ESPN Magazine Mini-Article on FIRST - 8 May 2006

[Ken Streeter]

The latest issue of "ESPN, The Magazine" (May 8, 2006, page 46) includes a brief article on FIRST, which sounds to have come from FIRST Public Relations:

(Photo of 2006 Granite State Regional QF2, showing 1138 and 1276 robots, plus human player of 1519, and drivers of 133, 1519, and 1276)

BATTLE BOTS

In the last week of April, 10,000 screaming teens will pack the Georgia Dome, and Kelly Clarkson won't be anywhere in sight. Instead, 340 of the world's top high school robotics teams will compete to determine who's built the best 'bots. The championship is the crown jewel of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an initiative that Segway Inventor Dean Kamen founded after U.S. students fell to 19th in the world in science and technology on standardized tests. FIRST, which gets its funding from large corporations, sent each team a $17,000 robot kit with 350 parts and instructions to build a 'bot that can shoot a ball into a hoop or a goal. Among the limitations: a $3,500 spending cap and a 120-pound weight limit. Successful teams are eligible to win millions in college scholarships. "Last year, more U.S. kids got degrees in sports management than in all engineering fields combined," Kamen says. "That has to change." Of course, when the robots go pro, they'll have no problem finding an agent. -- Molly Knight