Mouser to Sponsor FIRST Robotics Competition Embraces Young Innovation
Mouser Electronics will once again be a major sponsor of the 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition Dallas Regional, March 8–11 at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, Texas.
For the first time, this year’s FIRST Championship is known to be held in two locations to accommodate a record number of teams. The championship kicks off April 19–22 in Houston, and then continues April 26–29 in St. Louis, where Mouser will sponsor the Hall of Fame Exhibit, which honors the winning teams of the esteemed Chairman’s Award.
This year’s creative STEAMWORKS theme promises to inspire and challenge students and entertain audiences of all ages. As a Captain of Innovation sponsor, Mouser Electronics will showcase some of the newest technologies at its exhibit in the pit area at the North Texas event, where over 50 robotics teams from across Texas and Oklahoma — as well as teams from Brazil and Chile — will set up to compete and advance to the FIRST Championship.
“Fostering education has been a large part of our mission here at Mouser since our founding more than 50 years ago,” said Kevin Hess, Mouser’s Senior Vice President of Marketing. “We are proud to continue sponsoring a program that supports the brightest young minds and future engineers. The FIRST Robotics Competition provides students with a platform for innovation, a chance to solve real engineering challenges, and an opportunity to build character and self-esteem.”
The electronic component giant asserts itself as a strong supporter of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). FIRST is an international high school robotics building contest that began in 1992.
Since 2012, Mouser Electronics has supported FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) at the local, regional, and international levels, including donating electronic components to FIRST teams.
The FRC challenges high school students to build 120-pound robots that complete a different task each year using a standard set of parts, plus any additional off-the-shelf or custom parts. The regional event in Irving will include students, university and corporate mentors, and local leaders in business, government, education and the media.
Each FRC team receives a kit of parts, including motors, batteries, a control system, a PC, and a mix of automation components — with no instructions. Teams have six weeks to transform their kits into working robots designed to perform specific tasks.
