Suggestions on Starting a High School Robotics Team

Thinking of starting a high school robotics team?  Here are some suggestions to help you get started. 

First Steps
1. Set a team goal of participating in 2 robotics tournaments. (Multiple tournaments encourage design process – lots of learning takes place at the tournament, which can then be applied to next tournament).
2. Choose type of competition (FIRST, VEX). (My experience is with VEX, so this document is mostly about VEX. However it would be good to consider both before proceeding).
3. Choose tournaments at www.Robotevents.com (date, location, amount). Check often as more are added as the season continues.
4. Secure funding for robot kit, laptop, software, team fees, etc. (see cost estimate below)
5. Find adults to coach and mentor team.
6. Find space for team meetings and storing materials.
7. Determine team size and roles. (see below)
8. Recruit team members.
9. Purchase equipment and register team.
10. Determine when will students meet and work on robot. Class time? After school/Weekends? (Robotics does require time to be successful. Students should have time in their schedule to give to robotics (4-6? hours/week). Students should be able to participate multiple years, so they can apply learnings and pass along to new team members. May work better as a club instead of a class.
11. Purchase a 12' x 12' field and store it in a location that multiple teams can use. This is optional, but valuable for planning, testing, practice, and scrimmages. (Or find another team with a field that will allow you to use it).


Possible team member roles.
Smaller teams may require team members to have multiple roles. A first year team may reduce the scope of work. A team benefits from a diverse group of people – with an assortment of skills-- you can see why when looking at this list. 

• Project Leader – lead meetings, track progress to schedule
• Designers – develop design for robot – list of features, sketches, CAD drawings, prototypes, etc.
• Builders – Build the robot – divide into subsystems.
• Programmers – program the robot to do the required tasks
• Drivers – drive robot during tournament (need practice before the tournament). Will have input for design after first tournament (what makes it easier to drive).
• Research and Development – experiment with new ideas, learn from other teams, build prototypes to show others, read the forum, look at robot videos on YouTube. Find resources for the teams (websites, books, speakers, tv shows/videos).
• Strategists/Rules Experts – develop winning strategy for game. The strategy will develop over the season. Also involved in scouting. (Scouting is done at tournaments, since top teams choose other teams to form an alliance for the elimination rounds).  See rules for Gateway, the VEX 2012 Challenge.
• Fundraising – write letters seeking sponsors. Come up with advertising opportunities for sponsors (name on shirt, website, robot, pit poster). (Pit is work area/home base at tournament).
• Treasurer – Track spending – give reports. Manage budget.
• Marketing/Communications- develop logo, name, banner, t-shirts, website, press releases/articles for local papers, involved in scouting.
• Historian -Take and publish photographs, and videos. Document work done by the team.
• Outreach – create demonstrations, materials, or hold classes, to help other teams or start new teams.
• Support- Food for meetings, travel arrangements.


Schedule –
Season begins/ends in April for VEX, but you can start just about any time. The new challenge is released at the World Championship in April. Not all teams begin work right away, but you can if you choose to and work through the summer. In the past, we have started in January after doing FIRST Lego League in the fall. Your team’s schedule will depend upon which tournaments you decide to compete in, how much time you have, when people can meet, etc. Be sure to allow time for testing your robot, practicing driving and playing the game.

Cost-

Rough Cost Estimate For VEX - (shipping & handling not included).

Basic Team Expenses
Robot Kit $850
Laptop $800 (you might need more than one?)
Programming Software $75 (one license)
Storage Containers $300? (for organization &suitable for traveling/shipping)

*Extra Parts $300 (extra metal, sensors, motors, batteries)
*Team Registration $75 first team/$25 second team from same school
*Tournament Registration (varies Free to $100)
*Team materials (tshirts, banners, paper, posters, etc) $150
*Travel to tournaments (varies)
*Challenge pieces (new each year) Small Sample Set $50


Summary
First year  $2700
*Subsequent years  $675

~Extras~

• 12' x 12' Field w/ Challenge Pieces $1500 first year/ $500 subsequent years (Shared by several teams?)


• World Championship - 3 day event, 2012 travel to California, shipping robot, $750 tournament registration, Hotel expense, food, etc.


Additional Considerations-

• It is best to reach students early (elementary/middle school) to fill supply pipeline for high school programs.

• Loaning your field to nearby tournaments for a nominal fee could help offset the cost of purchasing the field.

• Using your field to host a tournament and charging a tournament feel could also offset the cost of the field. Or, perhaps let other teams use it for small fee? Or divide the cost between several teams.

• Explore grants to help fund the program.

• Students can learn programming (Robotc) on online using Carnegie Mellon’s Virtual Worlds (http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/h99/) – no robot required!

• It is real important that the adults let the students do the work and learn from their mistakes. This is a “learn by doing” approach. Students learn out of necessity to reach their goal. Doing well in the competition motivates and focuses the students. The time constraint in the season, as well as during the game, forces a prioritization of tasks.

• The students could raise additional funds for parts, as well as for covering the expenses to attend Worlds, should they qualify.