Three hundred fifty avid FIRST Robotics team members, mentors, and volunteers gathered on Saturday, December 8, at the Eagan, Minn., headquarters of Lockheed Martin for Minnesota Splash. Attendees enjoyed a series of presentations and seminars covering much of what comprises the FIRST build and competition season. The event kicked off with a welcome by Rick Udicious, the Vice President-general manager of Lockheed Martin. Having sons who participated in the program, Mr. Udicious was speaking from experience when he alluded to the special nature of the FRC program: “What you do in the next couple of months …will have an impact on the rest of your life.” Following the introduction by Mr. Udicious, Mark Lawrence of Edina Robotics FIRST Team 1816, The Green Machine, gave a brief overview of FIRST’s history, including the founders, leaders and guiding principles.
Team 2169, KING TEC of Prior Lake then appeared, in costume, to assist in giving the many attending rookie team members an idea of what takes place, beginning with the exciting moment when the season’s game is revealed at Kickoff (Jan.5, 2008), to inventorying the kit of parts, to building a robot and finally, participating in the competitions. KING TEC presenters, co-captains Taylor and Dustin P., specifically mentioned the special relationships fostered by and among FIRST Teams. “It’s competition and cooperation at the same time. Use the FIRST community, it’s there for you,” they said. Sam Cheek, Team 2169’s programming head, also gave a very brief overview of the programming needed to run a FIRST robot.
Teams were then divided into groups for break-out sessions. Most of the seminars, prepared and presented by members of The Green Machine, ranged from the how-to’s of robot electrical systems to somewhat less technical topics such as marketing, media, and spirit. William Durfee, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota, gave a hands-on seminar on pneumatics. A majority of the presentations have been posted on the Minnesota Regional web site. As the build season looms, we hope the first-annual Minnesota Splash was a great way for everyone to dive into FIRSTrobotics and was a very informative morning for everyone.