FTC Startup Guide

Introduction to this Guide

Who is FRC862 Lightning Robotics?

Our team is made up of students from Salem, Canton, and Plymouth High Schools, in Canton, Michigan, USA and competes annually in the FIRST Robotics Competition.

Our team started in 1999. Originally numbered Team 465 with less than 10 students, Team 862 has grown to have 100+ students, 20+ mentors, and several great sponsors including Jabil, Amazon, Nissan, and Robert Bosch LLC.

We have competed at every level of FIRST Robotics Competition, including winning the FRC World Championship in St. Louis and the FRC Festival of Champions in 2017. 

In addition to numerous robotics demonstrations throughout Plymouth, Canton, and Detroit, we raise funds for cancer research at Relay for Life and host our annual Robots in the Park event that features STEM activities and a chance to drive our robots for all visitors.

Why did we build this guide?

Each season, we host several FTC teams in our meeting spaces and provide them with student and adult mentors from our team, access to our machine shop, and general guidance about whatever will help them.

The goal of this document is to provide a reference for new teams – or new members of existing teams – about FIRST Tech Challenge overall, and specific information about what it takes to start and manage an FTC team. We have helped to start and/or mentor 25+ FTC teams in the USA, Libya, Morocco, and Australia. We would like to help your team, too.

What do I do if I have questions that are not answered in this guide?

Ask us! We would like this document to expand and evolve over time. We want to hear from you about whatever else would be helpful to you. We have some ideas about what to add, but the best items will probably come from you as you establish and grow your team.

How do I get in touch with Lightning Robotics?

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LightningRobotics
Website: www.lightningrobotics.com/contact-us

Introduction to FIRST and FTC

What is FIRST?

FIRST is the organizing body that created and supports these programs:

• FLL Discover (FIRST LEGO® League Discover) teams of up to 30 students work in groups of 4 to build a solution to a challenge using LEGO elements. 

• FLL Explore (FIRST LEGO® League Explore) is designed to introduce STEM concepts to teams of up to 6 students while exciting them through a brand they know and love − LEGO®.

• FLL Challenge (FIRST LEGO® League Challenge) teams of up to 10 students research a real-world problem such as food safety, recycling, energy, etc., and are challenged to develop a solution. They also must design, build, and program a robot using LEGO® Education SPIKETM Prime, then compete on a table-top playing field.

  • NOTE: In Michigan, USA, FLL is for elementary school only.

• FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) teams of up to 15 students are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format.

  • NOTE: In Michigan, USA, FTC is for middle school only.

• FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) teams (no membership limit), under strict rules, limited resources, and an intense six-week time limit, are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team.

Link to FIRST home page

Link to Vision and Mission of FIRST

What is FTC?

It’s much more than building robots. FIRST likes to call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have!”

Guided by adult Coaches and Mentors, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles (like keeping an Engineering Notebook) while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and sharing ideas. The robot kit is reusable from year to year and can be programmed using a variety of interfaces. Teams also must raise funds, design and market their team brand, and do community outreach for which they can win awards.

Participants have access to tens of millions of dollars in college scholarships. Each season concludes with exciting FIRST World Championship events in Houston, Texas, USA.

Link to main FTC page

Link to FTC Team Basics

Team Formation

How much does it cost to be an FTC team?

Expenses vary between teams based on how active they are, how complex their robot becomes, and other factors. In the 2024-25 season, registration for teams in North America is $295 USD per team. Other expenses (before grants and other income) can range from $2,250-$5,000 USD.

Link to FTC costs general info page

Registration Includes:

• Official FIRST Tech Challenge Team Number

• Ability to register for in-person or virtual FIRST Tech Challenge events

• Ability to compete for FIRST Tech Challenge awards

Expenses include:

• Team registration (each season)

• Robot Kit of Parts (KoP) (required for the first season and re-usable for following seasons)

  • 2024-25 Kit of Parts Options

  • TETRIX Kit Bill of Materials (TETRIX is the brand name of the parts kits)

  • REV Bill of Materials (REV is the brand name of the parts kits)

• Additional parts and raw materials as needed to meet team’s design

• Competition event registrations

• Transportation and meals (some teams include this in team dues, some do not)

• Team uniforms (typically t-shirts, sometimes also costumes)

• Office supplies

• Presentation materials

• Access to computer(s) for programming

• Miscellaneous

How does a new group register as an FTC team?

New groups need to identify two adult leaders that will act as the primary contacts with FIRST and coordinate team activities. After these adults are identified, teams can register with FIRST. Team rosters of students do not need to be completed before registration.

Link for Rookie Teams

Who can be on an FTC team?

Student Members

• FIRST limits FTC teams to 15 student members

• Throughout the world, FTC is for students in grades 7-12

• In Michigan, USA, FTC is for students in grades 6-8

Adult Mentors

• There is no limit to the number of adult mentors that can assist a team

• FTC teams function best with the full and active support of the students’ families. This does not mean that all parents must be at every meeting, but they should be actively engaged with the team and work to support the students in whatever way they are able.

FTC Season Overview

When is the FTC season?

In Michigan, USA:

May-September
Registration and Pre-Season 

Early September
Kickoff (Game Challenge revealed) 

September-October
Build and Practice Season 

November-December
Qualifying Season

December
State Championship

April
World Championship Events

In the rest of the world:

May-September
Registration and Pre-Season 

September
Kickoff (Game Challenge revealed) 

September-January
Build and Practice Season 

November-March
Qualifying Season

December-March
State/Regional Championships 

April
World Championship Events

What happens during the FTC season?

Robot Challenge

• Analyze the Game Challenge (it’s different every year) to develop a game strategy

• Design a robot to match your strategy

• Build, test, and revise your robot

• Program your robot

• Practice driving

• Attend competition events

Outreach to the STEAM* Community

(*Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math)

• Meet with engineers and others to discuss how they combine science, engineering, the arts, and math in their professions (these meetings can be at the place of business, at team meetings, or virtual meetings via video conferences or phone calls)

• Recruit engineers and others to visit your team meetings to teach your students different principles and methods

Outreach to the Robotics Community

• Make connections with other robotics teams (in FIRST or in other robotics groups)

• Ask for assistance when needed

• Provide assistance when able

• Identify and contact businesses or organizations that use robots in their operations

Outreach to Your Community

• Show and teach your community about robotics and STEAM. One option is to present a demonstration of your robot, but it’s not the only option. You get to decide what is the best way to engage your community.

• Help others with their outreach, such as by volunteering to help another group (robotics or not) with its efforts to reach the community

Community Service

• Anything that helps other people in your community or anywhere else in the world

• These efforts can be large or small, such as cleaning up a local park, supporting an aid organization that provides disaster relief, or anything else you can think of that helps people

Competition Events

Where are the competition events?

• FTC Qualifier competitions are generally held in schools, but can also be held in other large venues. How far you will need to travel will depend on your region. Areas with a large number of teams are likely to host an event close to your location.

• FTC State or Regional Championships are held in similar venues. The location is determined by the state/region.

• FTC World Championships are held in very large venues. These events are currently held in Houston, Texas, USA.

What are the competition events like?

Arrival, Sign-In, and Inspections

Most events include time during the evening before robot competition for teams to arrive, sign-in with the event coordinators, set up their pit areas, and have their robot inspected by the event crew. You can also do those things at the beginning of the competition day. Check with your event organizer for their specific arrangements.

Inspections involve two parts:

• Robot Inspection: All robots are reviewed to confirm that they do not violate any rules about size, use of materials, safety issues, or required components including alliance markers, safety labeling, and accessibility of the robot control hub and main power switch.

• Field Inspection: All robots are taken to the game field and tested. This test answers the question, “Will the robot operate during a match?” but does not address the question, “Will the robot succeed during a match?”

Judging Session

The team will meet with a panel of FTC judges to present their team and robot. This presentation will cover all aspects of:

• Team identity, structure, and funding

• Strategy

• Design

• Successes and failures during build and testing

• Programming goals, methods and innovations

• All forms of outreach

Alliances

Each match is a head-to-head game. There are two Alliances – red and blue – each with two teams’ robots, for a total of four robots on the field together. The game changes each season, but the Alliance concept is the same. The game challenge video (see link below in Game Challenge section) describes this well.

Qualification Matches

• Each team competes in a number of matches (this depends on the total number of teams at an event, but is usually 4-6) with randomly-assigned Alliance partners and opponents. During these matches, ranking points are earned based on alliance performance.

• At the end of the Qualification Matches, teams move to the Selection process.

Selection

• During Selection, the teams with the highest performance ranking are named Alliance Captains and will choose their alliance partners for the next portion of competition, the Playoff Matches. These captains each choose 1 team to be their Alliance partner.

• The number of Alliance Captains is determined by the number of teams at the event. See section 13.6.2 of the FTC Game Manual for more information.

Playoff Rounds

The elimination portion of the event uses a double-elimination bracket-style format. See section 13.6.2 of the FTC Game Manual for more information.

What does the robot have to do?

Basic FTC Game Structure

The basic game structure (field size and shape, order and length of game segments, etc.) remains essentially the same from year-to-year. 

Each match includes three periods:

• Autonomous: The first 30 seconds of the match. The robot uses only instructions pre-programmed by your team to attempt to score points.

• Driver Controlled: The next 90 seconds. The robot is controlled by the team’s drivers, who attempt to score points.

• End-Game: The next 30 seconds. The robot continues to be controlled by the drivers. Drivers can continue to attempt the same scoring options, or can choose to attempt new options that were not permitted during the earlier periods.

Rules for FTC and Game Challenge

Each year, the official rules are published in the Competition Manual (often  referred to as the Game Manual). This manual includes the official details for how FTC works, general game structure, the season’s specific game, and much more.

Common Tasks/Concepts

All game challenges include some combination of moving the robot, controlling or manipulating game elements, moving game elements from one location to another, and sensing some aspect of the game field (light beacons, infrared beacons, lines, colors, AprilTags, etc.).

Game Challenge

The specific Game Challenge for FTC changes every year: There is a new theme, set of game elements on the playing field, set of scoring possibilities, and set of game rules.

Link to 2024-25 game challenge video

Robot Materials

Building Materials

Kit of Parts (KoP)

• Metal and plastic parts, including beams, plates, wheels, motors, etc.

• Your Kit of Parts (KoP)

Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS)

In addition to the KoP, teams may use any raw materials or manufactured/processed items that do not violate any FTC rules. The main restrictions are:

• Safety: Items must not violate safety rules

• Availability: Items must be generally available to all teams

• Complexity: Items must be components (i.e., hinges) rather than finished robot elements (i.e., a robot arm kit)

• Mechanical Degree of Freedom: Rule R307 of the Competition Manual states that COTS components and mechanisms must not exceed a single degree of mechanical freedom (DoF). For example, a COTS item could spin left/right or extend up/down, but not both. This DoF rule applies only to COTS items, not to items you design and build.

Electronics Materials

• Robot control

  • 1 control hub (required) on the robot that communicates with the driver hub, contains your program, and connects to motors, sensors, etc.

  • 1 expansion hub (optional) on the robot that adds capacity for connecting more motors, servos, sensors, etc. to the control hub

  • 1 driver hub (required) not on the robot that communicates with the control hub

  • 2 game controllers (1 required + 1 optional) connected to the driver hub

• Battery

• Motors and servos

• Sensor(s) such as color, infrared, proximity, gyroscope, touch, etc.

Custom Parts

Teams can design and build custom parts for their robot. These are limited only by the team’s imagination and the rules related to materials, safety, and game play.

Robot Programming

Programming Language and Environments

FTC robots are programmed using the Java language. There are several methods for programming FTC robots:

• Blocks Programming Tool

• OnBot

• Android Studio

Link to FTC Programming Resources

Strategy and Rules

In order to develop a successful game strategy, teams need to look at the overall challenge, then break it down into manageable pieces.

• Read and understand the rules in the Competition Manual

• Develop a strategy before choosing robot abilities

• Develop a strategy in stages

  • Start with the most basic elements such as “move to and gain control of a game element” and “move to a scoring location”

  • Progress to additional point scoring opportunities that build upon rather than replace the initial strategy

• All team members should understand the rules

• Lightning Robotics recommends having two adults and two students designated as rules “experts”

• Use the FTC forums

  • FTC Forums: This area is for sharing info and questions with other teams. The discussions here can be very helpful, but they are not official.
    Link to FTC Forums

  • FTC Official Game Q&A Forum: This area is moderated by official FTC staff. In this forum, answers given by the moderators become official rulings. Only an official representative of your team can post new questions in this forum. You will need to request a login and password for your representative.
    Link to Game Q&A Forum registration instructions

  • At competition events, internet access – by both mobile phone and computer – is often unreliable or unavailable. If an item in the Official Game Q&A Forum applies to your team and is not also in the Competition Manual, Lightning Robotics recommends that you print a screenshot of that item and take that piece of paper with you to your competition events. This will enable you to show that question and the official response to any judge or inspector that questions the relevant part of your robot or game play.

Design

"What?" before "How?"

• Modularity: Whenever possible, design the robot to be built in a modular fashion (mechanism A is structurally separate from mechanism B, etc.) to allow expansion of the robot in stages to follow strategy stages

  • Start with the most basic capabilities such as move, control, and score in one or two ways, leaving space(s) on the robot for additional structures or mechanisms without requiring the initial robot to be disassembled or redesigned

  • Add capabilities to the robot with minimum disruption to the existing robot so that, if the new items do not function as desired, they do not interfere with the usability of your initial robot configuration

• Design abilities before features

  • Move forward = ability; tank treads = feature

  • Do a pull-up = ability; grappling hook = feature

• Prototypes and testing

  • Make prototypes out of easy-to-manipulate materials such as poster board, cardboard, tape, staples, etc. before building with the materials

  • Take photos at each step of the process

  • Test the items, adjust and/or rebuild, then test again

  • Document your tests - “show your work”

• Durability

  • Items on the robot need to be durable enough to survive multiple uses in practice sessions and event-day matches without major repairs

  • Plan for worst-case scenarios (collisions, etc.)

  • Items that have elements that will naturally wear out should be designed so that those elements can be repaired and replaced quickly and with a minimum of disruption to the remainder of the robot. Spare parts should be prepared ahead of time and be in as close to a “ready to go” state as is possible within the constraints of the material and the actions required to install them on the robot.

Building

Every team’s building experience will be different.

• Everything will take longer than you expect / you may need to meet more often than expected

• Be prepared to take it all apart and start over

• What works, wins!

• Lightning Robotics recommends using Loctite Threadlocker or a similar product

  • Helps hold nuts onto bolts or set screws in place

  • Particularly helpful on set screws (which are used to secure items such as gears, motors, etc. onto axles), because they often become loose during robot operation

  • Be sure to get the non-permanent kind of Loctite so that you can still remove/replace nuts

• Small adjustments – or deviations – make a big difference, so double-check everything

• Mark parts for assembly / disassembly / reassembly. For example:

  • Marks on plates and mounting points to help align mounting holes

  • Color-coded tape at ends of some cables and on the appropriate data/power port to ensure fast and accurate pairing of cables and ports

  • LIFT and DO NOT LIFT markings on the robot to ensure that lifts are performed only at structurally-appropriate points

• Axle Collars

  • Axle collars keep wheels and other items in place on an axle

  • In some critical cases – because the set screws often get loose – it may be wise to put two collars in place so that they support each other in the task of keeping the desired item (wheel, etc.) in place.

Link to Robot Building Resources

Wiring

• During Design: Plan ahead for the placement of items that will need wires based on factors such as the length of existing cables, the least complicated or least risky path, available connection points, and avoiding messy or tangled wiring.

• During Assembly: Cables should be both securely connected and easy to replace or reposition if needed. A cable can be pulled out of its connection ports if it is too tight or gets pulled unexpectedly. To avoid both of those problems:

  • At a connection port: Secure the cable close to the port, but without pulling on the cable

  • At moving joints: Secure the cable on the first side of the joint, move the
    joint to the position that will require the longest amount of the cable without making the cable too tight, then secure the cable on the second side of
    the joint 

• Labels: Whenever possible, cables and ports should be labeled

• Diagrams: Maintaining current, accurate, easy-to-read diagrams of your wiring will help everyone to:

  • Understand the wiring

  • Repair and replace it without reinventing it

  • Explain it to robot inspectors and the judges

Link to Robot Wiring Guide

Engineering Notebook and Engineering Portfolio

What is an Engineering Notebook?

One of the goals of FIRST and FIRST Tech Challenge is to recognize the engineering design process and the journey that a team makes during the phases of problem definition, concept design, system-level design, detailed design, test and verification, and production of the robot. Throughout the process of designing and building a robot, teams will come across obstacles, lessons learned, and the need to draw things out on paper. The team will use an Engineering Notebook to track the team throughout all stages of the season.

Engineering Notebook should include:

• Sketches, photos, and diagrams

• Discussions and team meetings

• Design evolution: initial ideas, prototypes, test results, and final design

• Robot programming development

• Processes, obstacles and solutions, and plans

• Each team member’s thoughts throughout the journey for the entire season

Examples

• Link to FTC Team 365’s Engineering Notebook (.zip download)

• Link to FTC Team 4250’s Engineering Notebook (.zip download)

• Link to FTC Team 5037’s Engineering Notebook (.zip download)

• Link to FTC Team 6134’s Engineering Notebook (.zip download)

Why is the Engineering Notebook important?

The Engineering Notebook documents all of the team’s activity during the season. This includes team meetings, strategy, research, designs, testing, outreach, and plans for growth. A selection of items from it will be used to create your Engineering Portfolio.

Will the judges really read our entire Engineering Notebook?

The Engineering Notebook is not submitted to the judges, but they may request to see it, so you should take it to the competitions. Judges will review your Engineering Portfolio.

What is the Engineering Portfolio?

The Portfolio documents aspects of your team which you wish the judges to consider, including specific items that directly support the judged award criteria.

The Portfolio must:

• Have 1 cover page that contains the team number. Optionally, it can also include: team name, Portfolio table of contents, sponsors, logo, motto, and picture of the robot and/or team.

• Be formatted for only US Letter (8.5 x 11 in) or A4 (210 x 297 mm) size paper

• Use a font size of 10 point or larger

• Have no more than 15 pages of judged content

• If printing single sided: use no more than 16 sheets of paper, including the cover page

• If printing double sided: use no more than 8 sheets of paper, including the cover page

• If submitted digitally, the complete submission must be less than 15MB in size

Tips for Running a Successful FTC Team

Parent Involvement 

Involved parents are always beneficial to a team. They can help guide the build process, handle administrative aspects of running a team, and fabricate parts that may be too complicated and/or dangerous for students to make themselves. While parents can be a great help, it is a good idea to let the students try to accomplish the work on their own, and wait for them to ask for help. FTC is a great experience for both students and parents, but students gain the most by being hands-on and working through problems themselves.

Parents are especially important in keeping FTC teams running smoothly. In Michigan, FTC is for grades 6-8, and students will cycle through every three years and so will their parents. To keep an FTC team running for more than three years, parents of every student should try to help out and mentor. The lead mentor of a team can also work alongside and show future lead mentors some of the responsibilities in order to prepare them to take over the team in future seasons. 

Engineering Notebook and Engineering Portfolio

The Engineering Notebook is one of the most important parts of an FTC team. It is a great way to recap your season and build process. It can also help you win awards at competitions. The best way to make sure you have a complete Engineering Notebook by the end of the season is to add to it every day or meeting. Have each student write a couple sentences about what they did at the meeting and what they learned. Take lots of photos and collect drawings and diagrams to add to your notebook to visually show your progress throughout the season. The Engineering Notebook can be individualized based on each team, but most share common aspects including the build process, outreach in the community, and lots of pictures. 

The Engineering Portfolio relies on content from your Engineering Notebook. See the What is the Engineering Portfolio section, above for content and format details.

Outreach

A great way to expand your team and recruit new students is by participating in outreach events in your community. Community service, demonstrating your robot, meeting with and/or touring businesses to see how they use STEM, and participating in STEM events are all ways to get your team involved. It can also get more students interested in robotics and FIRST. One great way to spread STEM and robotics in your community is by showing your robot to other students. You can set up demonstrations of your robot at schools, then give students the opportunity to see your robot up close, or even drive it. You can also create a short video or flier about your team to spread to schools or other groups to spark interest in FIRST.  

Judging Sessions

A way to win awards at competitions other than having a successful robot, is the judging sessions. Students will describe their season, team, and outreach to a panel of judges. 

Have your students prepare a script or speech and identify who will be saying each part. Practice before they go in front of the judges, and be creative! 

This presentation can be simple and direct, or fancy and complex. The most important thing is the content of the presentation, not the style. 

After you have practiced your presentation a few times, Lightning Robotics suggests you invite your team’s parents and siblings to help. You can do your presentation for them, and they can ask you questions. 

Does Every Student Need to Know Everything?

All students should have an understanding of all parts of their team. Students do not need to be experts in all parts of their team. The goal is to have every student be able to respond to any question. If they know the answer, they can give it to the judges. If they do not know the answer, they should be able to direct the question to another student who does know the answer, such as in the example below.

Question from Judge
How does your robot’s gripper work?

Response from Student “A”
The gripper has two parts that move to pinch the game piece. I work mostly on programming and know that it uses a single servo. Student “B” worked on the gripper and can tell you more about how it was built.

Continued by Student “B”
Our gripper uses a combination of gears to transfer the motion of the one servo to both of our grippers which we call hands. Each hand has a piece of foam on the surface that touches the game piece to improve the grip.

Questions from the Judges

Prepare your students for the types of questions they will be asked. 

Strategy

• What is your game strategy?

• How did you develop your strategy?

• How has your strategy changed during the season, and why?

Robot

• What tasks can your robot do in each period of the match?

• Which parts of your robot do you use for each task?

• How do each of the mechanisms on your robot work?

• How did you design and test your mechanisms?

• How did your mechanisms – and your robot overall – change throughout the season, and why?

Programming

• What programming interface do you use?

• How does your program control the robot during the Autonomous period?

• Does your robot use any sensors (light, color, contact, distance, etc.), and if so, how?

Outreach

• Do you do any outreach to the STEAM community? If so, please describe it.

• Do you do any outreach to the robotics community? If so, please describe it.

• Do you do any outreach to your community? If so, please describe it.

• Do you do any public service? If so, please describe it.

Team

• If you’re a new team: How did you find each other and became a team? 

• If you’re a returning team: When did your team get started?

• How is your team organized?

• How do you make decisions?

• What is an example of a problem or struggle you had during the season, and how did you deal with it?

• How do you plan to keep your team going for next season and beyond?

• How has being part of this team helped you?

• Is there anything innovative or special about your strategy, robot, programming, outreach, or team structure?

• How is your team funded (fees, sponsors, grants, donations, etc.)?