Robotics after FRC

[Jenn Feathers]

I am realizing that I only have one more year that I can be a student on a FRC team. I know that I could come back as a mentor after I graduate, but what other robotics competitions are there that are NOT like battle bots but are more like the FIRST competitions?

[Hallry]

Well, this will be the second year of the C.A.R.D. level robotics for colleges. You can find more information about the program here.

[Aren_Hill]

I'm participating on a Lunabotics team for a competition NASA holds every year, I've also been a part of the robotics club on campus and made a Wall-E, and also helped out the solar car team some. Feel free to spread what you've learned in FIRST, don't just stay in the safe bubble.

http://http://www.nasa.gov/offices/e...unabotics.html

[Jetweb]

Ill throw out a good word for formula SAE. Its not robotics but its quite an intense engineering challenge that feels a lot like FIRST.

http://students.sae.org/competitions/formulaseries/

[Jenn Feathers]

Wow! That looks very interesting. Thank you! Is that the only college level robotics competition?

[EricVanWyk]

This is a bit off topic, but I recommend against mentoring FRC during your freshman year, and very strongly recommend against ever mentoring a team that you were a student on.

[Jenn Feathers]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

This is a bit off topic, but I recommend against mentoring FRC during your freshman year, and very strongly recommend against ever mentoring a team that you were a student on.

why so?

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

This is a bit off topic, but I recommend against mentoring FRC during your freshman year, and very strongly recommend against ever mentoring a team that you were a student on.

i understand the whole not mentoring as a freshman, but why not the team you were a student on? One of our mentors is the team captain from 2001, and she does great!

[EricLeifermann]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

This is a bit off topic, but I recommend against mentoring FRC during your freshman year, and very strongly recommend against ever mentoring a team that you were a student on.

I think that if you wait 4 years to go back to your high school team you will be fine. After 4 years all the kids you knew on the team as peers will be gone and you can assert yourself as an adult and mentor easier.

[JesseK]

You land lovers...

Build a robot that flies. (MIT puts on a competition, not sure what it's called)
Build a robot that swims. (NURC)
Or build a robot that does both. Hah.

Originally Posted by JesseK

You land lovers...

Build a robot that flies. (MIT puts on a competition, not sure what it's called)
Build a robot that swims. (NURC)
Or build a robot that does both. Hah.

ATV bot? I'm digging it.

[Jenn Feathers]

Originally Posted by JesseK

You land lovers...

Build a robot that flies. (MIT puts on a competition, not sure what it's called)
Build a robot that swims. (NURC)
Or build a robot that does both. Hah.

swimming robots? sounds like a challenge. i heard and read about it a lot before kick-off this year, but what are the chances of FIRST actually throwing a water game at us? it would definiatly be a surprise. Has there been any tries at getting FIRST to start a water or air division?

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by Jenn Feathers

swimming robots? sounds like a challenge. i heard and read about it a lot before kick-off this year, but what are the chances of FIRST actually throwing a water game at us? it would definiatly be a surprise. Has there been any tries at getting FIRST to start a water or air division?

Swimming robots are a lot of fun, we've been competing in NURC since it's beginning. There are other underwater competitions, such as the RobuSub autonomous underwater vehicle one in San Diego, and MATE which is open to high school and college teams.

Water could possibly be a component of a future FRC game, but the odds are slim. We often play FRC games on top of wood basketball courts...they don't like water.

[Jeffy]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

This is a bit off topic, but I recommend against mentoring FRC during your freshman year, and very strongly recommend against ever mentoring a team that you were a student on.

I half agree. Mentoring the team you were a part of is bad for many reasons.
I mentored this year in a different state than my hometown team (as a freshman in college) and felt very satisfied. It definitely takes a shift in mentality, but it can be done.

Originally Posted by Jeffy

I half agree. Mentoring the team you were a part of is bad for many reasons.
I mentored this year in a different state than my hometown team (as a freshman in college) and felt very satisfied. It definitely takes a shift in mentality, but it can be done.

What are those reasons?