Hasta La Ideas

After a hiatus during the month of July the Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club is back. To kick things off with a fresh perspective, we’ve asked the Riverdale Highschool Robotics Team to talk about their activities in FIRST Robotics. Join us next Tuesday, August 2nd at the Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland at 6PM.

Do you have any advice to students that want to become involved in programs like FIRST robotics, or are just interested in learning about and building their own robots?

If you’re still in middle school or elementary school, but still want to get involved in robotics, the FIRST Lego League program is an excellent way to get involved. The competition is in many ways similar to FRC, but instead of raw materials, the robots are made of legos. Another program is the FIRST Tech challenge, which could be described as the intermediate level between FLL and FRC. Both are fun programs that can lead to FRC in high school. If your school doesn’t have an FLL, FTC, or FRC team, there are club teams that may allow students in the community to join. All of these teams are more then glad to have you no matter what you like to do.

Are there any specific tools that you consistently use when building your robots? Are there any rare, unique or otherwise specialized tools that you find indispensable?

Each team member probably has a tool they could not work without. Our electrician needs his multimeter, our programmers need their computers, and our fabrication team needs their drill press and welders. Perhaps the most important tools/supplies are the ones supplied by FIRST itself. Each year we get access to specialized design and programming software, as well as unique pieces of electronics. These are vital to building robots.

(more…)