ABOUT FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen (pictured right), who was inspired by the work of Dr. Woodie Flowers (former professor at MIT, pictured left). Mr. Kamen is an inventor and entrepreneur who is well known for creating the Segway Human Transporter. He created FIRST as a non-profit organization to provide a means to motivate young people to pursue educational experiences and career opportunities related to science, technology, engineering, and math. Additionally, youth who participate in FIRST experiences build their self-confidence and learn other important life skills.
In addition to the knowledge and skills acquired by high school students as they participate in the FIRST activities, FIRST also supports the educational aspirations of these students by making available many college scholarships from a multitude of providers. This money will support individual scholarship opportunities for this season’s FIRST participants.
Each year FIRST creates a new challenge for its teams in FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition at the high school level). This is revealed in early January through a live feed video kick-off. The teams then have about six weeks to design and build their robot, weighing up to 120 pounds excluding battery and bumpers, starting with a kit of common parts. The teams enter their robots in two or three local competitions culminating in the FIRST Championship held each year in April.
Michigan is one of the leading states with FRC teams in the US; the Livonia Warriors and Tyros of Livonia, Michigan are proud to be among those teams.
