FIRST Robots to Lead Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

[Meredith Novak]

The official press release about the participants in the 2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade just came out with a paragraph about FIRST:

http://mustacheagency.com/MNR/MacysP...deoverview.pdf

"Each Thanksgiving morning, as part of the ribbon cutting ceremony, a special group is invited
to join Amy Kule to lead the Parade down the streets of Manhattan. Often these groups
feature exceptional individuals who are making a contribution to the city or nation. This year,
students from FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), along with
specially created robots designed by the selected students will help kick-off the march. FIRST
is a nationwide organization the aims to inspire young people to be science and technology
leaders by building skills through a mentor-based program."

[Akash Rastogi]

This is really amazing. Any word on which teams will be there? I'm guessing 694 might be part of it.

[Meredith Novak]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

This is really amazing. Any word on which teams will be there? I'm guessing 694 might be part of it.

Waiting on an official press release from FIRST. Don't want to steal anyone's thunder, but it is teams representing FIRST, not themselves really.

[dodar]

Now by "lead" do you mean actually driving or on a float?

[Meredith Novak]

Originally Posted by dodar

Now by "lead" do you mean actually driving or on a float?

Driving. No float. Daunting task for robots designed to play 2 minute matches.

[Whippet]

It appears that the robots will simply be cutting the ribbon, rather than actually leading the parade. I may be wrong, though, since I have yet to actually see the beginning of the parade. Darned build season, making me have to stock up on sleep a month in advance.

[Meredith Novak]

Originally Posted by Whippet

It appears that the robots will simply be cutting the ribbon, rather than actually leading the parade. I may be wrong, though, since I have yet to actually see the beginning of the parade. Darned build season, making me have to stock up on sleep a month in advance.

They will be driving the entire parade route. Not sure if ribbon is cut and they take off or they fall into the parade somewhere else. So "leading" may not be entirely accurate, but at least "starting."

Actually the release says lead: "...a special group is invited to join Amy Kule to lead the Parade down the streets of Manhattan."

[Jon Stratis]

The parade is something that ends up on TV every year, but I've never really "watched" it... now I have a reason to watch at least part of it!

[RoboMom]

So Much Fun! Thanks to everyone behind the scenes and representing FIRST for making this happen. I'll be watching from the comfort of my couch.

[MrForbes]

neato! Now I finally have an excuse to watch the Parade

[GBK]

This is GREAT. This year will be the first time I watched the parade since my kids were young. (not going to say how many years that has been)

[Ernst]

Now THAT is "Making it loud".

One quick question, though:
Does "specially created robots" imply that they have new robots made just for this event, or are they using their competition robots? My guess is that it's just referring to FRC robots in a way that makes more sense to the general public, but the wording made me think that they are "specially created" for this event.

[Meredith Novak]

Originally Posted by ZehP

Now THAT is "Making it loud".

One quick question, though:
Does "specially created robots" imply that they have new robots made just for this event, or are they using their competition robots? My guess is that it's just referring to FRC robots in a way that makes more sense to the general public, but the wording made me think that they are "specially created" for this event.

"Specially created or modified" would be more accurate, but not very press friendly. Some are more "modified" than others.

[GaryVoshol]

OK, so do I watch for robots in the Macy's parade, or watch for my daughter in the Detroit parade? Decisions, decisions.

[GBK]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

OK, so do I watch for robots in the Macy's parade, or watch for my daughter in the Detroit parade? Decisions, decisions.

Be sure and tell your daughter that you saw her in the parade.