On Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, Capitol College will be hosting the Maryland FIRST Robotics Competition’s (FRC) Kickoff event in the Avrum Gudelsky Memorial Auditorium. This is the ninth consecutive year that the college is hosting the kickoff event.
Each year FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) sponsors an international robotics event, in which students compete in a common challenge. At the
Chesapeake Regional Kickoff Event, teams of high school students will be provided the specifications and parameters of the competition, along with a set of pieces for constructing a robot. Each year’s competition is different, and students have six weeks to design and build their robots.
The students gathering at Capitol College will join students from across the world in watching a live-feed from NASA-TV that will provide them with the competition details and instructions. At the 2012 kickoff event, Capitol welcomed more than 400 students from 38 local high schools.
On Saturday, Jan. 26, the college will be hosting the FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifier, in which teams have a chance to qualify for the Maryland FIRST Tech Challenge Championship. Qualifiers usually range from 14-24 teams, and the event at Capitol College is one of six qualifying events across the state. The FIRST Tech Challenge requires teams to maneuver their robots around a closed course, while picking up rings and placing them on designated posts.
Read the full press release about Capitol's upcoming FIRST Robotics events.