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Learn About FIRST's New Embedded Linux Controller (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the rocking-and-socking-more-powerfully-than-ever dept.

Our interviewee today is Mike Anderson, an adviser to FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Team 116 at Herndon High School in Virginia. He's here to tell us about the new embedded Linux controller FIRST is using this year. It is apparently a bit short of documentation at this stage, so team 116 and others have been posting what they learn at Chief Delphi, which is 'the' FIRST online discussion forum (and fun to read to keep up with all things FIRST). We've talked about FIRST before. We've taken you to FIRST competitions, and looked behind the scenes at the building of a FIRST robot, and will no doubt keep covering a selection of FIRST activities in the future.

14 of 26 comments (clear)

  1. FIRST by sdguero · · Score: 3, Funny

    I thirst to be FIRST!

    1. Re:FIRST by marcello_dl · · Score: 1

      bad luck Brian:
      posts first post
      every other post in the discussion is also a FIRST post.

      --
      ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
    2. Re:FIRST by JimMcc · · Score: 1

      Yes, but his was the first first post, which for first posts was a first.

  2. Hopefully reduce input lag by ArylAkamov · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I hope this is a bit faster than the older system, I remember there being quite a long input lag a few years ago. Perhaps they'll put some effort into building a proper playing field as well.

  3. Entertainment for rich kids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    FIRST is obscenely expensive. I was asked to judge a regional last year. I was stunned to learn how expensive it is to participate. The entry fee is $6k. That buys a basic parts kit. Throw in tools, the rest of the parts and other expenses and it's a minimum of $10-20k to play. The winning teams have workshops that cost nearly a million dollars (e.g. water jet cutters, CNC mills, etc). It's mostly just RC robot wars.

    1. Re:Entertainment for rich kids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That's why a good part of a successful FRC team is a media/communications effort that reaches out to companies and individuals for sponsorships (monetary or in-kind). I understand the "for rich kids" part, but how can you justify calling it "entertainment?" What you see at the events is the result of three months' hard labor -- which in itself is a result of the rest of the year's planning and education.

    2. Re: Entertainment for rich kids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is obscenely expensive, fun maybe for the kids, and success is definitely skewed towards the wealthy. That and from what I keep seeing, the mentors are more than likely to have stepped over the line, making what is produced much more of their work than the kids.

    3. Re:Entertainment for rich kids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's true that the top 1% of teams are like that, and that they win the most. But for every team like that, there are 100 more that are made by students from average backgrounds that get by on fundraisers and help from local businesses. I participated (well over a decade ago) and our school was in the poorest part of the district, in an area most would consider a "ghetto". I guarantee you no one on the team was rich. Our sponsor donated money and time of their engineers and gave students an opportunity to see a path in life many may not have even considered otherwise. A big part of the program is the scholarships and internship opportunities that are available to participants. $10k is not that much when it is spread over 15-30 students that make up an average team. A lot of high school football teams spend way more then that, and that money comes directly from the school instead of being raised by sponsors.

      It's true that the teams with the most resources win at the highest level, and in areas with a lot of tech/manufacturing companies it can become a bit elitist (like Silicon Valley or Michigan) but winning is not the primary goal of the program. There can only be one winning alliance at the end of the day, and in any competitive sport the team with the better equipment, resources and funding often wins. If you had a football team, and you didn't win the championship, was it wasted effort to play? Is it wasted to have tried? The benefits of your practice are still there. FIRST is about getting kids exposed to the fact that you can have an amazing life full of challenge and satisfaction using your brain to solve problems in the STEM fields. I volunteer at some events, and a lot of the volunteers and mentors are people who work in STEM and love going to work every day, and want to share that with young people who may think their best opportunities are things like "becoming a pro basketball player".

    4. Re:Entertainment for rich kids by miller701 · · Score: 1

      Have you looked into BEST? I volunteer for that at the hub and regional level and according to the FAQ it's free for teams.

  4. FIRST Alum. by Nabeel_co · · Score: 1

    As someone who competed in FIRST as a kid, I'm glad that they are still pushing things forward.

    It was an incredible experience.

  5. Re:Which competitions? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    this one is just for First Robotics
    First Tech Challenge uses an android-based cell phone and some add-ons

  6. Re: Which competitions? by BeaverCleaver · · Score: 1

    I think Lego EV3 uses embedded Linux... Does that count?

    --
    sustainable living
  7. Not like it used to be... by Leuf · · Score: 1

    Back in my day all you had was a couple cordless drills for power and a remote control. I thought it was an engineering competition, not a programming contest.

  8. Re:Story translation by whitroth · · Score: 1

    Ah, yes, non-readable logs, because they're Poettering's brilliant idea of binary logfiles that require a special tool to read....

                      mark