FLL

Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Robot Game

amomentmaker2 Comments

FLLtoFTC_FormingATeam

We have already discussed how to form an FTC team (see the first article “Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Forming a Team“) and the basic hardware and software FTC robots use to compete (see the second article “Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Team Robot“).

Now in this third article of this series, we are going to discuss the changes and similarities between FLL and FTC in the robot game. We will get started by discussing the field, then we will discuss points and penalties, and lastly, we will talk about how teams are compared in the rankings.

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Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Team Robot

amomentmaker2 Comments

FLLtoFTC_FormingATeam

When you transition from FIRST LEGO League Challenge to FIRST Tech Challenge, one of the biggest visual differences is the size of the robot and the robot playing field! It is sad to say goodbye to our LEGO Technic and LEGO motors and sensors, but a whole new world awaits! Also, don’t forget that you can always use your LEGO robot skills for prototyping!

This is the second article discussing the changes and similarities between FLL and FTC. You may want to view the first article, “Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Forming a Team,” before you start learning about the awesome FTC robots! Also, see the next article in this series: “Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Robot Game.”

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New Pieces Found in SUPERPOWERED Field Kit

amomentmaker

NewPieces

FIRST LEGO League SUPERPOWERED launched on August 2, along with the Mission Model Building Instructions! When building our models for the SUPERPOWERED field kit, our team found some neat relatively new LEGO Technic pieces that will be a great resource for using in your LEGO Technic builds, whether for FLL robots or for your own projects! Check them out, learn part numbers, and find out how to purchase more of these exciting pieces.

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Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Forming a Team

amomentmaker2 Comments

FLLtoFTC_FormingATeam

Transitioning from FIRST LEGO League Challenge to FIRST Tech Challenge may seem rather frightening. It is normal to be scared of something new, but FIRST Tech Challenge brings its own awesome opportunities. Last year our team moved from FIRST LEGO League to FIRST Tech Challenge. It may seem like a big jump, but the programs are remarkably similar!

This article discusses the changes and similarities between FLL and FTC in the team structure and formation. We are posting other articles outlining other differences, such as the robot game, the actual robot, competition structure, judging, awards, and advancement. Stay tuned!

The next articles in this series are “Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Team Robot” and “Transitioning from FLL to FTC: Robot Game.”

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SUPERPOWERED Preseason Materials

amomentmaker

SUPERPOWERED_Logo

The 2022-2023 FIRST LEGO League Challenge season will launch on August 2, 2022. If your team is so excited that you just can’t wait to start thinking of the possibilities, this summer is a great time to start brainstorming with your team what next season might entail.

We created resources for teams as they begin investigating the new Robot Game and Innovation Project topic. The resources guide the exploration of the year’s topic and guessing the possible challenges. Explore ideas with your team! Learn something new!

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Innovation Project: Create and Iterate Your Prototype

amomentmaker

We created a video on how how to create and iterate your FIRST LEGO League team’s Innovation Project as you progress through the season by using one of our own past Innovation Projects as an example. We will talk about how we went from just a drawing of our solution idea, to a proof-of-concept prototype, to a full-sized functional model. We thank Droids Robotics and the Share & Learn Community for featuring our video as part of their FIRST LEGO League Challenge Rookie Team Webinar series.

Robot Game: Field Kit Tips

themomentmakers

We created a video talking about the CARGO CONNECT robot game field kit with some building tips (if your team has not started building it yet), along with some build aspects to check for on every mission model to prevent your team from running into issues with incorrectly built mission models. Some of these are checks that your team may need to do all season long. In order to program your robot to be successful, your team needs to start with an error-free robot game field, and this video will help you achieve that!

More CARGO CONNECT resources at CARGO CONNECT™ Resources

Innovation Project: Building Problem Solvers

themomentmakers

We created a video on the Innovation Project and how it can help build your team into problem solvers. We will walk teams through what is involved in the Innovation Project from identifying a problem, designing a solution, creating a prototype, sharing and iterating your solution, and communicating your work with others.

More CARGO CONNECT resources at CARGO CONNECT™ Resources

How to Run EV3 Lab/EV3-G on an Up-to-Date Computer (even Macs)

amomentmaker

UnableToRun

Even though SPIKE Prime and the Mindstorms Robot Inventor Kit are here and are awesome tools, the EV3 is still here to stay for a lot of schools, teams, and home users. The current EV3 Classroom from LEGO Education has Scratch-based programming (similar to the SPIKE Prime and Mindstorms Robot Inventor Kit). However, many people have grown to love the older LabVIEW-based block language currently known as EV3 Lab/EV3-G. If you get a new Windows computer, you have to search a bit for the EV3 Lab download, but it will still run on even Windows 10. We will show you how below. However, do you have an updated Mac computer and are sad that you can no longer run the older EV3 programming language EV3 Lab/EV3-G on it? If your Mac computer is updated to 10.15 (Catalina) or higher, the old EV3 Lab software cannot run. However, we have figured out a way around this, so that you can have the best of both worlds – an up-to-date Mac and EV3 Lab successfully running.

Today, we are going to walk you through the steps we used to run EV3 Lab/EV3-G on current Windows and Mac computers. Please note that EV3 Lab will no longer be updated by LEGO Education, but it still has a place in many homes and schools.

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