FIRST Robotics Kicks Off Season Jan. 3 at RIT

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A. Sue Weisler

The 2008 Finger Lakes Regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Gordon Field House at RIT.

The robots are on their way-and so are the SparX, Visioneers, Finney Falcons and Gladiators, some of the area teams participating in the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition.

Hundreds of students, teachers and mentors on 50 teams from across the Northeast will gather at Rochester Institute of Technology to hear Dean Kamen, FIRST founder, describe the game that becomes one of the most challenging technology competitions for high school students.

Area FIRST Robotics teams will gather on the RIT campus to watch the live broadcast of the national competition kick-off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009, in the Xerox Auditorium in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. After the broadcast, FIRST teams pick up the kit of parts they will need to build their robots for the Finger Lakes Regional Competition to be held in March.

This is the fifth year RIT has hosted the FIRST Robotics Kick Off and Competition. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) began in 1989 to spark interest in science through solving engineering problems in a friendly, intense competition. More information available at the Finger Lakes Region FIRST Competition.