When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?

[JaneYoung]

I think it is because those types of contests made it into the mainstream culture and have stayed there as the frame of reference. Because people are familiar with that and enjoy those contests, it takes a while for them to understand FRC and get the bigger picture. That's why elevator speeches are so important and why team outreach makes a difference. And that is because - we are hoping to make an impact on careers, industries, mindsets, communities - regarding that bigger picture. The robots are a great way to open doors to the opportunities and possibilities available, but the team members have to prepared to open those doors in front of them.

[BIGWILLI2081]

ha it happens to me every time and usually its asked like
"is it like that old battle bots show, that was so cool!"

my response is "no, its much more cooler than that" or "FIRST makes that show look boring"

[Katie_UPS]

I always say something similar to what you said. And, yeah, I get it all the time. The worst is when I say "I don't want something I spent x amount of time and x amount of money on to be destroyed in three minutes" and they think for a second and say "Then build it better than everyone else's".

[jwuyhs]

I always try to explain what it's about and if they really don't get it, I give them a link (if I'm talking online through a chat) or show them a picture of our robot. And Yes, I do carry pictures of our robot around

[kjolana1124]

We just had a fund raiser today. And we were, once again, asked if we were like battle bots. There seems to be a strange connection between irrational violence and robot interest. It doesn't help that, as part of a class in middle school, kids build machines to do different tasks then get to destroy them in various ways in an almost demolition derby. They're not robots, but I think a lot of kids still like the concept of dropping bricks and chucking basketballs on things.

[smurfgirl]

I've definitely gotten this before, but once I explain what FIRST is they usually end up liking it better anyway. Besides, at this point pretty much everyone I've ever talked to knows what FIRST is.

[bduddy]

Yes, they do. Battlebots, Robot Wars, etc. managed to market themselves effectively, get themselves on TV consistently (for a while), and provide a great spectator experience, so people have heard about them... perhaps FIRST could learn a thing or two from them?