addition, three teams will run their robots during the event using Java software. So, as you can see, there’s a lot for us to juggle right now.
72 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
I know I missed my usual blog posting day yesterday. Things have been a busy around here. Registration for Kickoff, Second Events and Championship are all open (by the way unrestricted registration opens next week at Noon, on November 5th). Construction of game elements is underway (and taking up most of the available workspace). The space FIRST shares with See Science Museum has to be cleared out because the Dinosaurs are coming (which is creating a challenge as we look for enough room to pack road cases for the fourteen fields we’ll have on the road this year). Kit of Parts items are starting to come in (cross your fingers they will all arrive in time). And we’re recruiting volunteers to run events (which involves background checks and lots of training).
As if we didn’t have enough to do, we’re also preparing what we’re calling the Delta field for its first trial run this weekend at River Rage in Manchester, NH. We’ve been playing around with lower cost field construction options with the idea that maybe if we had more fields we could hold more events. The ideas for using the Delta field are just in the planning stage, but the Delta Field itself is starting to take shape. I want to thank the River Rage planning committee for this opportunity to test it under field conditions. In addition, three teams will run their robots during the event using Java software. So, as you can see, there’s a lot for us to juggle right now.
72 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Robot Inspections
Good Afternoon Teams,
We’ve been reviewing the robot inspection process as we prepare for 2010 and there are a few things I want you to know. First, there should be no surprises for a well prepared team at the robot inspection station. The robot inspection details are provided to teams on our website in the game manual and any updates or changes to the game manual are first discussed by the GDC on the Q and A section of our forums and then published in the team updates which are posted on our website.
Second, if you have come to the robot inspection booth well prepared and are asked to make an alteration to your robot that you feel is counter to the information provided in the game manual and updates, you may ask (nicely) for the Lead Robot Inspector to make a ruling. The volunteer Robot Inspectors at each event are doing the best they can, with the training they have received. If you disagree with their interpretation, and can back up your opinion with documentation from the forums & updates, then you should ask to speak with the Lead Robot Inspector. This is the person who trained the Robot Inspectors for the event and who should not only have the latest rulings from the GDC, but who will also want to know if their Robot Inspectors are misinterpreting something from those rulings.
Third: If you do ask (nicely) for a ruling by the Lead Robot Inspector, his or her ruling is final.
80 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
We’ve been reviewing the robot inspection process as we prepare for 2010 and there are a few things I want you to know. First, there should be no surprises for a well prepared team at the robot inspection station. The robot inspection details are provided to teams on our website in the game manual and any updates or changes to the game manual are first discussed by the GDC on the Q and A section of our forums and then published in the team updates which are posted on our website.
Second, if you have come to the robot inspection booth well prepared and are asked to make an alteration to your robot that you feel is counter to the information provided in the game manual and updates, you may ask (nicely) for the Lead Robot Inspector to make a ruling. The volunteer Robot Inspectors at each event are doing the best they can, with the training they have received. If you disagree with their interpretation, and can back up your opinion with documentation from the forums & updates, then you should ask to speak with the Lead Robot Inspector. This is the person who trained the Robot Inspectors for the event and who should not only have the latest rulings from the GDC, but who will also want to know if their Robot Inspectors are misinterpreting something from those rulings.
Third: If you do ask (nicely) for a ruling by the Lead Robot Inspector, his or her ruling is final.
80 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Information I Promised last Friday
Good Afternoon Teams,
Here’s the early draft of the robot shipping process I promised last week. Nothing is final until the Game Manual section 4 Robot Transportation is published, but right now this is pretty much how we think it will work.
If you plan to attend two or more events, take a look at the chart below.
82 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Here’s the early draft of the robot shipping process I promised last week. Nothing is final until the Game Manual section 4 Robot Transportation is published, but right now this is pretty much how we think it will work.
If you plan to attend two or more events, take a look at the chart below.
82 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Friday, October 16, 2009
before you pick your second event
Good Afternoon Teams,
Second event registration opens next Thursday, October 22nd. I know that the “bag and tag” section of the Game Manual isn’t available to teams yet, so I understand teams interested in registering for second events will have some concerns if either of their events are “bag and tag”, but I encourage you to go ahead and sign up for the events you most want to attend. Here at FIRST we’re working hard to find solutions to the logistical issues created by the “bag and tag” pilot. I will have a draft of the robot shipping process ready for you by Tuesday of next week. Nothing is final until the Game Manual section 4 Robot Transportation is published (we have to finalize details with a lot of stakeholders), but I should have a pretty good idea on Tuesday of how we expect the process will work.
85 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Second event registration opens next Thursday, October 22nd. I know that the “bag and tag” section of the Game Manual isn’t available to teams yet, so I understand teams interested in registering for second events will have some concerns if either of their events are “bag and tag”, but I encourage you to go ahead and sign up for the events you most want to attend. Here at FIRST we’re working hard to find solutions to the logistical issues created by the “bag and tag” pilot. I will have a draft of the robot shipping process ready for you by Tuesday of next week. Nothing is final until the Game Manual section 4 Robot Transportation is published (we have to finalize details with a lot of stakeholders), but I should have a pretty good idea on Tuesday of how we expect the process will work.
85 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Are you ready to register for kickoff?
Good Afternoon Teams,
Kickoff registration opens this Thursday. Remember it’s in your team’s best interest to attend a Kickoff. FRC pays to ship Kits of Parts to Kickoffs that have 8 or more teams registered, so if you can get to a Kickoff, you can save your team the cost of shipping a Kit to your work area (and avoid the wait). Many Kickoffs offer workshops or other special events and all Kickoffs provide an opportunity to connect with other teams in your area. The full list of Kickoffs is here. Click on any Kickoff name to reveal more details.
Last week the Discovery Channel came to FIRSTplace to film Dean Kamen and several local NH teams for an “I love the World” commercial that will be aired this Fall.
Don’t know what FIRSTplace is? They can describe it better than I can. FIRSTplace
National Instruments and Wind River have not finished their compatibility testing with Windows 7, and thus won’t be supporting it for the 2010 FRC season. We don’t know of any reasons why it wouldn’t work, but wanted to let you know that if you use the development software on Windows 7, you do so at your own risk. (this paragraph updated 10/15 to better reflect what I meant to say.)
A while back I asked for your opinion about pins versus medallions. Responses were weighted in favor of pins, but we’re going to stick with medallions for 2010. It turns out FLL and FTC ordered medallions from a supplier that quoted their prices based on the assumption that FRC would place an order as well. Since all the FIRST programs are in this together, FRC will stick with medallions for one more year out of support for FLL & FTC.
87 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Kickoff registration opens this Thursday. Remember it’s in your team’s best interest to attend a Kickoff. FRC pays to ship Kits of Parts to Kickoffs that have 8 or more teams registered, so if you can get to a Kickoff, you can save your team the cost of shipping a Kit to your work area (and avoid the wait). Many Kickoffs offer workshops or other special events and all Kickoffs provide an opportunity to connect with other teams in your area. The full list of Kickoffs is here. Click on any Kickoff name to reveal more details.
Last week the Discovery Channel came to FIRSTplace to film Dean Kamen and several local NH teams for an “I love the World” commercial that will be aired this Fall.
Don’t know what FIRSTplace is? They can describe it better than I can. FIRSTplace
National Instruments and Wind River have not finished their compatibility testing with Windows 7, and thus won’t be supporting it for the 2010 FRC season. We don’t know of any reasons why it wouldn’t work, but wanted to let you know that if you use the development software on Windows 7, you do so at your own risk. (this paragraph updated 10/15 to better reflect what I meant to say.)
A while back I asked for your opinion about pins versus medallions. Responses were weighted in favor of pins, but we’re going to stick with medallions for 2010. It turns out FLL and FTC ordered medallions from a supplier that quoted their prices based on the assumption that FRC would place an order as well. Since all the FIRST programs are in this together, FRC will stick with medallions for one more year out of support for FLL & FTC.
87 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Late Breaking News
Good EveningTeams,
Stand by. Late breaking information on the location of the 2011, 2012, & 2013 FRC Championships should be available soon on the usfirst.org website. Check it out.
94 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Stand by. Late breaking information on the location of the 2011, 2012, & 2013 FRC Championships should be available soon on the usfirst.org website. Check it out.
94 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
got'ta go
Good Morning Teams,
Due to a computer glitch, the lowest rookie team number for 2010 is 3123 not 3130 as I announced on Sept 2nd. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this miscommunication may have caused.
If you want to know what the Beta teams are up to, you can ask them yourself here. Beta teams are monitoring the forums and will reply to your posts.
Supporting FIRST has been included in one of the final 16 categories of Google’s Project 10^100. Go to http://www.project10tothe100.com/submit.html?id=T09http://www.project10tothe100.com/submit.html?id=T09 to see more. Voting ends Thursday, October 8th.
The Game Design Committee met in Manchester this past weekend for what may be the last onsite meeting of the 2010 design season. We finalized field details and discussed awards, safety, game rules, robot solutions, the idea of including rule intention explanations in the game manual in the future, methods of reducing penalties, bumper rules and co-opetition. Dean preferred the pot pie over baked haddock or the vegetarian option and Kate beat everyone on the field with her robot drive skills.
We also reviewed the software programs for 2010; LabVIEW, C/C++ and Java, CAN, robot inspection, robot size and robot scoring by….. oops, I’m late for the 9AM meeting. More to follow.
94 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Due to a computer glitch, the lowest rookie team number for 2010 is 3123 not 3130 as I announced on Sept 2nd. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this miscommunication may have caused.
If you want to know what the Beta teams are up to, you can ask them yourself here. Beta teams are monitoring the forums and will reply to your posts.
Supporting FIRST has been included in one of the final 16 categories of Google’s Project 10^100. Go to http://www.project10tothe100.com/submit.html?id=T09http://www.project10tothe100.com/submit.html?id=T09 to see more. Voting ends Thursday, October 8th.
The Game Design Committee met in Manchester this past weekend for what may be the last onsite meeting of the 2010 design season. We finalized field details and discussed awards, safety, game rules, robot solutions, the idea of including rule intention explanations in the game manual in the future, methods of reducing penalties, bumper rules and co-opetition. Dean preferred the pot pie over baked haddock or the vegetarian option and Kate beat everyone on the field with her robot drive skills.
We also reviewed the software programs for 2010; LabVIEW, C/C++ and Java, CAN, robot inspection, robot size and robot scoring by….. oops, I’m late for the 9AM meeting. More to follow.
94 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
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