FIRST Kickoff

This kickoff event has been canceled to ensure the safety of students and event staff. Please review information about viewing the broadcast and picking up your kit of parts on the GeorgiaFIRST website here.

 
For the ninth year in a row, the RoboJackets will be hosting the 2017 Regional FRC Kickoff at Georgia Tech on January 7th, 2017. Teams are required to register on the FIRST website for the kickoff. The kickoff will consist of breakfast, guest speakers, live broadcasting, robot demos, and workshops. The event will begin with breakfast and team check-in at 8:00 AM in the Ferst Center lobby. The kickoff presentation will take place in the Ferst Center starting at 9:30 AM and after a lunch break workshops will be hosted in the Klaus Advanced Computing Building.

Please fill out this survey if your team plans to attend the 2017 FRC Kickoff. Additionally, please make sure that you fill out a Georgia Tech waiver for each member of your team. You will need to hand in these waivers at the event registration table.

Please check this page before coming to the event as any updated information will be posted here.

Event Timeline

  • 8:00 AM – Event opens to teams with breakfast, robot displays, demos, and judges Q&A. (Ferst Center lobby)
  • 9:30 AM – Welcome talks (Ferst Center w/ overflow seating in Student Center Theater)
  • 10:30 AM – Kickoff Broadcast starts (Ferst Center & Student Center Theater)
  • 11:00 AM – Field Viewing and Kit of Parts handout; two team members and a mentor to pick up kit (Ferst Center loading dock)
  • 12:45 PM – Loading dock closes; end of kit of parts distribution
  • 12:45 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch break (lunch not provided)
  • 1:30 PM – Workshops begin
  • 4:30 PM – Workshops end

Event Map

Download a printable, non-interactive version of the map here.

Parking Instructions

Parking for personal vehicles at this year’s kickoff will be in parking deck W02 (parking located between Areas 2 & 3) located on this map. Georgia Tech lists the parking deck address as 391 Ferst Drive. It is located on Ferst Drive between Regents Drive and Cherry Street. If driving on North Avenue, turn onto Cherry Street, then turn onto Ferst Drive. The gates to the parking deck will be open and you may park inside.

Alternatively, you may park in paid parking Areas 2 & 3; however, these lots are charged on an hourly basis and the parking inside the W02 deck has been prepaid for teams to use.

Workshops

Workshops are vital in creating an easy transition into the start of the FIRST season. One of our primary goals is to have all teams who attend the workshops leave with a KOP robot that will require only some final assembly. We highly encourage teams to attend these helpful workshops to learn and receive guidance. The workshops will be located in the Klaus Advanced Computing Building. Please note that cutting or sawing any components is strictly forbidden.

The following are the five workshop tracks that will be available for teams:

  • Mechanical: Building the mechanical parts of the provided KOP.
  • Electrical: Assembly of the electronics, wiring guidelines, and a few pointers on past problems.
  • Strategy Brainstorm: Teams will be given the opportunity to go over rules and discuss gameplay strategies.
  • LabVIEW Programming: A crash course of LabVIEW basics, vision, simple autonomy, and RoboRIO setup/configuration. Laptops will be provided during the workshop with LabVIEW so that groups may follow along. Teams are, however, encouraged to bring their own laptops with last year’s LabVIEW installed. If possible, bring a fully hooked up test board with the 12V battery, RoboRIO and two drive motors. You can also optionally hook up a third separate motor, a camera, or other devices to play around with. The board isn’t required, but will help teams be more interactive.
  • Safety: This workshop will discuss the importance of safety leadership and go beyond safety glasses and a Band-Aid. This workshop will be presented by Hannah Rosenhack from Rex Machina, FRC team 5582.
  • Bumpers: This workshop is all about how to properly build bumpers for your team’s robot. This workshop will be led by Robot Inspectors.

Here is a list of tools for the mechanical and electrical parts of the Robot Quick Build Session:

Mechanical:

  • Cordless drill w/
    • 3/8″ socket
    • 5/16″ socket
    • 9/16″ socket
    • 5/32″ Ball End Hex Bit
    • alternatively, bring the equivalent hand tools
  • 1/2″ Combination wrench
  • Pliers
  • Hammer
  • Tape measure
  • Marking pencil/pen/marker
  • Flathead and Phillips screwdrivers

Electrical:

  • Wire strippers
  • Wire cutters
  • Wire crimpers – a good set with handles at least 7” long
  • Phillips screwdriver ( #2)
  • Flat Screwdriver
  • Wago flat screwdriver (supplied in FIRST kit)
  • 3/8” combination wrench
  • 10mm combination wrench
  • Tape measure
  • 7/16” combination wrench

Contact Info

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Storer at sastorer@gatech.edu.