DATE:
TIME: LOCATION: |
Saturday, September 12, 2020
8:00am to 2:00pm VIRTUAL @ www.ncfllandftc.com/ftc-kickoff-2020-event |
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 NC FTC Season Kick-off will be held virtually (online). To participate, please register at the link below to receive event day login information.
KICK-OFF LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS
Pre-Registered Participants: Please follow the team login procedures included in the confirmation emailed to the coach/mentor, parent or student that completed the registration process. If you have misplaced your team login information, please contact the Event Managers office at (336) 273-5575 or email info@nc-ftc.com. The office will open at 7:00am.
Not registered yet? No problem. Please click on the link below to complete a short registration form. Upon submission, you will immediately receive login information at at the email address provided on the form.
KICK-OFF LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS
Pre-Registered Participants: Please follow the team login procedures included in the confirmation emailed to the coach/mentor, parent or student that completed the registration process. If you have misplaced your team login information, please contact the Event Managers office at (336) 273-5575 or email info@nc-ftc.com. The office will open at 7:00am.
Not registered yet? No problem. Please click on the link below to complete a short registration form. Upon submission, you will immediately receive login information at at the email address provided on the form.
GENERAL SCHEDULE
GROUP SESSION – VIRTUAL ROOM 1
8:00am Opening Session
BREAKOUT SESSIONS – VIRTUAL ROOMS 1 - 7
*All sessions will include 7 online breakout rooms
*Each presentation will last 30 minutes each, with a 15-minute Q&A session to follow.
*There will be a 15-minute break between each session.
*All sessions will be recorded and will be available, along with Q&A transcripts, September 14, 2020.
Click HERE to Download the full Kick-off Schedule with Session Descriptions!
8:45am Workshops - Session 1 (Rooms 1 - 7)
9:30am Break 1 (15 minutes)
9:45am Workshops - Session 2 (Rooms 1 - 7)
10:30pm Break 2 (15 minutes)
10:45am Workshops - Session 3 (Rooms 1 - 7)
11:30am Break 3 (30 minutes)
12:00pm Game Reveal
GROUP SESSIONS – ROOM 1
1:00pm How to DIY a field for Remote Competition & Game Discussion - Referees on the field.
2:00pm End of Kick-off event
SUGGESTION! Coaches, due to COVID-19, social distancing is still highly recommended by state health officials and gathering restrictions may still be in effect on event day. We suggest creating a video conference room on event day (i.e. Zoom, WebEx, etc.), for all team members to safely view the Kick-off from home on event day. This space will allow your team to experience the kick-off ‘together’ and communicate among yourselves to discuss what you are learning.
To set up a team viewing environment:
Step 1: Register your team for the virtual kick-off event.
*Click here to register your team.
Step 2: Send a video conference invite to all team members via email.
*Please remember to password protect all video calls and require waiting room entry to ensure secure access.
Step 3: Coaches, login to the Kick-off from your personal computer on behalf of the team.
*Please follow instructions as indicated in your registration confirmation email.
Step 4: Coaches, share your screen within the video conference call, so team members can view each session with you.
Step 5: Chat among yourselves as the day progresses, to create a wonderful start to the 2020-2021 season!
WORKSHOP SESSION LIST, PRESENTERS AND DESCRIPTIONS
Which Workshops Should I Attend? Each workshop is listed below with a description and the presenter. We encourage teams to do their best to get as much coverage at the workshops as possible: divide and conquer with students and mentors alike.
SESSION 1 8:45AM - 9:30AM
Beginning Programming with Android Studio – Room 1
Presenter – Ethan Dominic, FTC Team 2901, Purple Gears
This kick-off session is going to cover the basics of getting started with programming your robot, which will cover configuring phones, setting up the development environment using Android Studio, and downloading your first Tele-Op program to your robot.
Introduction to CAD With Onshape – Room 2
Presenter – Thomas Greene, FTC Team 2901, Purple Gears
In the Introduction to CAD with Onshape presentation, attendees will learn the fundamentals of Onshape. Even with no prior CAD experience, they will learn how to use Onshape, a unique browser-based CAD software that runs on almost every standard device, including Chromebooks and mobile devices. Attendees will learn the skills they need to model their team's robots, including generating accurate motion of gears, bills of materials, and gaining access to an extensive, curated Onshape Parts Library
Outreach - Room 3
Presenters - The RoboKnights, FTC Team 8569
How to approach outreach as a team, while engaging and educating the public about FIRST.
Building Options – Room 4
Presenters – Tundrabots, FTC Team 7083 & Cut the Red Wire, FTC Team 6078
In this session, we will go over the advantages and disadvantages of the different building systems commonly used in FTC. We will discuss systems like Gobilda, Andymark, Rev, Acto, Vex, Tetrix, and full custom.
Marketing - Room 5
Presenters – Wannabee Strange FTC Team 731
Learn about multiple approaches, activities, tactics and resources that can be used to market your team to increase visibility of your team, FTC and FIRST in your community.
Tips for a Virtual Season – Room 6
Presenters – Alan Smith, Rick Hallihan, John Toebes
A season with virtual meetings is new for almost all of us. Come hear from a panel of coaches that have been doing off-season virtual meetings for things that have worked (and things that have not.)
Judging in the time of COVID-19 – Room 7
Presenter - Fiona Last-Powell, NC FTC Lead Judge Advisor
There are several changes to the FIRST Tech Challenge Judging Process this season and all our events in NC will be remote, so let’s think through how to do a great team interview whilst home alone on a web-meeting!
SESSION 2 9:45AM - 10:30AM
Autonomous Programming Basics – Room 1
Presenter – Nikki Allen and Will Meyers, FTC Team 2901, Purple Gears
In this session the programmers of team 2901 purple gears will be teaching you the basics of an autonomous program. This includes driving by encoders, turning using a gyroscope that is built into the REV Expansion Hub, and vision processing using VuForia and TensorFlow.
Advanced CAD With Onshape – Room 2
Presenter – Ilam Maya, FTC Team 2901, Purple Gears
This Onshape session is to familiarize you with the more advanced aspect of Onshape, from talking about Part Studios and making custom parts to editing parts in context and creating a part in an assembly from context.
Engineering Notebooks - Room 3
Presenter – SWIFT Robotics FTC Team 7105
Insight on how to put together a great Journal whilst following all the rules and guidelines. This year there is also the Portfolio so we will talk about that and the importance of a strong virtual notebook.
Setting up and using a Virtual Robot Simulator - Room 4
Presenter – Alan Smith FTC Team 16072 Quantum Quacks
Tired of trying to write your autonomous code the night before because the robot isn't ready any earlier? In this workshop, we'll show how to setup and use the Beta8397 simulator so that you can write and test software without your robot present.
Scoring Mechanisms - Room 5
Presenters – Tundrabots FTC Team 7083 & Aperture Science FTC Team 5064
In this session, we will overview the different types of scoring mechanisms that can be used for FTC. We will go overactive intakes, lift systems, and how scoring mechanisms interact with each other.
Strategy Session - Room 6
Presenter - Jan Fischer, FTC Alum
This year is going to be really different. How do you strategize effectively to play alone on a “half” field”?
Season Overview, Tournament Structure, and Competition Schedule - Room 7
Presenter – Shayla Sharpe, Sharpe Pursuits, Inc. - NC FTC Event Planner
In this session, we will provide an overview of the virtual season tournament structure. Due to COVID-19, registration, team communication and tournament week procedures have changed to conform to an online environment.
SESSION 3 10:45AM - 11:30AM
Designing for Consistent Autonomous - Room 1
Presenters – Tundrabots FTC Team 7083 & Quantum Quacks FTC Team 16072
We will discuss how to balance software and mechanical needs for autonomous. This presentation will also go over the different hardware options to improve your consistency for autonomous touch sensors, encoders, odometry, etc.
Drive Trains; Designs and Decisions – Room 2
Presenter – Wannabee Strange FTC Team 731
This presentation outlines the basic types of drive trains and which drive trains to use in different situations. We will also go over the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of drive trains.
Control Theory- Room 3
Presenters – Phi Rho Eagles FTC Team 8300 & Highly Combustible FRT Team 9548
This session will be a simple explanation of control theory in FTC and how it can be used for auto, pseudocode we will be covering topics such as Primitive control methods, PID, and Feedforward control. We will also have take-home Java Examples
Linear Motion - Room 4
Presenters – Beren Hollingsworth – Alum Aperture Science, Team 5064
An overview of options for all sorts of sliders and linear expansion systems.
On-Bot Java – Room 5
Presenter – Sushen Kolakaleti, FTC Team 4653, Irrational Door Keepers
The basics of how to program your robot using Java and Android Studio. Starting with how to setup the programming environment and ending with methods of getting the code to the bot, including On-Bot Java.
Running a Rookie Team – Room 6
Presenters – Rick and Tammy Hallihan Infinite Turtles FTC Team 16461, Sanjita Srinath, Iniya Ilamparithi
This session will cover all aspects of running a rookie team - planning sessions, design, hardware, software, notebook, outreach, virtual ideas, etc. They will share their insights to having a successful season and valuable lessons learned from their first year in FTC. If you're a rookie team, come learn top tips from an experienced FIRST team that just completed their first season in FTC.
Coaches’ Round Table- Room 7
Facilitator – Robyn Stephens, The RoboKnights FTC Team 8569
Let’s get together and build community whilst discussing typical season challenges and celebrations as well as unique ones for 2020-2021.
GROUP SESSION – VIRTUAL ROOM 1
8:00am Opening Session
BREAKOUT SESSIONS – VIRTUAL ROOMS 1 - 7
*All sessions will include 7 online breakout rooms
*Each presentation will last 30 minutes each, with a 15-minute Q&A session to follow.
*There will be a 15-minute break between each session.
*All sessions will be recorded and will be available, along with Q&A transcripts, September 14, 2020.
Click HERE to Download the full Kick-off Schedule with Session Descriptions!
8:45am Workshops - Session 1 (Rooms 1 - 7)
9:30am Break 1 (15 minutes)
9:45am Workshops - Session 2 (Rooms 1 - 7)
10:30pm Break 2 (15 minutes)
10:45am Workshops - Session 3 (Rooms 1 - 7)
11:30am Break 3 (30 minutes)
12:00pm Game Reveal
GROUP SESSIONS – ROOM 1
1:00pm How to DIY a field for Remote Competition & Game Discussion - Referees on the field.
2:00pm End of Kick-off event
SUGGESTION! Coaches, due to COVID-19, social distancing is still highly recommended by state health officials and gathering restrictions may still be in effect on event day. We suggest creating a video conference room on event day (i.e. Zoom, WebEx, etc.), for all team members to safely view the Kick-off from home on event day. This space will allow your team to experience the kick-off ‘together’ and communicate among yourselves to discuss what you are learning.
To set up a team viewing environment:
Step 1: Register your team for the virtual kick-off event.
*Click here to register your team.
Step 2: Send a video conference invite to all team members via email.
*Please remember to password protect all video calls and require waiting room entry to ensure secure access.
Step 3: Coaches, login to the Kick-off from your personal computer on behalf of the team.
*Please follow instructions as indicated in your registration confirmation email.
Step 4: Coaches, share your screen within the video conference call, so team members can view each session with you.
Step 5: Chat among yourselves as the day progresses, to create a wonderful start to the 2020-2021 season!
WORKSHOP SESSION LIST, PRESENTERS AND DESCRIPTIONS
Which Workshops Should I Attend? Each workshop is listed below with a description and the presenter. We encourage teams to do their best to get as much coverage at the workshops as possible: divide and conquer with students and mentors alike.
SESSION 1 8:45AM - 9:30AM
Beginning Programming with Android Studio – Room 1
Presenter – Ethan Dominic, FTC Team 2901, Purple Gears
This kick-off session is going to cover the basics of getting started with programming your robot, which will cover configuring phones, setting up the development environment using Android Studio, and downloading your first Tele-Op program to your robot.
Introduction to CAD With Onshape – Room 2
Presenter – Thomas Greene, FTC Team 2901, Purple Gears
In the Introduction to CAD with Onshape presentation, attendees will learn the fundamentals of Onshape. Even with no prior CAD experience, they will learn how to use Onshape, a unique browser-based CAD software that runs on almost every standard device, including Chromebooks and mobile devices. Attendees will learn the skills they need to model their team's robots, including generating accurate motion of gears, bills of materials, and gaining access to an extensive, curated Onshape Parts Library
Outreach - Room 3
Presenters - The RoboKnights, FTC Team 8569
How to approach outreach as a team, while engaging and educating the public about FIRST.
Building Options – Room 4
Presenters – Tundrabots, FTC Team 7083 & Cut the Red Wire, FTC Team 6078
In this session, we will go over the advantages and disadvantages of the different building systems commonly used in FTC. We will discuss systems like Gobilda, Andymark, Rev, Acto, Vex, Tetrix, and full custom.
Marketing - Room 5
Presenters – Wannabee Strange FTC Team 731
Learn about multiple approaches, activities, tactics and resources that can be used to market your team to increase visibility of your team, FTC and FIRST in your community.
Tips for a Virtual Season – Room 6
Presenters – Alan Smith, Rick Hallihan, John Toebes
A season with virtual meetings is new for almost all of us. Come hear from a panel of coaches that have been doing off-season virtual meetings for things that have worked (and things that have not.)
Judging in the time of COVID-19 – Room 7
Presenter - Fiona Last-Powell, NC FTC Lead Judge Advisor
There are several changes to the FIRST Tech Challenge Judging Process this season and all our events in NC will be remote, so let’s think through how to do a great team interview whilst home alone on a web-meeting!
SESSION 2 9:45AM - 10:30AM
Autonomous Programming Basics – Room 1
Presenter – Nikki Allen and Will Meyers, FTC Team 2901, Purple Gears
In this session the programmers of team 2901 purple gears will be teaching you the basics of an autonomous program. This includes driving by encoders, turning using a gyroscope that is built into the REV Expansion Hub, and vision processing using VuForia and TensorFlow.
Advanced CAD With Onshape – Room 2
Presenter – Ilam Maya, FTC Team 2901, Purple Gears
This Onshape session is to familiarize you with the more advanced aspect of Onshape, from talking about Part Studios and making custom parts to editing parts in context and creating a part in an assembly from context.
Engineering Notebooks - Room 3
Presenter – SWIFT Robotics FTC Team 7105
Insight on how to put together a great Journal whilst following all the rules and guidelines. This year there is also the Portfolio so we will talk about that and the importance of a strong virtual notebook.
Setting up and using a Virtual Robot Simulator - Room 4
Presenter – Alan Smith FTC Team 16072 Quantum Quacks
Tired of trying to write your autonomous code the night before because the robot isn't ready any earlier? In this workshop, we'll show how to setup and use the Beta8397 simulator so that you can write and test software without your robot present.
Scoring Mechanisms - Room 5
Presenters – Tundrabots FTC Team 7083 & Aperture Science FTC Team 5064
In this session, we will overview the different types of scoring mechanisms that can be used for FTC. We will go overactive intakes, lift systems, and how scoring mechanisms interact with each other.
Strategy Session - Room 6
Presenter - Jan Fischer, FTC Alum
This year is going to be really different. How do you strategize effectively to play alone on a “half” field”?
Season Overview, Tournament Structure, and Competition Schedule - Room 7
Presenter – Shayla Sharpe, Sharpe Pursuits, Inc. - NC FTC Event Planner
In this session, we will provide an overview of the virtual season tournament structure. Due to COVID-19, registration, team communication and tournament week procedures have changed to conform to an online environment.
SESSION 3 10:45AM - 11:30AM
Designing for Consistent Autonomous - Room 1
Presenters – Tundrabots FTC Team 7083 & Quantum Quacks FTC Team 16072
We will discuss how to balance software and mechanical needs for autonomous. This presentation will also go over the different hardware options to improve your consistency for autonomous touch sensors, encoders, odometry, etc.
Drive Trains; Designs and Decisions – Room 2
Presenter – Wannabee Strange FTC Team 731
This presentation outlines the basic types of drive trains and which drive trains to use in different situations. We will also go over the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of drive trains.
Control Theory- Room 3
Presenters – Phi Rho Eagles FTC Team 8300 & Highly Combustible FRT Team 9548
This session will be a simple explanation of control theory in FTC and how it can be used for auto, pseudocode we will be covering topics such as Primitive control methods, PID, and Feedforward control. We will also have take-home Java Examples
Linear Motion - Room 4
Presenters – Beren Hollingsworth – Alum Aperture Science, Team 5064
An overview of options for all sorts of sliders and linear expansion systems.
On-Bot Java – Room 5
Presenter – Sushen Kolakaleti, FTC Team 4653, Irrational Door Keepers
The basics of how to program your robot using Java and Android Studio. Starting with how to setup the programming environment and ending with methods of getting the code to the bot, including On-Bot Java.
Running a Rookie Team – Room 6
Presenters – Rick and Tammy Hallihan Infinite Turtles FTC Team 16461, Sanjita Srinath, Iniya Ilamparithi
This session will cover all aspects of running a rookie team - planning sessions, design, hardware, software, notebook, outreach, virtual ideas, etc. They will share their insights to having a successful season and valuable lessons learned from their first year in FTC. If you're a rookie team, come learn top tips from an experienced FIRST team that just completed their first season in FTC.
Coaches’ Round Table- Room 7
Facilitator – Robyn Stephens, The RoboKnights FTC Team 8569
Let’s get together and build community whilst discussing typical season challenges and celebrations as well as unique ones for 2020-2021.
SCHEDULE:
The Kickoff is a day full of excitement and education!
The Kickoff is a day full of excitement and education!
For Kickoff schedule with descriptions:
|
The North Carolina FIRST® Tech Challenge Season Kickoff is a wonderful place for Rookie and Veteran teams to come and learn more about this season's Challenge, attend detailed training workshops, and network with other teams.
Thinking about starting or joining a team, but need more information? We invite you to attend as well! The NC FTC® Planning Committee along with veteran coaches, volunteers, and teams will be on hand to assist with any questions you may have about becoming apart of the NC FTC® community. Attending the workshops at the Kick-off is a great way to learn more about the program and to network with teams from around the state. |