FIRST Looks (Audio)

As many of our viewers know, our host Daniele just graduated from Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland, Florida. This school is unique for a number of reasons, but its focus on STEM-based education is its standout feature. Having a school like this means that students can more easily find activities that align with their areas of study or their overall areas of interest. One of those activities is Purple Fire Robotics, a robotics team and alumni association at the school.While we have talked in the past about the general activities of Purple Fire, this year we got to speak with Jacob about a new robotics initiative that he is involved with: Combat Robotics. While separate and apart from, the program is similar in nature to the BattleBots program. Teams build robots with the goal of knocking out or highly damaging their opponent's robot - a different intention from that of FIRST.Jacob recognized the benefits of learning through combat robotics, however, and is working to bring National Robotics League competition to high schools and colleges. While the environment of FIRST helps to teach particular aspects of engineering, NRL competition has the ability to hone other engineering skills. The need to protect the body, drive train, and control system of NRL robots means learning about different materials and defensive tactics for design. These same principles are used every day when you look at the design of things like laptops, tablets, and phones - all of which need protection from drops.Even though the nature of NRL is far more actively competitive, being one-on-one competition, the organization still fosters the same core values of FIRST. One team can completely destroy another team's robot and, after the match, will go over and help them rebuild, and then have lunch together.For more on NRL, or to find an event in your area. check out their website.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

If you're involved in the FIRST community in Florida, then you are almost certainly aware of Middleton Robotics. The program is housed at the STEM magnet program at Middleton High School in Tampa, Florida, and has made a big name for themselves. Having one FIRST Robotics Competition team, currently two FIRST Tech Challenge teams (formerly three), as well as participating in VEX with two teams, Middleton knows how to compete.At ROBOTICON Tampa Bay, we had the opportunity to speak with Manu, the President of Middleton Robotics. He is a three year veteran of FIRST Tech Challenge Team 3846 Maelstrom, but for his senior year switched to FIRST Robotics Competition Team 1369 Minotaur. This switch is because of the sheer volume of scholarships that are made available exclusively to FIRST Robotics Competition team members, meaning that seniors are best-served long-term as a Minotaur team member.Coming into his Freshman year, Manu had no real robotics experience. However, knowing about Middleton's reputation as a world championship club is what attracted him to the school and the STEM program in the first place. Having the ability to participate in a program with teams in a variety of leagues has given him a better understanding of the similarities and differences between challenges. After switching from FIRST Tech Challenge to FIRST Robotics Competition, he noticed that there are a lot of similarities between the programs. The larger scale, however, allows for more people to be involved in the build, as well as adding a need for more detailed communication.One of the big challenges he experienced was in the schedule of the competition. FIRST Robotics Competition starts its season in January, meaning that, for the first half of a new school year, you're having to learn the old game, despite it not having a lot of real-world value. Fortunately, ROBOTICON gives students who are new to the program the opportunity to experience a competition environment and practice with last year's game and robot before their new season begins.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

One of the most exciting parts of ROBOTICON Tampa Bay is the way it brings together some of the best volunteers and staff within the FIRST community from all over the state of Florida. One of those wonderful people in attendance in 2018 was Stacey Jones, the Affiliate Partner for FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr. in South Florida. Stacey has been involved with FIRST for over 20 years in a variety of roles. Stacey is such an important part of the Florida community that she won the 2019 Volunteer of the Year Award at FIRST Championship in Detroit.As the Affiliate Partner, Stacey is responsible for scheduling and planning all of the events for both FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr., including tournaments and research presentations. She also makes sure that everyone involved, such as coaches and judges, get the training they need to be successful in their roles. Most importantly, she is responsible for making sure that everyone experiences calm events and a smooth season. Fortunately, FIRST provides a host of resources to help her with those goals, which also provide an opportunity to try for a consistent experience, whether students are in South Florida or Los Angeles.This season, the South Florida group has been lucky to attract some new sponsors who are just as excited about FIRST as Stacey is. One partnership is with Netflix, particularly with the reboot of the 90s series Reboot. The new version of the series, Reboot: The Guardian Code, addresses a more modern version of the computer - not focusing on the struggles of an old mainframe, but instead on the interconnectivity of the internet. A few students are chosen to help defect the internet, including with the help of the original animated cast. In addition, she has been working with INFENTO, who produces a modular system for ridable robotics.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

While most of the time, FIRST Looks gets the opportunity to speak with members of FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge teams, we always look forward to our experiences with FIRST LEGO League team members. These students, while very young, are some of the most energetic and passionate, both about their teams and about FIRST in general. During ROBOTICON Tampa Bay 2018, the team spoke with Chloe from the Tie Dye Gummy Divas, Team 30648. The adorable team name came from combining one word from each team member, making it a true team effort.Showing the team's excitement for the season, the team members all have a similar, but unique look. All of the girls were wearing a team shirt, matching rainbow tutu, and space-themed leggings, which match the theme for the season. Each member, however, had their own design for their leggings, getting to show off a little about themselves. This is a big part of the FIRST LEGO League program, with awards being given to the team with the most "team spirit."For the Gummy Divas, there aren't exactly roles. The students get the opportunity to try different aspects of the build and research project and then focus on the aspects that they enjoy the most. For Chloe, that's been all about programming and building, while her friends have focused on other aspects of the season, like the research project. The project for the year is to think of the problems that would be encountered by people trying to live in space and help address those problems.When thinking about the future of space travel and exploration, Chloe is very excited. She says that "it takes your breath away, figurately and literally." Profound words from a very smart girl. She believes that, in the future, we will find a way to live in space for more than just a few years, with colonies being built. She's also excited about the things that she's learning now in FIRST about robotics could one day help astronauts on other planets.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

ROBOTICON is held in USF's Yuengling center, and there the engineering department always puts on an Expo that showcases the different engineering clubs and organizations at USF. Of course, this expo could not happen without all the hard work of the volunteers and the team is joined by Sampad the volunteer coordinator for USF's Expo.Sampad Acharya or Sam is a second-year electrical science Ph.D. student at USF. In 2017 he came from India to continue his education in electrical and commuter science. He is at Roboticon managing 54 people from 20 different organization and research groups. His job is to make sure all the exhibitors have the supplies that they need and he is in charge of making sure that they are feed. The only issue Sam has faced was missing the volunteer lunch because he had been working. Sampad is a hard worker and is passionate about learning.He goes into detail about how much he does around campus and in different organization. He is a Teacher's Assistant for a lab in the fundamentals of logic and design and conducts research involved in computer sciences. Moreover, he is the IEEE workshop chair at USF and through this program, he has met and taught other FIRST students. Sam explains how he got involved in IEEE by going to a quality free food banquet at an IEEE event, where he met lots of inspiring people and he decided that he wanted to get involved.When Sam talked about his experience in the electrical engineering field he has already had experience working in India as a researcher for two colleges and at different engineering companies. He came to Florida because he wanted to expand his knowledge of artificial intelligence and programming. To learn more about IEEE student chapter at USF IEEE USF. Also, to learn more about Sampad Acharya visit his LinkedIn IEEE USF.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

University student always wants to get that real-world experience and clubs are the closest way to get it. USF has a variety of clubs related to engineering and some give students real-world experience. The team is listening to USF's Formula SAE Bulls Racing talk about how engineering students learn practical skills through designing and creating a race car every year.A freshman mechanical student talks to us about Bulls Racing that creates and competes with a Formula SAE car. The competitions that they compete in include three dynamic events and a business presentation. The first event is the Autocross, it involves showing that the car can race by evaluating drivers' skills and quick thinking on a track. Next is the Acceleration event, they score the teams on the speed from start to end of a certain distance. Finally, the last event is the Endurance test, the main event is on a 22 Km track, where the cars real challenge is finishing.The interesting parts are when halfway through teams must go to pits, turn off the car, change drivers, and restart the car. Of course, this is all timed the faster a car with the least amount of penalty points wins. These events are monitored by volunteers and timing equipment to ensure correct results. The student discusses how they create the entire design in SolidWorks before building. Moreover, to be cost-effective when they test parts of the car they use last year frame. The interviews ended after a comparison of the experience FIRST student receive in high school to that students receive in universities. He talks about the benefits he has received from being in this club and thinks that FIRST students are gaining great experience.To learn more about University of South Florida's Formula SAE Bulls Racing go to the USF Bulls Racing website.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

Having been in the FIRST arena for many years now, we obviously already have our own perspective from alumni, coach and mentor points of view. That being said, it's always great to get a totally fresh perspective of the organization and competitions. There's really no better way to accomplish this than to get it first hand from a member of a more newly formed team. Ringo from First Tech Challenge Team 12715, Robo Tux Cats, stopped by the FIRST Looks studio at ROBOTICON 2018 to let us know more about their team and their journey. The Robo Tux Cats are a Florida team, from the Four Corners area. When we met, they were just starting their second season and, just as the year before, they were ready to jump right into the build. Prior to their rookie year, founding member Ringo had been wanting to get into robotics. After expressing his interest, his coach got the ball rolling with FIRST. And even with their small team of just four members, they were able to jump right in and get a robot ready for competition. The game for 2017 was Relic Recovery, which was a great one to get started with. They find the 2018 game, Deep Space, to be a bit more challenging but they like it a lot.As a ninth-grader in his second year with the Robo Tux Cats, Ringo is the main programmer for the team. He also enjoys doing the photography for the team. And with such a small team, he, of course, finds himself helping with various other tasks, such as getting parts for the builders. They have a dedicated team, each with a lot of responsibilities and they are able to accomplish a lot, even though they generally only meet together once per week. Check out Ringo's full interview to learn more about the game itself and their specific build. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

This year at ROBOTICON, everywhere you look there are space ships and rover landings. This is because all the FIRST programs have a space exploration theme. The team is joined by special guest Kurt Leucht a software engineer at NASA, who is here to show support. Kurt has been working for NASA for 27 years, he is part of Swamp Works a research group that works to create out of the box technology that astronauts will need in the future when they explore Mars. He talks about how there needs to be new technology developed to help the journey to Mars be as safe and cost-effective as possible. Part of Kurt's job is to find a way to use the environment on Mars to make water, rocket fuel and other necessities for the astronauts. Kurt is also at ROBOTICON to give presentations about the process of long-distance space travel and he says it opens people's eyes and gets them excited about what NASA is doing and what to work towards for the future. Kurt explains that the current plan is to go back to the moon. To learn more about long term space travel, they are going to build a small space station around the moon called "the gateway," from there they will make a small lunar colony on the surface of the moon to practice long duration living in space.The special thing about FIRST students Kurt talks about is that these children will be the ones to be living on Mars. He enjoys talking to kids and telling them that because they are growing up in a culture that promotes creative problem solving they are already started to become NASA engineers. To learn more about NASA internships, visit the NASA intern website.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

The field of engineering has many different branches and the University of South Florida does its best to have degree programs for all engineering disciplines. At ROBOTICON Tampa Bay, the team was joined by Abby, a sophomore biomedical engineering student. The biomedical engineering department was created only a year ago at USF and Abby is excited to be a part of the first class to go through the whole program. Even though the department is new, Abby talked about how she enjoys the coursework, and she looks forward to the more specialized classes such as the biomechanics labs.Also, Abby is glad that the university is working hard to help the student succeed in the program. She found out about the program during her freshman year and has been involved in it since. The department lets students go down various paths towards their career in the biomedical field. USF lets students choose whether they want to go towards graduate school, medical school, or straight into the technology industry. Abby started the program with no engineering background and she now she is enjoying it. Her plans are to get into biomechanics industry and gain more experience in the research field. Abby's dream is to work for NASA doing biomechanical research on how space affects the body and how to apply biomechanics to keep astronauts healthy in space. She is currently working in the research lab "CARRT" which specializes in rehabilitation research. She talks about how the bio-medical department can be feed into any engineering branch such as electrical, computer, mechanical or software engineering. To learn more about the Department of Medical Engineering go to their website.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

The FIRST Tech Challenge had their game released two weeks prior to ROBOTICON Tampa Bay and, for some people, this event is the first time they get to see the field with robots running. The team interviewed Anaya from The Pink Team FIRST Tech Challenge 6326. This is her first year as a member and as a driver. The FIRST experience for Anaya hasn't just started, as she explained that her brother was a member of The Pink Team before her and that she is used to being surrounded by robots. Anaya became attached to FIRST through her familiarity with it and because of the influence of her father's creativity. Though she is in her first year, Anaya has already expressed interest in learning to program. The Pink Team has been around for over 20 years and is still running strong! This team has come all the way from the Space Coast league and is different from others because of their cooperation between three different high schools on one team. It's common for a team to be based in a school, or for a team to be based in a garage, but it's less common for a group of schools to come together to build a single team. They include students from Rockledge, Cocoa Beach, and Port St. John.The Pink Team has both a FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition team and allows team members to be a part of both, with 45 students this team is large when compared to others. Anaya talked to us about the team and how the FIRST Tech Challenge team has been dedicated to going to meetings twice a week and are working hard on their design for the new robot. Which she states should be done within the next week.To learn more about The Pink Team go to The Pink Team website, or find them on Facebook.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

At ROBOTICON Tampa Bay everyone wants to teach and inspire students to be apart of STEM education. While FIRST is active during the school year, students need to find other ways to be involved in STEM activities. The University of South Florida has a summer program called BULLSEYE, it focuses on teaching local middle school students in the Tampa Bay area life and engineering skills.Our team interviewed Ahmirah, BULLSEYE's program coordinator and learned about the program and her experience while being involved. BULLSEYE is a free 6-week summer camp hosted at USF for local middle school students. It teaches an array of life skills and engineering disciplines. Activities include learning to use a 3D printer, motors, servos and even how to make a functional battle bot. The main focus of the summer camp is to teach practical skills to the next generation of engineers. She also talked about how students who went through the program loved it so much some came back as high school students to help mentor the new minds. BULLSEYE has been around for 5 years and Ahmirah was excited to say that last summer they had their largest camp yet, with over 100 participants. Ahmirah is a chemical engineer student at the University of South Florida when she was a freshman she knew she wanted to help others. After finding BULLSEYE she explains how she fell in love with what the program did and wanted to help however she could. Even though Ahmirah admits she does not know that much about robotics she still was able to inspire the students and she learned life skills from the children in return. After learning about FIRST Ahmirah was fascinated and said that she now wants to get involved in FIRST. To learn how you can be involved in BULLSEYE go to their BULLSEYE USF website.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

ROBOTICON Tampa Bay is the event to show student's involvement in engineering. That includes the college students at the University of South Florida, especially those studying to be engineers. USF has many different engineering clubs that specialized in certain branches, including one of IEEE student chapters. IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to electrical engineering.IEEE is the trusted "voice" for engineering, computing, and technology information around the globe.At ROBOTICON showcasing their Electrathon race car, our team was able to speak with the Vice President of IEEE USF, Cooper. He talked about his place and accomplishment with IEEE USF, and how being involved in a technical professional organization has helped him personally. Cooper was impressed by the students in FIRST, he commented that these kids have a head start and he was in awe by how involved they were in robotics. Cooper has been in IEEE USF for three years and truly believes IEEE helps foster growth in USF students. He enjoys his responsibility in organizing workshops and presentations for IEEE USF students. Cooper talks about his projects involving an RC car and planning a hackathon at USF. He goes on to explain how being involved in projects have helped him and others outside the classroom. Even job interviews have changed for him since adding his IEEE accomplishment to his resume. IEEE is over hundred years old and continues to be a resource for professionals and students alike. It keeps the professional's informed about the newest technology and helps students socially be apart of a network of engineers. To learn more about IEEE USF go to their IEEE USF website, or find them on Facebook.To find an IEEE student chapter near you go to the IEEE website. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

Live from the 2018 ROBOTICON Tampa Bay at the Yuengling Center at the University of South Florida. This year's event features 23 FIRST Robotics Competition teams, 16 FIRST Tech Challenge teams, 8 FIRST LEGO League teams, and 5 FIRST LEGO League Jr. teams. We speak with representatives from several of the teams, including some of the most recognizable teams in Florida, as well as rookie teams. We also speak with a software engineer from NASA about the future of space travel, including what is needed to get people to Mars and, more importantly, how to keep them alive once they arrive. We end the show with the Affiliate Partner for FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr. in South Florida.Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

One of the things that makes a FIRST team succeed is the ability to pass knowledge on from season to season. Under normal circumstances, a team expects to rotate members out every year, with a healthy portion staying and some graduating, to be replaced by freshman. Some seasons, however, a larger portion of the team graduates than others, leaving a lot of rookie members. That is what FIRST Robotics Competition 6527, Short SirKit experienced this season. A large portion of their team were rookies (around 15), though about 5 veteran members remained, including Angel (a 2-year member), who spoke with Daniele and Marissa at the Orlando Regional. It meant that the veteran members all had to take on more of a mentoring role for the new students. Despite the higher number of rookie members, the team was doing well on the field; even better than last season. Angel acts as a machinist on his team, working with tools like bandsaws, drill presses and a CNC machine, to produce the body and appendages for the robot. He finds the experience of FIRST to be fun, and he appreciates working with his team. Before joining the team he wasn't experienced with the tools he uses, and owes his knowledge to his 2 seasons with Short SirKit. This team works differently from many other teams, as the team exists as part of a manufacturing class and a robotics class in school, which he heard about from his mother. After enrolling in the class, he was inspired to go into machining as a career after high school. Because the team is run as a class, it means that activities are graded, but there is not as much time for the social aspects of FIRST. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

So it's no secret to say that the Orlando Regional Competition is one of our favorites. And one of the best parts of our coverage is when Terri Willingham stops by for a chat. Terri was formerly a Regional Director with FIRST. She loved organizing these events and working closely with the teams as they navigated their way through the robotics program. Her new position, as Director of the Foundation for Community Driven Innovation (FCDI), is her most rewarding role yet. Terri and her husband Steve are now able to take all of the knowledge gained with FIRST a step further with the foundation and AMRoC (Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics Center). They are in the process of building out this manufacturing and robotics center that will be home to a permanent FIRST Robotics Competition field, as well as an FIRST Tech Challenge field and a couple of FIRST LEGO League tables. It will give students a place to come to be creative, build their robots and then test and practice. The dream is to have the makerspace easily accessible with all of the tools available for building and repairs. Everything started to come together about a year ago when Terri applied for an Argosy Foundation Grant. The application of these funds, as well as other donations, have been disbursed directly to local community groups and programs, such as Robotics Tampa Bay and FIRST teams. It's tough to make real changes when trying to tackle challenges as a national level. She now realizes that by concentrating her efforts hyper-locally, it is easier to leverage community engagement. Thus putting money, manufacturing and jobs in the community. The philosophy is basically that we can change the world in our own back yards and then scale it up from there. At the local level, you can apply a thousand dollars and see actually the impact it creates. Make sure to watch our interview with Terri and learn more about all of her exciting upcoming ventures. Then stay tuned to watch them grow and even join in the efforts by volunteering along with all of us. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

Who doesn't love it when a Jedi stops by for a chat? Well, we might enjoy it a little more than your average interviewers, but that's okay. It was great to get to know Joao with FIRST Robotics Competition 5557, BB-R8ERS. Once again it was so refreshing to see how excited and motivated a 1st year team member can be. He is a freshman in high school and this his initial exposure to FIRST. When he was looking into which high school he wanted to attend, he chose his current school because of the tech classes offered and the robotics program. He thought it would be a great opportunity to learn a lot and also have a lot of fun. Joao started off on the electrical team at the beginning of the season and then moved over to the business side. He even presented the Chairman's Award here at the competition. His goals for the future are to get back involved on the electrical team and hopefully become a lead, while still helping out in business. While we were talking with him about how the team was doing at the competition this year, they were actually currently on the field competing behind us. It was fun to look back and see them in action with all of their teammates cheering them on, light sabers in hand. Many were in costume and you could feel the team spirit all the way up to our booth. There are currently about 35 members on the robotics team. They start out as Padawans when they are rookies and build their way to being lead and mentor Jedi Masters. One thing Joao loves is how even though this is a technical field, it has the feeling of a large sporting event. That is something that we at FIRST Looks also really enjoy. And if you are looking to also get inspired by FIRST, this is the interview that you are looking for. Check it out and let us know what you think. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

One of our favorite things to do here at FIRST Looks is to get to know the teams from other countries. It always fun to connect with them both culturally and professionally. And it's wonderful to find that they have just as much passion and enthusiasm about FIRST as we do here in this country. It was great to get to know Danielle from FRC 6404, Brazilian Storm. She is a sophomore at her high school in Brazil and was previously on an FIRST LEGO League team for four years. This is her 1st year on this FIRST Robotics Competition team and the transition to the larger robots was a little scary at first. This is also her first time coming to the United States. She's having a blast here at the Orlando Regionals. Her favorite thing is seeing the passion from the students here and watching all of the robots at work. The team was faring well at the competition, even with a couple of early setbacks. They had a couple of issues in transit with a couple of their Visa's and some lost luggage. Also, they had to ship their robot in multiple packages due to size and weight restrictions and then rebuild it first thing when they got here. They are such a strong and resilient team and didn't let anything hold them back from enjoying the competition. The FIRST Looks control room also had fun chatting with her fellow teammates behind the scenes. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

We've had the chance to interview numerous FIRST students over the last few years, each with varying degrees of experience on their team. Sydney with FRC 3932, Dirty Mechanics, has been on the team for 5 years. She's had a chance to be involved in just about every aspect in the process. She started out on the build team and through the years has moved more into the business side of things. Her current position is BME Team Leader. She is in charge of Business, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, which covers all of the awards presentations, essays, leadership and team outreach. Sydney has been to the Orlando Regional Competition for 4 out of her 5 years on the team. She loves this huge, open and fun event. It's like being at a major sporting event rather than at a robotics competition. And her team usually does well at the competition. Of course there are different challenges that occur with the robot, most often with things like timing. But the team is proud that they always work together and get everything on track in time to compete. She is loving her final season on the team and just enjoying everything. It's a good feeling to be a senior member and assist the team from that perspective. And as this is her senior year in high school, she is grateful to be getting expert assistance with her college applications and has gotten great letters of recommendation from her robotics mentors. And even though she's not quite sure exactly what direction she will go as far as her major is concerned, she's not worried at all because she is bringing along all of the confidence that FIRST has instilled in her. She knows that she still has some time to decide on the perfect career. She is also already looking forward to continuing on as a volunteer/mentor in the future. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

We have returned for the 20th Annual FIRST Robotics Competition Orlando Regional. There are 64 teams competing, including one from the Netherlands, and three rookie teams. We speak with representatives from several of the teams, including some of the longest-running teams in Florida, as well as rookie teams. In addition, we speak with the team from the Netherlands about their incredibly unique experience. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

This year celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Orlando Regionals and we had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Woodie Flowers, who was in attendance to mark the occasion. Woodie, an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a distinguished résumé with an impressive list of honors and achievements. In our circles, however, he is best known as being the co-founder of FIRST Robotics Competition, along with Dean Kamen in 1992. It was Woodie who coined the phrase and environment of Gracious Professionalism, which is truly a cornerstone value in this amazing organization. It was great to get his perspective on how FIRST has evolved over the years and the direction for the future. We've come from simplistic beginnings of having the robots decipher colors to using vision technology with the use of cameras that take the robots capabilities to the next level. But it doesn't stop with how advanced the robots get. There's a lot more to it. There's a responsibility that comes with such rapidly advancing technology because although it's wonderful to have all of these new capabilities at our fingertips, there are always those out there who will use the progress for nefarious purposes. The fact that FIRST has already built in a culture of honesty, graciousness and truth seeking gives these students a tremendous edge for facing such obstacles in the future. The kids are also given the understanding that although they have the advantage of likely being very successful in their future careers, they also need to teach others along the way. Make sure to watch this insightful interview with Woodie. He has a special way of understanding and appreciating the advancements in the world of technology and seeing beyond to how it can impact society as a whole. His favorite part of this journey with FIRST is the underlying philosophy of what they do. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

You can't help but be inspired when you see someone who worked hard to create a team and even overcome some of the hardest challenges, especially when that person is a junior in high school. Janelle with FIRST Robotics Competition 7194, iRam is proof that hard work and dedication pays off. After taking a STEM class in middle school, Janelle knew that she wanted to also pursue it in high school and decided that a robotics team was the way to go. Her school in New Port Richey, Florida did not have a FIRST Robotics team but she didn't let that stop her. As she went about making this goal a reality, she knew that they needed to get everything in order before actually joining FIRST in order to be as successful as possible. They started out by taking their time to recruit teammates. They accomplished this by spreading the word through pep rallies and fundraisers. They took a hands on approach with their classmates by showing them the cool things that they could make. Along the way, they learned about the fundamentals of FIRST, like teamwork and gracious professionalism and how important it is to help everybody reach their goals. And although it seemed kind of strange at first to help out the competition, they soon realized how great it felt to do just that, especially when it's for a team that has helped yours. Watch Janelle's interview to find out more about this inspiring young lady and the challenges she and her team are facing and how they are doubling down to turn their setbacks into growth. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

We never run out of interesting topics when it comes to our interviews with this fan favorite. After all, he wears a lot of different hats. Chuck Stephens is a mentor for FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge, a Board Member of the Foundation for Community Driven Innovation (FCDI), part of the Eureka Factory and he works for the Pasco Country Library System. We always learn a during our chats with Chuck, and we have a lot of fun too! Chuck is currently the mentor/coach of the first ever library based FIRST Robotics Competition team, the Edgar Allan Ohms, who are here competing at the Orlando Regional today. They are based out of the Regency Park Library where they design, build and test their robots. There is also a lot going on in the Pasco County Library system. Chuck and his coworkers are committed to ensuring that libraries continue to be a place where people can reach their potential. And we have to say that we certainly are impressed. It is refreshing to see how these library branches are reinventing themselves and not only staying relevant but giving back so much to their communities. Not only are there maker spaces where someone can come to learn a craft or teach their favorite hobby, but there are music and recording studios where they can come explore and dabble in an area that they may only have dreamed about. There's also upcoming cooking classes and a community garden in the works. Chuck is also involved with Gulf Coast Maker and Comic Con and ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. Check out his interview to find out all of the exciting new programs that the library, Eureka Factory and FCDI have in the works. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

The culture of learning and inclusion that FIRST embraces is facilitated by the mentors who help these kids adapt and grow. FIRST truly has the best mentors! Take, for example, Drew with FIRST Robotics Competition 3627, Jungle Robotics. He is the mentor for the Sarasota County School District. Drew started his career in animation and design and is now teaching robotics and engineering after the students sought him out to get involved in FIRST Robotics Competition. It's easy to tell that it is a position that he takes seriously and brings a passion for STEM learning with him. He's there for the team every step of the way, from the first day of planning and build to outreach programs and team building exercises. He also helps them realize that win or lose, they take the experience along with them. Drew is also a part of the Scouts, acting as the District Vice Chair in charge of STEM. And although one doesn't normally see a correlation between the Boy Scouts and Robotics, after spending a few minutes with Drew, we were left wondering why we had never put it together ourselves. STEM is actually integral in the teachings of the Scouts, in almost everything that they do. And now they are designing badges, medals and programs that are specific to robotics, gaming and graphic design. Check out our interview with Drew to find out more about the exciting Scout programs that promote STEM as well as his current FIRST Robotics Competition team and plans to expand in the future. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

After all of the years that our staff has been a part of the FIRST experience, whether as team members, volunteers or mentors, you would think that we would have lost that sense of excitement and wonder around these kind of events. Oh, but it's actually quite the contrary. We still love being right in the middle of it all. The best part of producing FIRST Looks for us is when we talk with a student who really just gets it. We certainly had a lot of fun getting to know Estavan from FIRST Robotics Competition 945, Banana Robotics. At the time of the competition, Estavan was a Senior at Colonial High School in Orlando. And if he didn't tell us that this was his first year on the robotics team, we definitely would not have known. He had all of the charm and charisma of a FIRST Veteran, that's for sure. He was recruited to the team by his Calc teacher who knew of his excellent reputation in the Auto Club at school. Everybody knows that he's good with building and fixing and knows how to make things work. So it was natural for him to join the team and get right to work on this student built robot. He admits that it's not the best looking robot, but it meets specs and gets the job done. Check out his interview to find out about the pressures of the build, the amazing team spirit and the pun (I mean fun) they had along the way. Speaking with Estavan and learning about his team was truly inspiring and is one of the things that makes us love what we do. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

FIRST inspires students in not just the United States but all over the world! Working internationally gives students a chance to learn from others with different backgrounds and education to accomplish the same goals within FIRST. This year at the 2018 FIRST Robotics Competition Orlando Regionals, we had an appearance from Impossible Robotics FIRST Robotics Competition team 5412 from the Netherlands. The FIRST Looks crew discovered how teams from the Netherlands operate while speaking with Impossible Robotics' mentor, Henk. Henk discussed the strict schooling system that their team undergoes during the FIRST Robotics Competition season and this made it hard for students to leave for competition. As a result, only one student on their team was able to come to the FIRST Robotics Competition Orlando Regionals this year. Many would believe that being at a competition with only one member present would be impossible but that is not the case in FIRST. With a little help from some of the local teams and a dash of Gracious Professionalism, Impossible Robotics persevered! Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

FIRST Robotics Competition Team 6473, Rock Star Robotics, is one of few Boys & Girls Club teams that has made it this long. The team started out in 2010 as a FIRST LEGO League team and has evolved into four current teams: two FIRST LEGO League teams, one FIRST Tech Challenge team, and one FIRST Robotics Competition. At the 2018 FIRST Robotics Competition Orlando Regional, we got the chance to speak with Edwin, the captain of the FIRST Robotics Competition team. As the team captain, he gets to oversee everything that happens within the team, helping as much as he can in each category. Edwin has been on Rock Star Robotics for 4 years now and is finishing strong with his senior year by helping the team get to the Orlando Regional. He explains some of the challenges he has faced getting to this point but all of it was worth it because it's "as fun as being a rock star." Edwin is excited for his future where he plans to study engineering at Florida Institute of Technology as well as sticking to his roots and volunteering with FIRST at events while mentoring as an alumni. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

Sometimes when we have a live show for a FIRST event, we get so caught up in setting up the studio and lining up our interviews that we don't really get a chance to truly enjoy everything that is going on around us. This year, we arranged for a little extra time before the interviews began. This gave Scott and Daniele an opportunity to discuss this years game as well as look back to previous years. We got the opportunity to speak with some of the student ambassadors about the game and exactly how it worked. The game maintains many of the elements that we know and love about FIRST Robotics Competition. The driving stations are located where we expect on the short ends of the field. There are the same number of robots on the field, with three robots working together on each of the two teams. There are consistent stages of play, with autonomous, tele-op and the end game. We even see some familiar game elements, like a balance element in autonomous and climbing in the end game. While the game plays similar to previous games in theory, there are some distinct differences. The biggest difference is the introduction of passive scoring. By controlling the angle of a few large scales around the board, teams can score points every second, while continuing to move around the board. Usually, once you perform an action, you receive points and move on, but not in this game. The scoring mechanisms allow for much higher scoring, but doesn't guarantee it. Another difference is giving the human players a choice in how they interact. Usually, the players have a particular task to perform, like placing gears in the airships during Steamworks. This year, the players have a choice when receiving the blocks: they can either pass them back into play, or place them into a stack to try and score power ups later in the game. Again, this adds a fascinating dynamic, by creating additional variables for gameplay. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

On any FIRST team, thee are a lot of roles. Every team needs someone to build, someone to program, someone to design a logo, someone to keep the team organized, someone to drive, someone to help with outreach, and that is just a small selection of the tasks for these teams. When you're on an FIRST LEGO League team, you have to be responsible for more than one role, because with only about 10 students, there is not a single person for each responsibility. In the case of FIRST LEGO League 29141, Robo-Dragons, they like to show their fellow team members and competitors what responsibilities they had on the team. This is accomplished with badge ribbons for each role a member held. For Hannah, she held 5 roles, ranging from artist to master builder. For Zaid, he held 6 roles, not including being the mascot at the event. As with most FIRST teams, Hannah says that the team works really well together, and the team are all good friends. That is a positive statement for a member who has only just joined the team this year. Her interest in robotics comes from a different place from many of the students in the program: she wants to be an archaeologist, and is interested in automating some of the tools used. Zaid says that everyone want to be the mascot for the team, but he gets the honor of being mascot for the competition. In good mascot style, he was able to stay in good spirits and keep the team positive, even when the performance on the field was not perfect. He also says that his favorite part of FIRST is working with and learning from the members of his team. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

There are a lot of aspects to a FIRST team that go beyond just building the robot. When it comes to FIRST LEGO League, one of those "More than Robots" aspects is called Core Values. Described by Landon from FIRST LEGO League 19359, RoboRaptors, Core Values is about both having fun at the competition, but also maintaining a good spirit while competing against and cooperating with other teams. Landon is the student in charge of Core Values for his team, as well as programming the robot. Landon is in his third year with his team, and is excited about the enhancements the team has made for the current season. Their goal was to be able to perform more than one mission at the same time, without having to have the robot return to base to get hardware swapped out. To accomplish this, the team added more sensors to the robot, as well as focusing on new building techniques to allow the robot to carry more attachments. Landon, like many FIRST participants, enjoys the social aspects of his team. It's a great place for kids to meet other kids who share a common interest and reach for a goal together. Personally, his favorite part of reaching for the robot goal is in building. He likes building the robot, building attachments - just seeing it come together. After this season, he is considering moving up to his school's FIRST Tech Challenge team, which he is excited about. He believes the additional challenge will help him in his goal of becoming a biomedical engineer in the future. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

If you have never participated in a FIRST event, whether it be a student, mentor, volunteer or spectator, it might be hard to believe that one of the hardest jobs is emcee. Even for an event the size of this regional, it requires two emcees to make it work. We spoke with Dr. Smash, one of the two voicing the event. Dr. Smash, in addition to her duties at this event, is also the mascot of her FIRST Robotics Competition team, 2152 SMASH. She is making her appearance at the event from Daytona Beach, Florida, which is about 2 hours from the competition. This is actually not an unusual scenario, as volunteers that are very dedicated to the program can drive across Florida every weekend for competitions of all of the programs. Dr. Smash has been volunteering with FIRST for the last 9 years, and cannot count how many competitions she has volunteered at. She continued to volunteer because she simply loves to see the students happy, and to give the parents an opportunity to have a safe place for the kids to play and learn. She also enjoys being in the emcee seat, hearing from the students all day long. One of her favorite moments ties both of these together, seeing the students excited to see her when she attends an event. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

At some point every year, we get the pleasure of speaking with the Orlando Regional Director, to get insight into the event, which is one of the longest continuously-running FIRST Robotics Competition competitions. This year, the event celebrates its 20th anniversary and welcomes a new Director to oversee the proceedings: Wendy Austin. Wendy has been involved in FIRST for many years, having been directly involved with an FIRST Robotics Competition team, and then volunteering at events, including the Orlando Regional, for several years. This year, she has the honor of being the Regional Director, though she does admit that there is some nervousness involved with taking over for the anniversary. Luckily, there is a committee that works together to plan the event. In fact, a lot of the details were in-place before Wendy even took the job. Wendy is very excited about a number of the exciting plans for the regional. For example, there is a social gathering, which will allow the students from the various teams to interact with one another without the hustle and bustle of either the field or pits behind them. There is also a first-of-its-kind coin that will be available, which is a tradition taken from the upper ranks of the military. The Regional also plans on hosting several special guests from FIRST HQ, including Michelle Long, who oversees Alumni Programs for the organization. While it might be a scary time to take the reigns, it seems Wendy has it in-hand. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

In FIRST teams, sometimes the coach of a team can be an adult, and sometimes it can be a student. In the case of FIRST LEGO League 10240, Aqualifters, their coaching is done by student Chloe. This, of course, does not mean that the faculty of the school, where the team is based, is uninvolved, but they have given some of the responsibility to Chloe. For example, she ensures that her fellow teammates are following the team checklist and sometimes leads team discussions. As an 8th grader, it means that this will be her last year on the team. When she moves on to high school next year, she plans on joining one of their FIRST Tech Challenge two teams: Roarbots and Den in Black. For any student that has moved from FIRST LEGO League into FIRST Tech Challenge, there is always a bit of nervousness, but Chloe is looking forward to the new challenge. She hopes to learn both the physical and programming aspects of building a FIRST Tech Challenge robot. After high school, she hopes to get into an engineering field, driven by her participation in FIRST. In addition to finding a path for herself after school, she also enjoys the social aspect of FIRST. While she is excited about her next steps in the program, she will miss the students she has been on her current team with for the past 2 years. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

Hannah is a senior in high school and is the youth mentor of FIRST LEGO League 36321 Team W.I.L.D. She is also a FIRST Alumni, having competed on Team Fire from the 6th to the 8th grades. Hannah finds that although a lot stays the same in the realm of FIRST LEGO League (i.e. style of competition and student involvement), it is a very different experience to be a team mentor than member. She notes that there is a different kind of stress involved in each scenario. As a team member, she felt the anxiety and excitement of the competition directly. Now as team mentor, she concentrates on being there to help the whole team succeed and making sure that everybody is properly equipped. So it's all new and different but still a lot of fun. She basically went from being the one who was encouraged to being the one who does the encouraging. Hannah's favorite part about being the team's youth mentor is bringing everything that she has learned in the past to this team. She volunteers because FIRST meant so much to her when she was in middle school. Back then, she didn't know what she wanted to do for even an extracurricular activity, much less when she grew up. And it was being involved in FIRST that led her to decide that she wants to specifically direct her education towards a career in engineering. She now attends the Central Florida Aerospace Academy and looks forward continuing on in the engineering field. It's clear that it is also very important to Hannah to pay it forward. Not only is it fun and rewarding to volunteer and be a mentor, but she loves helping the kids learn, work on their projects and to also show them how many wonderful opportunities they have. She also gets a kick out of seeing the looks on their faces when they accomplish difficult tasks and the concepts finally click. Being there to guide them through their own work and problem solving is the best part. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

The coaches, mentors, volunteers and staff that are involved in FIRST all have a common goal in mind of helping the kids be inspired and learn. Individually we contribute in our own way to help the kids build their robots for competition. Collectively we ensure that the competitions are engaging, motivational and organized. But in the end, we end up learning and being inspired by the kids themselves. Today we had the most wonderful conversation with Megan from FIRST LEGO League 5586, Hydro Kittens Vol. 2. Megan is a rookie on the team, but if she hadn't told us that, we definitely would not have guessed. She has the enthusiasm of a seasoned veteran. Megan joined FIRST LEGO League at the suggestion of her older brother who had been a member for 3 years. She admits that she is not the engineering type and just thought she'd try it out. It turns out that she loves it and is very involved with the team. Her favorite things to do on the team is program the robot. She also really enjoys working on the project, skits and props. Megan and her team have the core values down pat and she explained how they practice them in their everyday lives. We learned a lot from Megan and can't wait to see her again at future FIRST events. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

Austin is a junior in high school and is currently on FIRST Tech Challenge Team 11619, Rust in Pieces. Although his team hasn't formally competed in a tournament yet, they have built a robot and completed all of the challenges on their practice field. Their goal for 2018/2019 is to compete and make their way to Nationals. This year is Austin's first year volunteering with FIRST LEGO League here at the 2018 Regional Competition. And although he originally signed up to help fulfill his requirement for volunteer hours, he quickly realized how important his role has been. Along side this teacher, who is also the robotics coach from his high school, Austin has been helping to set up the fields and pit area. He signed up for two days of volunteering but when he saw that there was still a lot of help needed and how dedicated his coach was to this effort, Austin cancelled his plans and came back to help for a 3rd day. FIRST has inspired Austin to incorporate his passion for art with all that he is learning in technology and robotics. He feels that the world is full of problems that end up getting glorified instead of solved. From his point of view, he acknowledges that technology is the future but he also can see that art and history is what has gotten us here. This is something that we at PLuGHiTz also feel quite strongly about. We feel that STEM is nothing without Art and therefore should remain STEAM. It is so refreshing to come across a teenager who is learning this concept organically on his own, as he goes through his classes and hobbies. Austin in another example of how we should never underestimate these kids. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

Anybody who has ever been involved in a team sport knows that the coaches can either make or break the experience. One of the best things about FIRST is the dedication and enthusiasm of the team coaches. Whether they join because of their own love of robotics or to be supportive of their child's aspirations, so many of the coaches are making an impact on these kids in the most wonderful way. Steve, coach of FIRST LEGO League 9811 (Da Flyin Ewoks), is a perfect example. As a 5th grade teacher in Ormond Beach, FL, Steve was approached by a neighbor who was involved with an FIRST Robotics Competition team that wanted to create more of a network in the area where kids could progress up into the higher levels of FIRST. It wasn't long before Steve was on board and became the coach of this FIRST LEGO League team. And although they have gone through some changes is format, team names and grades, they continue to expand and work their way to the Regional Competition every year. For the first three years, the team was comprised of only rookie members each year. Now in their 4th year, they retained two members from last year. This has been a good change as the veterans have been able to mentor the rookies and offer their experience to the team. Steve has found that he is able to incorporate all that he teaches in the 5th grade into coaching for FIRST LEGO League in a way that is exciting for the kids. The kids love it so much, they make sure to fit in the practices around all of their other extracurricular activities. And Steve loves to take kids who are completely new to FIRST and watch them move up to the larger robots after just one year. He also has a lot of fun having his daughter on the team. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

Elana is a 5th grade student who is currently on FIRST LEGO League Team 32160, The Water Fountains. She is enjoying her first year very much and loves the crazy things that her team does to make it a fun experience. Their cool hats really say it all. Programming is Elana's favorite thing to do on the team. She has learned, though using NXT, that some of the programs are easy and some are more difficult to figure out. She also enjoys working on the missions. Right now they are working on a flower project where they are using water to get a flower to stand upright in a pot. Being new to FIRST, she found the qualifying tournaments and judging to be scary in the beginning, but even though she started out nervous, she quickly found out how much fun they are and made it through with ease. She loves the science aspect of FIRST and how they problem solve throughout the process. She plans to continue in the field of science and hopes to get into CSI when she grow up. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

When we're at a regional competition, it doesn't matter if we're talking to a seasoned member of a FIRST team or to a rookie, we can definitely feel their excitement and enthusiasm. This was the case when we sat down with Brice from FIRST LEGO League 36321 Team W.I.L.D. And even when someone is new to the team, they quickly become an integral part of their planing an success. Brice is the main spokesperson for the team and also works a lot on the robot table and the project. He enjoys doing the research and finds it interesting how learning one thing leads to a lot more to explore. It's a lot of work but it's very fun. Although he originally found the competitions to be a bit intimidating, he quickly got use to it and realized how much fun they are. He really likes talking to the kids on the other teams about the theme and their different robots. He enjoys learning about their process and interacting with so many others who have common goals. Brice is currently in the 8th grade and he looks forward to continuing with FIRST and joining either FIRST Tech Challenge or FIRST Robotics Competition in the future. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

He's knowledgeable. He's energetic. He's full of STEM spunk. That's right, our favorite FIRST Volunteer Coordinator and Emcee is back... time to create a frequent guest punch card for the one and only, Barry Bonzack. When you are around Barry, especially at a FIRST Competition, you can't help but feel inspired. He has a way of turning an already fun event, into a complete blast. The organizers love him, his fellow volunteers love him and most importantly, the kids love him! Whether it's calling a match, sparking a dance party in between rounds or fitting in time to be interviewed, Barry brings his unique enthusiasm to every task. One thing about Barry that really inspires us is that once you get to know him, you find out that he is not an engineer. As a kid on a FIRST team, he discovered that you don't have to be the one who designs and builds the bots to be a very important part of the team. He learned that his planning and business skills were every bit a part of making the team a success. He started volunteering with FIRST while at the University of Central Florida as a mentor for a team and was able to get an internship with Lockheed Martin, who sponsored the team. Barry now uses his business background in his career with Lockheed Martin at NASA on the Orion Program. And he carries his passion for Business and STEM forward as he Inspires and Recognizes Science & Technology every single day. Thank you, Barry, for being a FIRST advocate and volunteer! And as always, thank you for taking some time to join us on the show! You can keep up with Barry and some of the really cool things he does at the Kennedy Space Center by following him on Twitter. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

We had a blast getting to know Hope from FIRST LEGO League Team 8152, the RoboGeeks. Hope is 11 (going on 12) and is in her third year on the team. With her seniority and experience, she now mainly acts in a supportive role and fills in wherever she is needed at any given time. She tends to do a lot of the programming and does a lot of the missions, which she loves. And she occasionally jumps into the building and modifying process when needed. Her favorite part of being part of FIRST LEGO League, besides programming the robots, is having the opportunity to figure out solutions to the problems they come across during the process. She loves that they work on a problem that arises and then learn how to fix it themselves. She finds learning to be the best part. She also loves the anxiety and excitement of coming to competitions. The team currently has 8 members, three of which are girls. You can tell how well their team works together and that they have a lot of fun. They have a lot of cheers and love to keep the fun going. Hope looks forward to continuing with FIRST as she moves from elementary to middle school. She can't wait to get into programming even more by learning Java and HTML. And although she isn't exactly sure what she wants to do when she grows up, she does want to keep pursuing her love of coding. For more information about FIRST, check out their website. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

The only thing better than attending a FIRST event that is being managed by JT Yoerger is getting the chance to sit down and talk with him for a few minutes. His energy and love of all things FIRST are not only contagious, but his hard work and dedication make the events that he hosts truly wonderful for the kids in the league. As Senior Manager of Events, Marketing & Communications for FIRST LEGO League programs in Central Florida, JT manages about 50 events per year. These events include outreach, fund raising, prequalifying and qualifying events, as well as state and national championships and summer conferences. He stays quite busy and it certainly pays off. At FIRST Looks, we've had the opportunity to see JT in action a number of times over the last few years and we can attest to his attention to detail and level of organization. Most importantly, he makes it seem almost effortless while still ensuring that every cog in the wheel is well maintained. From managing the full time employees to the hundreds of volunteers, offering travel, catering and venue support and so much more. He fosters an environment in which all involved are able to work well together to support the event and most importantly, the kids. As a FIRST LEGO League alumni himself, he knows the philosophy and games very well. He also knows how important it is to teach these kids FIRST's Core Values and facilitate an atmosphere of ingenuity and growth for them, along with the volunteers who generously give it all that they've got. For JT, it's really all about innovation and changing the world. To find out more about FIRST LEGO League in Central Florida, you can visit their website at centralfloridarobotics.org. You can also check out the FIRST website here for general information and to find programs in all other areas. Sponsored by: Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here. Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store.

This week, the team is privileged to attend our initial FIRST LEGO League competition. We get an opportunity to speak with some of the youngest members of the FIRST community, and see how participating in the program early in life can affect students. We also speak with an event organizer for this event, as well as the Regional Director for Orlando.

Middleton High School's Robotics Program has so much to offer to their students including a couple of FIRST teams up their sleeve. Elijah Bond, captain and lead builder for one of the teams, Masquerade (FIRST Tech Challenge 4997) detailed this year's FIRST Tech Challenge game along with their strengths and weaknesses for the season. Elijah is currently a senior at Middleton High School and this is his third year working with Masquerade. Starting the season as the new captain, he discusses the requirements necessary to acquire the position and the steps he took to get there. With multiple teams at the school, including two FIRST Tech Challenge teams, there is a process to determine which team you'll be on. This is to make sure neither team overpowers the other, and neither team becomes too large. Elijah describes the process, and how he came to be on Masquerade. Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live

Being apart of FIRST Robotics as a student can bring in a world of possibilities for you and your future. David Guzman is a prime example of this. In high school he was a member of FIRST Robotics Competition Team 1251 Tech-Tigers as the team's lead designer with mentors from Sonny's Enterprises, engineering and manufacturing for car wash equipment. After graduating high school, Sonny's was very impressed with his work in FIRST and was offered an internship. Today, David is a mechanical engineer working full time with Sonny's leading the new product development in the engineering department. He talks about his journey from FIRST to employment and how he stays involved with FIRST to this day.Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live

ROBOTICON Tampa Bay focuses a lot of it's attention on FIRST Robotics but the event holds so much more. This event also showcases some of the clubs from the University of South Florida such as the Society of Aeronautics and Rocketry, also known as SOAR. SOAR is a student run club that dedicates their free time to design, build, and understand rockets. Our team was lucky enough to interview the President of SOAR, Jonathan Fitzer. He discussed the club's main objectives throughout the year from competition through NASA to real life work experience to aid future engineering employment. Learn more by going to the SOAR website.Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live

At most FIRST events, you only get to see a single league, but at ROBOTICON Tampa Bay we get the opportunity to interact with everyone from FIRST LEGO League Jr. to FIRST Robotics Competition. We took advantage of the opportunity to speak with team members from FIRST LEGO League team 24334, the IncrediBotz. The team is made up of a group of friends who live in the same neighborhood who came together as a team after experiencing an outreach event.These kids provide a very different perspective on FIRST for several reasons. First, as a rookie team last season, the team made it to the World Championship in Houston. They got to experience the height of the organization in their initial year, getting to see teams from across the country, but also some they knew from the State Championship. Some of the teams they met at the championship they still keep in contact with after the competition.Second, their younger age provides a unique view of the other leagues. While students in FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition are used to 3D printing parts and cutting metal, the FIRST LEGO League teams are more used to LEGO bricks. Getting to see the materials of the next levels, as well as the physical size and scale of the machines, gets the students excited about continuing their FIRST journey.Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live

One of the things that makes FIRST so interesting is the constant evolution of the program. In the beginning of FIRST Robotics Competition, teams were always based in high schools. Over time, schools joined forces to create teams while saving money. A few years ago, a new type of team was created for the first time: a team based out of a public library. Based at the Land O' Lakes Branch Library, the Edgar Allan Ohms have been a mainstay of FIRST Looks. This year we were joined by Joanna Sanders, the team's safety captain. She talked about the early days of the team and how they work out of a library. The team builds in The Foundry, a makerspace built as a "fishbowl" within the library, allowing people to use power tools without interfering with other patrons. In exchange, the patrons can see what is happening within The Foundry, giving the team regular outreach opportunities. Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live

One topic that comes up on our shows often is the idea that great ideas come from things that suck. In the case of SolidProfessor, the idea came from a lack of great training options for SolidWorks. The CAD software, which is popular with FIRST teams, has a lot of capabilities, but seemed to pose a challenge to a lot of people to learn. Tony Glockler co-founded the company in an attempt to create a scenario for students to learn the software in an interactive way, and also gives the students an easy way to refresh your skills. The training, which has grown beyond just SolidWorks, allows students to turn their learning into certifications to enhance their abilities and their resumes. The company recognized the value of FIRST last season, and become a sponsor of the program. In fact, teams involved in a FIRST program can get a free subscription to SolidProfessor, to make their manufacturing capabilities better. Head to the company's website and reach out for your team's subscription. Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live

The creators of ROBOTICON Tampa Bay work very hard every year to grow this fun filled weekend into the amazing event that it is today. Their passion and dedication definitely shines through in the smiles and excitement of the students. They were honored to have the Director of FIRST Tech Challenge, Ken Johnson, join in on the fun. And we were thrilled to get a chance to speak with him. As director, Ken is responsible to develop the program, which includes the game, rules and field field. Another important aspect is partnering with those that execute the program, outreach and events like ROBOTICON. His role is to help coaches succeed, finding funding to hold the events and building volunteer communities, all under the umbrella of espousing technology and using it to the fullest potential. Along with recognizing the hard work that the students put into their teams and robots, Ken is fully aware that FIRST would not be all that it is today without the many volunteers who help pull everything together. The sheer number of man hours is staggering. And he loves that many of them are FIRST Alumni. He feels that the best ambassadors of FIRST are the students that have gone through it and the coaches that have volunteered for it. They are truly the best advertisement that they have. We encourage everyone to visit their website to learn about the different programs. Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live

The more we learn about the Engineering and Robotics Program at Middleton High School in Tampa, Florida, the more we like it. Russell DeSousa, Head Designer for Masquerade (FIRST Tech Challenge 4997) and a Senior Mentor for the Middleton Robotics Club, stopped by to give us the inside scoop. Middleton's STEM Programs include Engineering, Biomedical, Game Design and Digital Electronics. The engineering program is structured with engineering design the first year, which transitions students from traditional learning methods and helps them adapt to the learning style offered in the program. Through the next two years, the students take Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Digital Electronics and Principles of Engineering. Then in their senior year, they take Engineering Design & Development, which is a yearlong Capstone Project. Russell feels that being involved in FIRST Robotics really enhances this curriculum because he can get out of an engineering class and put what he learns to practical use, sometimes almost immediately. Check out Middleton Robotics Club here to learn more about their teams. And don't forget to visit their Facebook page. Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live

As the students continue along their journey in FIRST Robotics, they tend to move into leadership and mentoring roles. Erin Piacitelli, President of Middleton Robotics Club, is no exception. Erin has been coming to ROBOTICON Tampa Bay for years with her school's teams and she agrees that it's a great event to practice, train new team members and have a lot of fun. Middleton High School is a STEM Magnet School in Tampa, Florida that places an emphasis on robotics in a really wonderful way. It's not just a club, the kids also have robotics classes as part their curriculum. They take their teams and competitions very seriously. Middleton's Robotics Club currently has 1 FIRST Robotics Competition Team, 2 FIRST Tech Challenge Teams and 1 VEX Robotics Team. The students are able to participate in any aspect of the process that they would like and all the teams are there for each other to help brainstorm and mentor. They even mentor middle school students and invite them to join in on the development and brainstorming sessions to help them get involved and know the process when they get to high school. Their structure is quite impressive. It's a collaborative effort that has strengthened over the years with a tiered leadership approach. The club itself has captains and vice presidents, comprised of students, with specialized roles. Then each individual team has a coach and at least one adult mentor. Sponsored by: Whether you're programming a robot, playing a game or doing homework, the Microsoft Surface is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Get yours at the Microsoft Store. Follow PLuGHiTz Live on Twitter: PLuGHiTzLive; Facebook: PLuGHiTz Live! Radio; Google+: PLuGHiTz Live