AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

FUN will be hosting our 3rd AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick on Monday, January 16th starting at 8:30pm EST.

Live: twitch.tv/firstupdatesnow
Archived: youtube.com/firstupdatesnow

You can ask Frank nearly anything about anything. 2017 game, 2 champs, FIRST Festival of Champions, cheesecake vs. corndog, how he feels about pineapple on pizza you name it! Serious or not, positive or negative, we will take all your questions and if it doesn't give away confidential info you can bet that Frank will answer them!

Plus

Libby Kamen will be back hosting the show and maybe if you ask nicely she will spill the beans about if Dean really has a closet full of Denim Jackets...

We know you can go and get your dose of Frank anywhere but frankly why not have some FUN while you are at it?!

Post here with your questions or on FUN's Facebook page. Each person who submits a question (even if we don't read it) will have a chance to win an official FIRST Steamworks Gear or FUN T-Shirt (you pick).

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

But those of us that watched Slingshot already know the answer!

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

When the gdc was deciding whether non adhesive velcro stitched to ropes should be legal, what was your personal stance?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

How do you balance the positive influence of perennial contenders from high performing, high resource teams with the risk of discouraging students from low resource teams who feel they will never be able to compete at that level?

How do you think FRC compares to other, less expensive STEM robotics-oriented programs like VEX? What aspects of FRC offset the significant disparity in cost?

Do you think the influx of FRC-tailored solutions such as drive kits or chassis systems has helped or hindered innovation?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

These. All of these.

And also, how many hours do you think teams spend each week during build season? How many hours do you think team's ought to spend each week?

And, as you look to expand FIRST Robotics, what is the plan (if any) for wider adoption and integration into public schools and career-technical education?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Do you believe that the benefits of an arbitrary build season window are still worth the advantage it provides high resource teams (Schedule, Cost, Quality: Pick Two)? Are those benefits still realized in an era of "practice robots" and teams having a six hour build window in the district model?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Originally posted on RSN thread but never got asked:

When will we see major updates to (S)TIMS? There are clearly improvements in the works but most of what we've seen so far has been minor and registration is still a very involved process.

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

"Regarding 2 Championships: I agree with the decision, but do we envision a future where these morph into super-regionals and there is a single, albeit smaller, world championship at some time in the future (when growth supports it)?"

"What did the GDC think might be a typical alliance score once the game matures (like week 3)?"

"Would you consider expanding Robot Inspector training in the future by providing an online eLearning?"

"Frank, do you ever feel guilty getting paid to be the Director of such awesomeness?" (Think about all those nights and weekends, and say "no")

"Corndog vs. Cheesecake: Can't we have both?"

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Are there future plans to have FIRST help teachers integrate hands on FRC skills into the classroom by developing partial or complete curriculums?

Rookie teachers for 2016/2017 I would love to hear your perspective on the current resources FRC offers (including from FIRST and CD and Ri3d)

For those reading here: look at this Vex IQ sample: https://content.vexrobotics.com/vexi...0-Syllabus.pdf.

Even as an 12 year old team, we struggle to get teachers and curriculum integration. There is a lot of material to read regarding FRC, but with so much (sometime contradictory) info it would be nice to have some "official" FRC resources? Would you ever partner with the community to develop these resources in the offseason? There is a ton on CD that could be packaged up in a more approachable format.

-matto-

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Is the Harambe meme dead?
What's your favorite color? Screaming Yellow?
Is AI that might take over the world legal in competition?
Why is your name Frank?
Is it possible to ask you too many questions?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

I was going to ask a question similar to this. Although this image was published back in 2011, is this still FIRST's vision for the future? If not, how has it changed, especially with now having 2 FIRST Championships?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

What's the best advice you can give to a rookie team?
Does pineapple belong on pizza?
What's your favorite build season snack?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Can you do some major FRC events on the West Coast for a change? Travel expenses take their toll, West coast teams have to always travel far for anything outside of local events. "Festival of Champions" and "Founders Reception" etc.

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Like one of the 1/2Champs?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Q: How do you decide what events you attend over the course of a season?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Oh I'm sure something is coming soon for the West Coast...

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

With teases like that you should join GameSense :p

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

And now the cat's out of the bag....

:D

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Will there be changes made to STIMS registration in the future to make it more user-friendly? Thanks!

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Hey everyone we're going to be closing up these questions soon (4pm EST). Thanks to everybody who emailed, posted on social media, and on CD. You're all entered to win a Gear game piece or a FUN T-Shirt.

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Do you feel that FRC is approaching a point where the barrier to entry for rookie teams is going to be too high to create rookie teams sustainably / maintain veteran teams?

Along the same vein, is saturation of resources, both in terms of team financials and in materials, something that needs to be addressed now (is it a thing right now?) One of the major issues I've heard teams in rural areas complain about is that there simply aren't enough sponsors or money in their region in general to fund a team beyond their rookie years.

Do you personally feel that a higher level of competition, along the same spirit as FRC, but with the intent of being made for "TV" or online to cultivate the "inspiration" portion, would have a place in the FIRST family?

What, right now, do you see as the biggest issue hindering the progress of FIRST & FRC? How do you see it being resolved, if it can be at all?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

With the move to Districts, and the increasing trend of having Regionals in school gyms, do you think inspiring participants in these smaller spaces with more limited production might be an issue? If so, do you have a plan to address this?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

What was the reasoning behind having the actual scoring of gears be based on human actions rather than robot actions?

Could you give a breakdown of the FRC operating budget and how our registration fees fit into that?

In the past, one of the problems with FRC refereeing has been consistency between referees, sometimes within the same event. Are there any plans to improve this issue so teams know what to expect on "judgement calls" from referees?

What's the backup plan if the automated scoring system craps out?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

Was there ever any discussion of turning each of the current FTC Super-Regionals into "mini-worlds" with both FRC and FTC events, with each feeding to Championship as an alternative to 2Champs?

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

How much thought and discussion went into the potential visibility issues for drivers in FIRST STEAMWORKS? In STRONGHOLD only a small portion of the field was *occasionally* obstructed by the drawbridge, and teams still struggled. Now you have these large, ~9 foot wide structures width-centered on the field.

Re: AMAA with FRC Director Frank Merrick 1/16 8:30pm EST
 

How did you determine the best object to use for FUEL?