FRC Workshops

Sponsored by the Greater Texas Foundation, FIRST North Texas organizes two fall FRC team workshops to help prepare FRC teams in North Texas for the upcoming competition season.

Veteran teams lead workshop sessions and build connections with other local FRC teams.  

Workshop #1
Nov. 5, DeVry University

DeVry Unversity's Irving campus was excited to host the first FRC Team Workshop on November 5, 2011. More than 100 attendees, gathered to learn about the fundamental topics of FRC, including ideas for team funding and sponsorship, how to apply for the prestigious FRC awards, and how to cultivate team members into leaders. National Instruments representatives drove from Austin to lead a basic LabVIEW training in a hands-on computer lab environment. To better prepare rookie teams with tips and success plans, veteran teams 3676 of Martin High School in Arlington and 3497 of Midland Classical Academy in Midland stepped up to lead rookie specific workshops including helpful lessons learned. Through a structured networking session, teams had an opportunity to meet and exchange contact information that teams can refer to as they prepare for the upcoming competition season. FRC team 704 of South Grand Prairie shared a link to an online forum they created to allow North Texas FRC teams to communicate throughout the season. Cristian Penciu, Dean of Electronics at DeVry University, welcomed the group and provided teams with information about science and engineering related programs offered at DeVry. Keynote speaker and Dallas Regional FRC Judge, Corey Kirkendoll, excited the teams about the upcoming FRC season and provided recommendations on how teams can more effectively receive judge recognition at FRC competitions. The workshop was effective at introducing rookies to important FRC topics, and provided veteran teams an opportunity to lead.

Workshop #2
Dec. 3, Raytheon Company

More than 300 team members, mentors and coaches registered to attend the Fall FRC Team Workshop hosted by Raytheon Company at its Garland site on December 3, 2011. Teams were addressed by leaders within Raytheon including Vice President of Engineering, Lynn Mortensen. As keynote speaker, Raytheon Chief Scientist, Darryl Nelson, spoke about the inspiring engineering projects he has worked on at Raytheon. Mr. Nelson described the skills and qualifications Raytheon seeks when recruiting employees, and encouraged the students to continue to develop their math and science skills. FRC teams were able to participate in both hands-on and lecture style sessions. Hands-on sessions included practicing proper wire crimping and soldering techniques, understanding robot pneumatics design through a hands-on pneumatics demonstration, and strategizing ideas for robot manipulator and appendage design. FRC team 2848 of Jesuit College Prep in Dallas presented a montage of words of wisdom in the form of quotes, video clips, and sound bites the team collected from veteran mentors and coaches. A basic LabVIEW software session was offered to teams that were unable to attend the workshop on November 3rd. National Instruments returned to offer an advanced LabVIEW programming workshop, as a sequel to their basic training on November 3rd. A robot anatomy session helped teams to quickly identify the parts of the robot and their function, along with common tools used when building. Another session focused on team organization and structure providing guidance on structuring teams and defining roles, allowing teams to develop a structure conducive to an efficient and effective build season. PTC, The Product Development Company, joined the workshop to offer their assistance through their software programs for teams, including CAD design, project collaboration and aid in calculations. This workshop allowed teams to look at more complex FRC topics and practice hands-on design and building skills.

Workshop Resources

Provided below are powerpoint presentations used at each workshop available for team usage.


Workshop #1: Nov 5, DeVry University

Workshop #2: Dec 3, Raytheon Company