DescriptionAs many of our viewers know, our host Daniele just graduated from Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland, Florida. This school is unique for a number of reasons, but its focus on STEM-based education is its standout feature. Having a school like this means that students can more easily find activities that align with their areas of study or their overall areas of interest. One of those activities is Purple Fire Robotics, a robotics team and alumni association at the...

DescriptionIf you're involved in the FIRST community in Florida, then you are almost certainly aware of Middleton Robotics. The program is housed at the STEM magnet program at Middleton High School in Tampa, Florida, and has made a big name for themselves. Having one FIRST Robotics Competition team, currently two FIRST Tech Challenge teams (formerly three), as well as participating in VEX with two teams, Middleton knows how to compete. At ROBOTICON Tampa Bay, we had the opportunity to speak...

DescriptionOne of the most exciting parts of ROBOTICON Tampa Bay is the way it brings together some of the best volunteers and staff within the FIRST community from all over the state of Florida. One of those wonderful people in attendance in 2018 was Stacey Jones, the Affiliate Partner for FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr. in South Florida. Stacey has been involved with FIRST for over 20 years in a variety of roles. Stacey is such an important part of the Florida community that she...

DescriptionWhile most of the time, FIRST Looks gets the opportunity to speak with members of FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge teams, we always look forward to our experiences with FIRST LEGO League team members. These students, while very young, are some of the most energetic and passionate, both about their teams and about FIRST in general. During ROBOTICON Tampa Bay 2018, the team spoke with Chloe from the Tie Dye Gummy Divas, Team 30648. The adorable team name came from...

DescriptionROBOTICON is held in USF's Yuengling center, and there the engineering department always puts on an Expo that showcases the different engineering clubs and organizations at USF. Of course, this expo could not happen without all the hard work of the volunteers and the team is joined by Sampad the volunteer coordinator for USF's Expo. Sampad Acharya or Sam is a second-year electrical science Ph.D. student at USF. In 2017 he came from India to continue his education in electrical and...

DescriptionUniversity student always wants to get that real-world experience and clubs are the closest way to get it. USF has a variety of clubs related to engineering and some give students real-world experience. The team is listening to USF's Formula SAE Bulls Racing talk about how engineering students learn practical skills through designing and creating a race car every year. A freshman mechanical student talks to us about Bulls Racing that creates and competes with a Formula SAE car. The...

DescriptionHaving been in the FIRST arena for many years now, we obviously already have our own perspective from alumni, coach and mentor points of view. That being said, it's always great to get a totally fresh perspective of the organization and competitions. There's really no better way to accomplish this than to get it first hand from a member of a more newly formed team. Ringo from First Tech Challenge Team 12715, Robo Tux Cats, stopped by the FIRST Looks studio at ROBOTICON 2018 to let...

DescriptionThis year at ROBOTICON, everywhere you look there are space ships and rover landings. This is because all the FIRST programs have a space exploration theme. The team is joined by special guest Kurt Leucht a software engineer at NASA, who is here to show support. Kurt has been working for NASA for 27 years, he is part of Swamp Works a research group that works to create out of the box technology that astronauts will need in the future when they explore Mars. He talks about how there...

DescriptionThe field of engineering has many different branches and the University of South Florida does its best to have degree programs for all engineering disciplines. At ROBOTICON Tampa Bay, the team was joined by Abby, a sophomore biomedical engineering student. The biomedical engineering department was created only a year ago at USF and Abby is excited to be a part of the first class to go through the whole program. Even though the department is new, Abby talked about how she enjoys the...

DescriptionThe field of engineering has many different branches and the University of South Florida does its best to have degree programs for all engineering disciplines. At ROBOTICON Tampa Bay, the team was joined by Abby, a sophomore biomedical engineering student. The biomedical engineering department was created only a year ago at USF and Abby is excited to be a part of the first class to go through the whole program. Even though the department is new, Abby talked about how she enjoys the...

DescriptionThe FIRST Tech Challenge had their game released two weeks prior to ROBOTICON Tampa Bay and, for some people, this event is the first time they get to see the field with robots running. The team interviewed Anaya from The Pink Team FIRST Tech Challenge 6326. This is her first year as a member and as a driver. The FIRST experience for Anaya hasn't just started, as she explained that her brother was a member of The Pink Team before her and that she is used to being surrounded by...

DescriptionThe FIRST Tech Challenge had their game released two weeks prior to ROBOTICON Tampa Bay and, for some people, this event is the first time they get to see the field with robots running. The team interviewed Anaya from The Pink Team FIRST Tech Challenge 6326. This is her first year as a member and as a driver. The FIRST experience for Anaya hasn't just started, as she explained that her brother was a member of The Pink Team before her and that she is used to being surrounded by...

DescriptionAt ROBOTICON Tampa Bay everyone wants to teach and inspire students to be apart of STEM education. While FIRST is active during the school year, students need to find other ways to be involved in STEM activities. The University of South Florida has a summer program called BULLSEYE, it focuses on teaching local middle school students in the Tampa Bay area life and engineering skills. Our team interviewed Ahmirah, BULLSEYE's program coordinator and learned about the program and her...

DescriptionAt ROBOTICON Tampa Bay everyone wants to teach and inspire students to be apart of STEM education. While FIRST is active during the school year, students need to find other ways to be involved in STEM activities. The University of South Florida has a summer program called BULLSEYE, it focuses on teaching local middle school students in the Tampa Bay area life and engineering skills. Our team interviewed Ahmirah, BULLSEYE's program coordinator and learned about the program and her...

DescriptionROBOTICON Tampa Bay is the event to show student's involvement in engineering. That includes the college students at the University of South Florida, especially those studying to be engineers. USF has many different engineering clubs that specialized in certain branches, including one of IEEE student chapters. IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to electrical engineering. IEEE is the trusted "voice" for engineering, computing, and technology...

DescriptionROBOTICON Tampa Bay is the event to show student's involvement in engineering. That includes the college students at the University of South Florida, especially those studying to be engineers. USF has many different engineering clubs that specialized in certain branches, including one of IEEE student chapters. IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to electrical engineering. IEEE is the trusted "voice" for engineering, computing, and technology...

DescriptionLive from the 2018 ROBOTICON Tampa Bay at the Yuengling Center at the University of South Florida. This year's event features 23 FIRST Robotics Competition teams, 16 FIRST Tech Challenge teams, 8 FIRST LEGO League teams, and 5 FIRST LEGO League Jr. teams. We speak with representatives from several of the teams, including some of the most recognizable teams in Florida, as well as rookie teams. We also speak with a software engineer from NASA about the future of space travel,...

DescriptionLive from the 2018 ROBOTICON Tampa Bay at the Yuengling Center at the University of South Florida. This year's event features 23 FIRST Robotics Competition teams, 16 FIRST Tech Challenge teams, 8 FIRST LEGO League teams, and 5 FIRST LEGO League Jr. teams. We speak with representatives from several of the teams, including some of the most recognizable teams in Florida, as well as rookie teams. We also speak with a software engineer from NASA about the future of space travel,...

DescriptionOne of the things that makes a FIRST team succeed is the ability to pass knowledge on from season to season. Under normal circumstances, a team expects to rotate members out every year, with a healthy portion staying and some graduating, to be replaced by freshman. Some seasons, however, a larger portion of the team graduates than others, leaving a lot of rookie members. That is what FIRST Robotics Competition 6527, Short SirKit experienced this season. A large portion of their...

One of the things that makes a FIRST team succeed is the ability to pass knowledge on from season to season. Under normal circumstances, a team expects to rotate members out every year, with a healthy portion staying and some graduating, to be replaced by freshman. Some seasons, however, a larger portion of the team graduates than others, leaving a lot of rookie members. That is what FIRST Robotics Competition 6527, Short SirKit experienced this season. A large portion of their team were...

DescriptionSo it's no secret to say that the Orlando Regional Competition is one of our favorites. And one of the best parts of our coverage is when Terri Willingham stops by for a chat. Terri was formerly a Regional Director with FIRST. She loved organizing these events and working closely with the teams as they navigated their way through the robotics program. Her new position, as Director of the Foundation for Community Driven Innovation (FCDI), is her most rewarding role yet. Terri...

So it's no secret to say that the Orlando Regional Competition is one of our favorites. And one of the best parts of our coverage is when Terri Willingham stops by for a chat. Terri was formerly a Regional Director with FIRST. She loved organizing these events and working closely with the teams as they navigated their way through the robotics program. Her new position, as Director of the Foundation for Community Driven Innovation (FCDI), is her most rewarding role yet. Terri and her husband...

DescriptionWho doesn't love it when a Jedi stops by for a chat? Well, we might enjoy it a little more than your average interviewers, but that's okay. It was great to get to know Joao with FIRST Robotics Competition 5557, BB-R8ERS. Once again it was so refreshing to see how excited and motivated a 1st year team member can be. He is a freshman in high school and this his initial exposure to FIRST. When he was looking into which high school he wanted to attend, he chose his current school...

Who doesn't love it when a Jedi stops by for a chat? Well, we might enjoy it a little more than your average interviewers, but that's okay. It was great to get to know Joao with FIRST Robotics Competition 5557, BB-R8ERS. Once again it was so refreshing to see how excited and motivated a 1st year team member can be. He is a freshman in high school and this his initial exposure to FIRST. When he was looking into which high school he wanted to attend, he chose his current school because of the...