FIRST EMAIL/Payment Deadline/Minibots/Windows 7/Robot Ship/Lock-up Day/Jan Scholarship Update/Autodesk
Greetings Teams:
Payments for Additional Regional Events & Championship Deadline: Payments for Additional Regional Events and the Championship are due Friday 1/28/2011 – please confirm with FIRST Finance that you have the funding for the events that you are registered for if they are not paid at this time. If you do not have the funding, please email [email protected] as to your status. We do have a waitlist of teams wanting to go to the Championship, so if you do not have the funding to attend please let us know so that we can give another team the opportunity.
To Bot or Not to Bot: If you did not opt to receive an FTC Minikit through FIRST Choice or need additional items to complete your minibot, you have a few options: 1) Partner with an existing FTC team in your area. They should have just about all of the materials required to create a minibot. You can find FTC teams in your area here: http://www.usfirst.org/whatsgoingon.aspx, or by contacting your Regional Director (RD). Don’t know who your RD is? Look here: http://www.usfirst.org/regionalcontact.aspx.
2) Purchase full TETRIX kits or individual components from LEGO Education at www.legoeducation.us/frc
3) Work with another FRC team that may be willing to lend their minibot to your team during a competition (FRC teams that loan out their minibot will earn co-operition points, as stated in Bill’s Blog)
Remember: You can compete without a minibot!
Windows 7: As you know, currently teams are only able to download the 30 day version of Windows 7 to their Driver Station. A long term solution is in process and will be published shortly—stay tuned!
Robot Ship/Lock-up Day: All teams must cease work on their robot on or before Robot Ship/Lock-up Day on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. Any team that fails to comply may jeopardize their participation in the rest of the FRC season.
· Make sure you have the right “stuff” for to Robot Ship/Lock-up by Monday, February 7, 2011: Are you going to a traditional Regional Event this season? If so, did you receive your two FedEx donated Bills of Lading in your Kit of Parts? Are you attending a Bag and Tag event this season? If so, did you receive your bags and tags in your Kit of Parts? If you find that you are missing these materials, please email [email protected] no later than Monday, February 7, 2011 to request that these items are sent to you.
· Robot Removal Requests: If you would like to request to remove your robot from a traditional Regional Event rather than shipping it home, you must submit a Robot Removal Request to Team Support at [email protected] no later than Friday, February 25, 2011. Please refer to Section 5.5.2 of the Administrative Manual for full details and a request template.
· For everything Robot Shipping, please review Section 5 of the FRC Administrative Manual.
January Scholarship Update: FIRST Scholarship opportunities now total over $14 Million! For more information about recently confirmed scholarships, approaching application deadlines, and to see special messages from some of our FIRST Scholarship Providers, please visit: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/content.aspx?id=18854.
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Recordings of FRC Kickoff Workshops**: Please visit http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/firstplace/content.aspx?id=15787.
Consent and Release Forms: If you haven’t done so already, please consider which 2011 FIRST Consent and Release form your team members will be utilizing this season. Remember, electronic Consent and Release forms “cover” individuals at all 2011 FIRST competition events (students and their parents access the electronic form in STIMS; adult mentors in TIMS). If anyone on your team opts to do the hard-copy Consent and Release form, the form must be presented at your initial Competition event along with your Printed Team Roster. Full details on the process can be found at http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/content.aspx?id=8128
Print your Team Roster! No matter which method you choose (electronic or hard-copy), you MUST print off your Team Roster from TIMS and bring it with you to your initial competition event. To print your Team Roster: 1) On the Team Summary page, scroll down to the “Student/Roster” field.
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Click “View” next to Team Roster.
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Click Printable Roster.
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If you have any students/mentors who are providing hard-copy forms, please write in their names on the printed roster and attach their consent and release forms.
For more information about the 2011 Consent and Release Form, including FAQ’s and a helpful Process Overview, please visit: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/content.aspx?id=8128.
Getting Started with Autodesk: Follow these steps to quickly download your Autodesk software today - 1. Complete the Education Community registration process at http://autodesk.com/firstregistration. Note that each member of your team will need to create an individual account.
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Once logged in, proceed to the Download Center: http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=download_center
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Select the version of Inventor you installed from the drop-down menu.
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Click the “Get Serial” button to generate your serial number.
Important: Your serial number is good for one activation only. Please direct other members of your team to http://autodesk.com/firstregistration to sign up and receive their own unique serial numbers -
You also have the option to install the software using the Inventor DVD included in the Kit of Parts.
Download and learn to use the latest versions of Autodesk Inventor Professional and Autodesk 3ds Max:
Having trouble with installation? Post your question in our forums where product support experts are on hand to assist you: http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=support_center .
3D Animation Toolkit: We launched the 3D Animation Toolkit on the Autodesk Student Community this week, and it includes loads of training and supporting materials to help your teams develop their 30-second animation for the FIRST Robotics Competition 2011 Award for Excellence in Design. For a limited time, students can access FREE training material from Autodesk Training Partner Digital Tutors in support of the 3D animation competition. Space is limited, so sign up for your free training ASAP!
Questions?: [email protected]
Go Teams!