Spring Events l PTC Onshape Challenge l 1 Million PPE Challenge l 2020-21 Season Registration
SPRING EVENTS POSTPONED
With the closure of school facilities in Michigan for the remainder of the school year and in compliance with public health recommendations and regulations due to the current and ongoing threat of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in our state, FIRST in Michigan has decided that the spring FIRST in Michigan FLLJr, FLL, and FTC Spring Events will be postponed until further notice. Once we move through this challenging time and get the “all clear” on public gatherings, we’ll see about putting together some quick builds/scrimmages for teams. A heartfelt thank you to our spring event hosts who graciously offered their venues, resources, and time in support of our teams.
We have not yet received a directive from the MDE regarding impact on the FIRST in Michigan MDE State Grant awards for teams that were not able to complete their 2019-2020 season competition requirement as a result of school closures and the subsequent event postponements. Once a directive is received, FIRST in Michigan will share it with teams across all programs.
PTC ONSHAPE CHALLENGE
FIRST in Michigan is excited to jump onboard PTC’s recently announced ROBOTS TO THE RESCUE challenge! FIRST teams around the world are invited to participate in a virtual design competition where they solve a current world problem using their robotics skills. Students will use Onshape – a web-based CAD system used by professionals and available free to FIRST teams. Using Onshape, teams will design a robot that helps to solve a current world problem.
For FIRST in Michigan FRC and FTC Teams. Earlier in the season, FIRST in Michigan received a grant from PTC which was to be used in part for advancement fees to States and Worlds. In light of the suspension of the season, FIRST in Michigan will use the money to make grants to Michigan FRC/FTC teams towards next season’s registration fees and, additionally for FTC teams, the new REV Control Hub. There will be six $1,000 awards to FRC teams and five $525 awards to FTC teams. Part of the grant’s criteria will include the team’s participation in the Onshape Challenge. The grant application is available on the GRANTS page. These grants are not associated in any way with the Onshape Challenge’s award component.
About the PTC Onshape Challenge:
Think Big! What problem do you want to solve? Some example solutions include a delivery bot that brings food and medical supplies to hard-to-reach places, a vehicle that removes pollution from the atmosphere rather than adding to it, or a remote-controlled surgical bot that allows doctors to operate on patients from a distance. Find the topic that your team is most passionate about and let your imaginations run wild!
Get Started Quickly. Onshape makes it easy for FIRST teams to get started quickly. No downloading or installing – just log in, share your document with the team and then you’re building robots! A variety of resources to get you going are just a click away.
Timeline. The competition is open and accepting entries through May 15, 2020. The winners will be announced on May 29.
Awards Available: Challenge winners will be chosen based on the team who scored the most total points across the problem definition and robot design categories. Awards will be made in the form of team grants.
Sign Up Your Team! See the links below to sign up your team and access challenge resources.
- Competition landing page: https://www.onshape.com/robots-to-the-rescue
- Rules & Guidelines page: https://www.onshape.com/robots-to-the-rescue/guidelines
- FIRST Getting Started Guide: https://apps.ptc.com/schools/FIRST/RTTR/RobotsToTheRescueResourceGuide.pdf
Join our 1 MILLION PPE Challenge!
FIRST in Michigan is officially launching the 1 MILLION PPE CHALLENGE to provide much needed personal protection equipment (PPE) like face shields, face masks and safety glasses to our hospitals and first responders. This donation tracking site will bring all the donations across all levels of FIRST together in one central place.
LET’S MAKE OUR IMPACT LOUD!!!
Many FRC, FTC, FLL and FLL Jr teams are already making and donating hand-sewn face masks, 3D respirator type masks, and face shields. You can start by logging an estimate of what you have already donated. Then add to it each time you make a new donation. The donations are logged by the recipient’s name (who you made the donation to) so if you donated to different places you will have to create a separate log for each place.
Since everyone on your team will be creating the PPE from their own home, the idea is that each individual member of the team will use our site to log their own donations under your team number.
Follow these simple steps to participate:
- USE OUR LISTS to decide what to make and where to donate it.
– List of hospital needs: https://firstinmichigan.us/FRC/hospital-needs/
– Library of designs: https://firstinmichigan.us/FRC/maker-files/
– We have a small group of people updating the hospital lists every few days. If you would like to help with the hospitals in your area, contact Lisa Savage at lisaperez@gmail.com. - RECRUIT YOUR WHOLE COMMUNITY to make PPE. Your team, parents, mentors, sponsors, and whole companies, churches, associations. THINK BIG.
- DONATE, THEN LOG the donations under your team number on our website. Be sure to every member of your expanded team your team number and program (FRC, FTC, FLL, FLLJr).
- TO LOG YOUR DONATIONS use these links:
– Customize this link with YOUR program and YOUR team number so both are filled in automatically when any member of your team signs in: https://www.firstinmichigan-ppechallenge.org/signup/<insert program>/<insert team number>
EXAMPLE 1
FRC Team 111 would send this to all the team members donating
https://www.firstinmichigan-ppechallenge.org/signup/FRC/111
EXAMPLE 2
FTC Team 1222 would send this out to the team to use
https://www.firstinmichigan-ppechallenge.org/signup/FTC/1222
You can also log in just by going to https://www.firstinmichigan-ppechallenge.org or by clicking on the link on our landing page at firstinmichigan.org.
STAY HOME. STAY SAFE. Above all, protect your health and obey the stay-at-home and social distancing rules while participating.
Good luck and let’s get to 1 MILLION in a hurry!
2020-2021 SEASON REGISTRATION
Registration for the 2020-21 season is slated to open in mid May. FIRST in Michigan will share updates regarding new season registration as they’re made available to us.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Links to program information on the FIRST in Michigan (FiM) and FIRST HQ websites:
- Run a Team – Addresses many FAQs
- Resources – Links to FIRST HQ resources, parts, and vendors, logos, etc.
- Grants – information will be updated as grants become available; check back periodically
- Team Eblast Archive
- FIRST FTC HQ Blog – latest program announcements
- FTC Curriculum – Free curriculum; can be used as a stand-alone course or as a supplement to areas where the team needs extra support.
PROGRAM PARTICULARS
- Alignment: In Michigan, we run a slightly different progression of programs from FIRST national. In Michigan, FTC is a middle school only program with teams comprised solely of MI middle school aged/grade team members. Teams must be properly aligned in order to be eligible for FiM FTC grants and to participate in FIRST in Michigan FTC events.
- Team Size: FTC team size is capped at 15. Multiple teams out of a given school/organization are welcome and can be eligible for all grants. Please review grant requirements in the above linked doc.
- Team Eblasts. FIRST in Michigan FTC team eblasts (sent from michiganftc@gmail.com) are sent to the Team Administrator and Lead Coach 1 and 2 for each team. The eblast distribution list is pulled from the FIRST Team Registration System, per FIRST HQ protocol, so additional email addresses cannot be added to the FIRST in Michigan FTC eblast list.
