Why do teams voluntarily do FIRST without adult technical mentors?

[Alexander McGee]

Originally Posted by mechanicalbrain

Uhh im not sure i agree with this fully. Speaking strictly from actual experience being a engineer gives a mentor no advantage over a student when it come to building robotics. As mentioned in other threads robotics is rarely covered in college. In fact i know a mentor who has designed xray systems for submarine inspection yet has no clue when it came to our robots specific abilities. He was knowledgable about electrics but in plenty of cases it just didn't carry over.

I think that you need some more exposure. Engineers do nothing but this, some may just work in a different, less technical area. Engineers solve problems, that is all. We are the world's problem solvers and there are many different problems to be solved, just as there are many different kinds of engineers.

As an engineer, I work with and build robots daily. I know many many others who do too. Think about any company that sells products in the USA. These products, whatever they might be, need to be tested / packaged / organized / repaired / reconditioned / redesigned. Who do you think does all this? Certainly engineers, but they can't do every little thing 24-7. We build robots to do it for us. Take a look at this:



That is what I am talking about. This robot runs 24-7-365 in the Test Lab of R&D where I work, Stryker Instruments. We make Medical products and are required by the FDA to test and ensure that they can sustain long life. This is a life-cycle tester which automates and monitors an Autoclave (hospital sterilization) with a variety of parts in it. I can only show this to you because I made it as a freshman. I wish i could show you some of the amazing things that other people whom I work with have created.

I am not sure what you are talking about when you say that robotics is not taught in College. Which aspect of robotics are you referring to? I have had classes in machining, design, drive train, electrical, pneumatic control, and programming, (gotta love Statics, Solids, Thermo, & Heat Trans!) and I am not even a Junior yet! Maybe it is different at your school, but and engineering degree touches so many facets of robotics, that one can't begin to learn them all.

I also disagree with you about engineering mentors and their ability to help a team significantly. Look at, oh, every team that has ever been in the top 4 at Nationals. Do you think that a majority of these robots had minimal engineer involvement? Of course they had help. It is the engineers in this program who make it what it is. Without them and their ideas, it would have taken teams much longer to come up with things such as swivel drive, a 4-speed transmission, autonomous programming (before 03, if you would believe it), and everything else that has left you in awe. The students are, of course, vital to the program as well, but engineers and their ideas have made this program grow exponentially fast.

I'm not attacking you personally, I just felt that your post had some things that need to be addressed for everyone. Feel free to IM me or email me and we can chat. Also, please re-read Andy's last post. I couldn't agree with him more.

-Alex