Fans singing team cheers, outrageous costumes, loops and arrays, and late nights may not be the first things that come to mind when you hear the word robotic. Believe me, when my brother and my science teacher asked me to join the school robotics team, these weren't the first things that came to mind either. When I reluctantly joined the robotics team my sophomore year of high school, I didn't know exactly what to expect. Although unsure, the more I learned about robotics and the world of competition, the more I liked it. While each experience was unexpected and part of the learning curve, I think my robotics literacy can best be described by the first team meeting, the first time I went to a kickoff event, my first programming experience, and from competitions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The best part about the robotics team I was a part of was not only that I was new to the world of robotics, but so was our entire team. My involvement with robotics also began when a new FIRST Robotics team was forming at my school. Given the absence of teachers or students who knew much about FIRST Robotics, we were all very unsure at our first meeting. I remember my science teacher sitting us all down with a kit of parts provided by FIRST and saying, "So we have six weeks to turn this box of parts into a robot to compete." As you might expect, this statement was met with a lot of blank, stunned stares. We knew absolutely nothing about what robotics or the FIRST Robotics program was, but we were about to find out. Since I was a college student and had never dabbled much in building or programming, my first year on the robotics team was mostly uneventful. Of. I would show up to build sessions, but not fully commit to participating in the weekend races. As a result, I didn't fully understand the game until the following year, when I attended a local FIRST Robotics kickoff event with my team. The main purpose of these events was to reveal the game of the year and kick off the building season. The FIRST Robotics coordinators would host all the local teams in the auditorium of a nearby university and screen the official game presentation video, which explained the game that would be played in the competitions in which we would build robots to compete. game with new rules. Entering the auditorium for my first kickoff, I felt a buzz of excitement in the air and the room was filled with chatter. Many introductory videos were projected on a screen as the FIRST Robotics coordinators started to get everyone fired up. Since it was my first kickoff, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but the feeling of anticipation in the air and the fact that we were all gathered here as a group for a shared passion for robotics started to build an excitement in me. Cheers could be heard as the game's reveal video took over the screen, and as soon as it was over, the teams hurriedly exited the auditorium to receive their kit of parts and begin construction. Although I already had a season under my belt, this moment opened my eyes to what this whole FIRST Robotics thing was all about. For the first time, as we all came together to design the new game of the year, I felt like I was becoming part of this community. Without experience or knowledgeRobotics preliminary, I didn't expect to be forced to program first in my second season. However, since the first year programmer had graduated, our team needed a programmer and somehow I finally got the job. The program for the robot is essentially the brains behind the physical structure that allows it to move and function. The program can receive commands from a controller, process them and have the robot execute them. Using a visual programming language called LabView, I learned to program the robot. Hours and hours were spent looking for tutorials on how to write a program for the robot. Even though I'm not yet a programming expert, somehow these scattered bits of knowledge I've collected have been put together into a cohesive program that would hopefully power the robot. It was time to test the robot with the newly written program and everyone was nervous as I started the program. The tense air filled the room with everyone awaiting the outcome of my work over the last few weeks. I pushed the robot's control stick forward precariously and almost cried with relief when I saw the robot move with it. Sometimes I thought I would never understand the internal language of robotics, let alone programming. At that moment, for me, I felt like I was really starting to contribute something substantial to the team. Weeks passed and the time came when we had to compete with our completely finished robot. The world of FIRST Robotics competitions is something that completely blew me away when I entered my first competition. I had no idea what to expect and when I first entered the university gym where the competition was taking place, I was surprised by what I encountered. A full playing arena was built in the center of the room with bleachers for spectators on both sides. Loud music and chants filled the room as the teams cheered on their robots and led the team from the stands. Behind the bleachers was a temporary wall, blocking off a section for the pit area where each team had an area to work on their robot between rounds. Several rounds of the game were played throughout the day, with each team playing multiple rounds throughout the day. In each round of the game, teams earned points, and the total score at the end of the preliminary rounds determined which teams would advance to the final. Each team had a driving team who were the ones who actually drove the robot in competitions. In each preliminary round of the game, your team had to randomly compete in the same alliance with two other teams. There were two alliances for each match and you would work together with the other teams in your alliance to win the match. While my first experience seeing and learning about the world of early robotics competitions was certainly memorable, it was actually one of the later competitions that left its mark on me. Since I was the programmer of the robot and knew its functions, my team decided that it would be a good idea for me to be part of the driving team that controlled the robot in competitions. As the season progressed and with numerous matches under our belt, we somehow managed to advance to the final of a competition. Since the stakes were high in the finals, I worked with an alliance member to create a new program that would allow the robot to do more things to earn more points for our alliance. Nervous was an understatement for how I felt about this match. The competition was high energy and I was surprised by the competitive nature of the.