The 2016-2017 Hong Kong Regional Semi-Final of the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) was held on 11 and 12 March in Lecture Theatre L, HKUST. We are pleased to co-organize with Semia Hong Kong for the first time. The ultimate goal of FTC is to reach more young people with a lower-cost, more accessible opportunity to discover the excitement and rewards of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
FTC is specially designed for high school students to compete head to head, using a sports model. Teams are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots in a 10-week build period to compete in an alliance format against other teams. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and is programmed using Java or the MIT App Inventor. Teams, including coaches, mentors and volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles.
The challenge of this year was based on the theme of “Velocity Vortex”. Awards are given for the competition as well as for community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments.