TMCnet News
FIRST® Hosts 20,000+ Students at World's Largest Robotics CompetitionThis week, more than 20,000 students from around the globe traveled to St. Louis, putting their engineering skills to the test at the annual FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship, held at various venues throughout the city. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160430005030/en/ This week, more than 20,000 students from around the globe traveled to St. Louis, putting their engineering skills to the test at the annual FIRST® Championship. (Photo: Business Wire) The four-day event came down to a heart-pounding conclusion Saturday night in front of a roaring crowd of more than 40,000 when four teams from Hermosa Beach, California; Tremont, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; and Glen Allen, Virginia of the Carver Subdivision won the coveted FIRST Robotics Competition Championship Winning Alliance. In this year's game, FIRST STRONGHOLDSM, Alliances worked together to breach their opponents' fortifications, weaken their tower, and capture the opposing tower. Robots scored points by breaching opponents' defenses and tossing boulders through goals in the opposing tower. During the final 20 seconds of the match, robots were allowed to surround and scale the opposing tower to capture it. In all, over 20,000 students, ages 6 to 18, participated in FIRST Championship events in St. Louis. Selected Quotes:
Among the participants from around the globe, many earned honors for design excellence, competitive play, research, business plans, website design, teamwork, and partnerships. A not-for-profit organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST inspires young people's interest and participation in science and technology. In St. Louis, more than 900 teams from 42 countries competed in the four FIRST programs: FIRST® LEGO® League (grades 4 to 8, 9 to 14-year-olds in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; 9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico); FIRST® Tech Challenge (grades 7 to 12, 12 to 18-year-olds); and FIRST® Robotics Competition (grades 9 to 12, ages 14 to 18). In addition to the high-energy robotics matches, 60 teams of 6 to 9-year-olds participated in the FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. (grades K-3, ages 6-9), World Festival Expo. The Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarships were given to:
The FIRST Championship honored significant supporters of the FIRST mission:
The 2016 winners of the competitions are as follows: Winners of the Dean's List Award included: From FIRST Robotics Competition:
From FIRST Tech Challenge:
1. FIRST® Robotics Competition Championship - FIRST Robotics Competition combines sports excitement with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams are challenged to fundraise, design a brand, exercise teamwork, and build and program robots to perform tasks against competitors. Approximately 78,500 students on 3,140 teams from 24 countries competed during the 2016 season.
Other FIRST Robotics Competition Awards included:
Championship Finalists Tesla Subdivision
2. FIRST® Tech Challenge World Championship - FIRST Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers. Teams build robots from a reusable kit of parts, develop strategies, document their progress, and compete head to head. This year's game, FIRST® RES-QSM, is modeled after rescue situations faced by mountain explorers. Two Alliances with two robots each score by "resetting" rescue beacons, delivering rescue climbers to a shelter, parking on the mountain, and parking in the rescue beacon repair zone or floor goal. Approximately 51,500 students on 5,158 FIRST Tech Challenge teams competed during the 2015/2016 season. The 2015/2016 FIRST Tech Challenge Sponsors include Official Program Sponsor, Rockwell Collins; Official IoT, CAD & Collaboration Software Sponsor, PTC; and Official Control System Sponsor, Qualcomm (News - Alert). The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Inspire Award, recognizing excellence in robot design and teamwork, went to Team 7013 Hot Wired from Portland Oregon. The Winning Alliance was Team 5916, BoBots, Earleville, MD; Team 8221, CUBIX^3, Hampstead, MD; Team 6022, TBD-To Be Determined, Aurora, Ohio. The FIRST Tech Challenge Volunteer of the Year Award winner was Mannie Lowe of Mississippi. The Compass Award for excellence in coaching/mentoring was awarded to David Patterson. He was nominated for this award by Team 3595, Schrödinger's Hat, of Fairbanks, Alaska. 3. FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival - FIRST LEGO League introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by conducting research projects and building LEGO-based autonomous robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. FIRST LEGO League teams, guided by their imaginations, discover exciting career possibilities and learn to make positive contributions to society. This year's challenge, TRASH TREKSM engaged 233,000+ kids on approximately 29,000 teams to explore the hidden world of trash, from collecting to sorting to smart production and reuse. Top honors went to Champion's Award 1st Place winner, Team 23, The Incredibots, Columbus, Ohio; Champion's Award Finalist, Team 22993, Mechatronic Ants, Pamplona, Spain; and Champion's Award Finalist, Team 23005, Tic Tac Toe, Beirut, Lebanon 4. FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. World Festival Expo - FIRST LEGO League Jr. introduces children ages 6 to 9 to the exciting worlds of science and technology. Teams of up to six children and two adult Coaches take on a real-world Challenge, to be explored through research, critical thinking, and imagination. In this year's FIRST LEGO League Jr. Challenge, WASTE WISESM, students learned that throwing something in the trash is only the beginning. From reducing, to reusing, to recycling, and beyond, teams found out what making trash really means. For a full list of FIRST Championship winners and awards, visit www.firstinspires.org. 2016 FIRST Championship Sponsors Qualcomm is the 2016 FIRST Championship Presenting Sponsor. 2016 FIRST Champion Program Sponsors include: The Boeing Company; BOSCH; Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD); FedEx Corporation; Google (News - Alert); IBM; Monsanto; NRG Energy; U.S. Air Force; United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Other 2016 FIRST Championship Sponsors include: Abbott Fund; BAE Systems; Bechtel Corporation; Booz Allen Hamilton (News - Alert); The Coca-Cola Company; Comcast NBCUniversal; CSC Charitable Foundation; DaDaLeLe; Dr. William H. Danforth; Dice; The Dow Chemical Company; Edward Jones; General Electric Company; Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark; Microsoft Corporation; Mouser Electronics; Nidec Motor Corporation; NVIDIA Corporation; Southwest Airlines; SpaceX (News - Alert); St. Louis Regional Chamber; St. Louis Union Station Hotel; UL; Vulcan Spring & Mfg. Co.
Save the date! The FIRST Championship will be held in: About FIRST® Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $25 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST® LEGO® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. for Grades K-3. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.firstinspires.org. FIRST and the FIRST logo are registered trademarks of the United States Foundation For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST). LEGO® is a registered trademark of The LEGO Group.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160430005030/en/ |