FIRST Kickoff

For the tenth year in a row, the RoboJackets will be hosting the 2018 Regional FRC Kickoff at Georgia Tech on January 6th, 2018. 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 check this page before coming to the event as any updated information will be posted here.

Release Forms
Please have each attendee fill out a Parental Request to Participate as well as a Model Release and submit all forms from your team during check-in at the event.

Event Timeline

8:00 AM – Event opens to teams with breakfast. (Student Center Ballroom)
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)
1:00 PM – Loading dock closes; end of kit of parts distribution
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Lunch break (lunch not provided)
1:00 PM – Workshops begin
3:30 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

Update: 2018 LabVIEW PowerPoint can be viewed here.

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. You can register for workshops here.

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

Mechanical (Klaus 1456): Building the mechanical parts of the provided KOP.
Electrical (Klaus 1447): Assembly of the electronics, wiring guidelines, and a few pointers on past problems.
Strategy Brainstorm (Klaus 1443): Teams will be given the opportunity to go over rules and discuss gameplay strategies.
LabVIEW Programming (Klaus 2443): 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. Slide Deck
Safety (Klaus 1116): 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, previously with Rex Machina, FRC team 5582.
Bumpers (Klaus 2447): This workshop is all about how to properly build bumpers for your team’s robot. This workshop will be led by Robot Inspectors.
Rookie Quick Start (Klaus 2456): This workshop is geared towards rookie teams, learning the tips and tricks on how to get through your first build season. It will be led by Dennis Courtney.

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