Ready, set, go! All set for the 2022 FIRST robotics tournament

Young PrepaTec high school students from different states once again have the opportunity to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition, the largest robotics contest in North America.

On January 8, the competition was officially launched internationally, unveiling this year’s challenge, called Rapid React, which addresses transportation issues.

The first regional competition in Mexico will take place from March 10 to 12 at the Monterrey campus, and the second from March 24 to 26 at the Laguna campus. The World Championship will take place from April 21 to 23 in Houston, Texas.

PrepaTec Santa Catarina, in Monterrey, was one of the venues for the launch of the 2022 call, during which 16 teams were present on-site or virtually. The Laguna Campus was another of the kickoff venues in Mexico where 22 teams gathered.

A total of 27 PrepaTec teams will take part in the international contest.

Eric Pascual Jiménez, Vice President of PrepaTec and Regional Development, pointed out that these types of events are the ideal occasion for young people to develop training skills that go beyond the classroom.

“Searching for creative solutions as a team to the challenges that arise is the way we work nowadays, with communication, collaboration, and social responsibility, and that’s the case with FIRST,” Jiménez said during his message at the event.

More than 1,600 PrepaTec students from all over Mexico will participate in the 2022 edition of this international tournament.

Every venue of the countries participating in the competition had a live link to the official international launch where Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST, invited young people to press ahead in the competition.

“Give it everything you’ve got, be tenacious, stick with it. We’re giving you very difficult problems to solve and we’re giving you very little time.

“You’re going to make mistakes, but if each time you fail, you get up and stick with the challenge, in the end, it’ll be a great experience and you’ll learn a lot,” he said during the virtual broadcast.

“Searching for creative solutions to challenges as a team is the way we work nowadays, and that’s the case with FIRST.” - Eric Pascual Jiménez

After this year’s challenge was explained, the teams received their work kit to develop their robots to be presented next March.

The Rapid React Challenge

This year, young people will be able to compete in alliances of three teams, divided up by university, in which each team will control their robot to carry out specific actions.

Inside the arena, the robots must launch balls at the Central Hub, which have to go through metal rings, one higher than the other, in order to earn points.

Another aspect this year is that the robots will be able to climb on bars installed in the hangar, which will also gain them points, depending on how many bars they can climb.

The competition arena measures 16.46 by 8.23 meters and is covered with gray carpet surrounded by a polycarbonate fence.

Students are currently working on the design and programming of their robots, in order to submit them before the competition in March.

Rafael Ábrego, National Director of Student Leadership and Education (LiFE) at PrepaTec, said that these kinds of activities are an essential part of PrepaTec student growth and added:

“This competitive but also collaborative component is one of the values that distinguishes FIRST, and it’s a process of maturation.

“The best strategy is to be open, to teach, learn, cooperate, but do keep in mind that we’re going to be competing and at the same time collaborating somewhat at the regional level,” he said.

PrepaTec at the FIRST Robotics Competition

PrepaTec has taken part in 236 national and international fairs, and 22 of its teams have managed to qualify to the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship a total of 59 times.

This season, participating students have been divided into 27 teams who have won 13 prizes throughout the Tec’s involvement in these contests. It should be noted that 42% of the total participants are female.

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is a non-profit organization founded by Dean Kamen in 1989.

Its goal is to get high school students interested in science and technology, as well as in developing innovative programs, education, and career opportunities related to these topics.

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