FCA Foundation grants of more than $400,000 to FIRST of Michigan help sponsor 56 FIRST Robotics Competition teams in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Arizona. FIRST Robotics sponsored the FIRST Championship, which were held at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan this past week. 29 FIRST Robotics Competition teams sponsored by the FCA Foundation competed. FIRST” is an acronym of “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.”
More than 80 FCA US employees serving as volunteer mentors through the Motor Citizens program. FCA US is a founding sponsor of FIRST Robotics. This marks the first year of three years that Detroit will host the FIRST Robotics Competition.
FIRST Robotics Global Championship is split into two events. One half of the competition was held in Houston the weekend before it was held in Downtown Detroit.
The teams of 25 high school students get six weeks to build and program robots from a kit to perform tasks, such as picking up a ball and throwing it. Teams also have to raise money, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills and perform community outreach.
Inventor, entrepreneur and FIRST Robotics founder Dean Kamen is known for inventing the first drug-infusion pump. But he most commonly known for creating the Segway, the two-wheeled electric vehicle. He started the FIRST Robotics program in 1989 to inspire interest and participation in science and technology among youths.
For more information on the FIRST Robotics Global Championship, you can check out their website HERE.
