FIRST Robotics Competition to be held at OSU

Jessica Marshall, Stillwater NewsPress, Okla.
·3 min read

Dec. 28—Aspiring science and technology students will have a chance to enter the FIRST Robotics Competition held at the Student Union on OSU's campus on Jan. 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Teams of students (ages 14-18) from across the state will meet to kick off the 2023 season and get details about the competition.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a nonprofit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen, whose mission is fostering an appreciation of science and technology.

This program offers challenges to high school students working with volunteers, educators and sponsors to design and build a robot to compete in competitions. The competition goals are to "measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration and the determination of students," the press release from FIRST stated.

This season's game is called "Charged Up," presented by Haas as part of the 2022-2023 overall season of FIRST ENERGIZE presented by Qualcomm.

The event will last most of the day. At 11 a.m., a worldwide live stream will be held announcing the details of the competition for the year.

After the season details are revealed, local teams can pick up their kits and begin planning and designing for the year. Students will have six weeks to design, build and test their robot before the competition play begins.

The local planning committee will hold what's called a "quick build" for teams who would like to participate. They will also hold learning opportunities for students who wish to participate.

In addition, the FIRST website offers a "Haas Tip of the Day," where students can find machining tips and other information about designing and building their robot.

Students can also find material at the website to help them spread the word and charge up their experience by downloading and sharing logos, social graphics, posters and more.

They can sign up for more mentoring by creating a team profile on the FIRST Mentor Network which is sponsored by National Instruments, an engineering company that supports engineering and science education worldwide, providing educators and students software and hardware to connect the curriculum with the real world.

For the 2023 season, Oklahoma will have two competitions:

—March 9-11 competition held in Shawnee at FireLake Arena. Teams from Oklahoma, surrounding states, and Mexico will be attending.

—April 6-8 competition held in Tulsa at Expo Square Pavilion. Teams will be attending from Oklahoma, surrounding states, and several other countries including Mexico, Australia, Barbados, Colombia, Suriname and Belize.

"From the machines that move us to the food that sustains us to the wireless technologies that connect us, energy plays an essential role in keeping our world running," according to the FIRST in Oklahoma press release. "During this season, FIRST teams will reimagine the future of sustainable energy and power their ideas forward."

This year's energy theme is focusing on global challenges related to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 7, which includes ensuring access to "affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all."

For more information about the competition, visit the FIRST website at firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/kickoff.