January 9th, 2010 FRC Kickoff Event

What:

This is the once a year FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff event. Join us in the morning to see the 2009 FRC Game.

Activities include:

Watching the kickoff video live with 40 other teams
Attending breakout sessions to get ideas on how to play the game
Picking up your teams kit of parts
Optional participation in a workshop session to build a working robot base from the KitBot base.

Things you will need:

A vehicle with room to carry two 70lb boxes measuring approximately 36"x18"x18", plus several other smaller boxes. Suggest a minivan for this. Pickups are OK if it isn't raining.
Signed consent forms from each person in your group. Click here for the 2010 Consent and Release form
An adult mentor must sign and return the Kit Of Parts receipt during kit distribution. Kits will not be released to student members of the team.

Who:

All teams, mentors, and potential teams and mentors. You can bring all or just part of your new team. We highly recommend teachers, mentors, and your key students attend this event. Your entire team is invited. (Hint: Try to bring your entire team. Those you leave behind will feel a little left out!)

Rookie teams: We recommend trying to attend the Kitbot workshop. In this workshop, we will assist you in getting a robot base rolling and working by the end of the day. This session will get your feet wet with all of the technologies we are using for the year. This fast paced, step by step instructional session.

Where:

Mountlake Terrace High School

21801 44TH AVE W

Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

When:

Doors open at 6:15 am. See the schedule below

How:

Your team must already registered as a group to attend the kickoff in TIMS to recieve a kit of parts.

If you plan to attend the Kitbot building session, you should let us know by filling out the form at the bottom of this page. This helps us plan for food and drinks.

Cost:

This event is free.

Lunch will be available if you register for the KitBot build. We will do the usual Pizza and Soda style lunch. We are asking for $5.00 per person for lunch. Lunch is 2 slices of pizza and a drink.

The Kitbot session has a materials cost. We don't have the exact number just yet, but it is going to be around $60 or so for each team. Cash would be greatly appreciated. This allows us to provide you with the additional pre-packaged materials you will need to get your robot up and running on Saturday.

Schedule:

Kickoff Day Schedule

Start Time
Activity

6:15am - 6:45am Teams arrive

6:45 am
Opening ceremonies

7:00 am Kickoff video live from FIRST Headquarters. The game is released

8:15 am Breakout sessions begin. Learn what other teams and veteran teams are thinking. Work together to understand the game, and share ideas on ways to solve the big challenges. This is an important activity, and we encourage everyone to participate.

9:30 am Kits of parts available for pickup. Sample field elements available for inspection. Usually have a group discussion about the field elements and the known aspects of the game.

10:00 am Kitbot work sessions begin.

12:00 pm Lunch break for 30 minutes. Pizza and soda (Robot building food!)

12:30 pm Kitbot work sessions continue

4:00 pm Kitbot work sessions end. Cleanup your area and pack it home.

About the Robot Base Quick Build Session:

The Robot Base Quick Build session (also called the KitBot Session) will be available again this year. You need an additional registration step if you wish to participate.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE KitBot SESSION

We hope to get your teams KitBot chassis built this day. To do that, you will need to bring some tools and enough team members to complete some of the tasks. It will likely require 4-10 people from your team including students and mentors. You will be broken into sub teams to handle the mechanical, electrical, and software elements. You need to bring a laptop computer capable of running Labview. You may preinstall Labview and its updates per instructions from FIRST.

We don't have room for every team to build their Kitbot at the event. We are therefore going to prioritize by team numbers. High team numbers will have priority over low team numbers. All teams may register, but we may need to ask for gracious professionalism in allowing the rookies a spot in the front of the line.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE KitBot SESSION

Tools needed for KitBot session:

If your team has its control system already, you should being ALL of it with you to the Kitbot workshop, including all disks, wires, and modules.

Each team will need to bring with them the following tools.

Safety glasses for each team member and mentor
A charged, cordless drill
¼” Drill bit
3/8” Drill bit
#2 phillips screwdriver
#2 Phillips screwdriver bit for drill
3/16” Allen bit for drill
3/16” Allen wrench
5/32” Allen wrench
A small and medium sized flat screwdrivers
A non-marring hammer. (plastic or leather head)
3/8” combination wrench
7/16” combination wrench
10mm combination wrench
Chain breaker (reference Mcmaster Carr # 6051K15) www.mcmaster.com
Wire cutters
Wire strippers
Wire crimpers
Hack saw (is necessary for cutting frame if that method is chosen)
Small mill file (for removing sharp edges on cut frame)
Two or more spring clamps or C Clamps. (for holding up to 1-1/2 thick materials.)
Tape Measure
Paper towels
Magic Marker

A Laptop computer, hopefully with Labview pre-installed. Additional details will be available on this webpage by Jan 1st.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE KitBot SESSION