FIRST Robotics Competition Blog

Every year, FIRST Robotics Competition designs a game that includes one or more objects the robots must manipulate, the ‘game piece.’ Many factors go into determining what this game piece will be. We like to change things up from year to year, so the teams are not always dealing with the same types of challenges. For this reason, as an example, if we used a 10” round foam ball one year, we would be unlikely (I said unlikely) to use a 10” round foam ball the following year. We also need to take into consideration game piece availability and expense, both for FIRST and for FRC teams.  And when we think about ‘availability’ and ‘expense,’ we recognize that while slightly over 80% of FRC teams are currently in the US, we also must consider the needs of teams outside the USA.

For FIRST POWER UP, we knew we wanted a game piece that was cube-shaped. We considered several options, including fully custom foam cubes. In the end, we went with an off-the-shelf (in the USA) milk crate and a custom cover. This seemed to strike the right balance between all the competing factors we needed to consider.

While FIRST and our distributors can fairly easily predict demand for game pieces for our Kit of Parts and fields, the demand for game pieces from our teams is harder to predict. We underestimated that demand this year. While the milk crates are readily available in the US, our cover manufacturer is maxing out their production capacity. Working with our distributors, we have attempted a fair allocation of their activity, delaying as much as we dare cover production for FRC fields, to help meet the demand for teams. However, even with this delay, demand from teams will outstrip supply.

Also, game pieces for teams outside the United States are very expensive, primarily because of shipping charges. While we provided an option for teams outside the US to get an additional game piece at Kickoff in exchange for FIRST Choice Credits, we recognize that many teams would like to get more than one. In addition, we had a miscommunication with our distributors regarding sales outside the US, and so delayed distributor availability of game pieces overseas to help ensure equitable treatment of those suppliers.

I apologize for these issues. These are the actions we’re taking to help alleviate this problem this season and in coming seasons:

• As noted above, we are delaying production of covers for FIRST fields to help meet team demand
• We are working to develop a pattern for teams to use so they can create their own covers*
• We will be starting earlier on sourcing and arranging for production of the 2019 game pieces
• We will be working with Distributors for the 2019 season to help ensure availability outside the United States starting on Kickoff
• We will be more actively incorporating feedback regarding game piece selection and design from the community outside the US during the game design process

Again, I apologize for the issues we have had. We are working to make things better.

Frank

*My wife, who mentors the FRC team my son and daughter in high school are on, has already sewn several covers for their team to use.