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FIRST®
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
The race is on in the 2010 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST®) competition, an annual event that challenges high school students across the US and the globe, to design and build a robot as a solution to a technical challenge.
181 BAE Systems sponsored teams across the United States and in Brazil, Chile and Bosnia are now hard at work constructing their robots for this year's competition. As a Strategic Partner of FIRST, BAE Systems has committed to provide US$2.18 million to support the initiative in 2010.
The 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition kicked off in January when teams from schools around the globe linked up by NASA satellite to hear this year's challenge announced. The broadcast by Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST, from the organisation's headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire, was the first step in a six-week programme to design, build, test, and ship a robot.
Mentors and representatives from BAE Systems were present at kick-off events across the US and around the world as students received their challenge - a soccer-like game between teams of robots called Breakaway where the students will need to use advanced technologies, such as a video camera for sighting, to get their robots to shoot balls into a goal. Teams can win additional points by getting their robots to climb on the playing field infrastructure or by lifting an opposition robot off the playing surface.
The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programmes that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership. It has proven results too; a study carried out by Brandeis University found that 41% of US participants selected engineering as a college major, seven times the national average.
The Company's contribution to FIRST is not only about getting young people excited about science and technology; it is also about developing the future workforce. As a strategic partner the Company sees students benefiting from an experience that teaches teamwork and innovation, whilst young employees develop leadership skills by mentoring a FIRST team.
To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org
