The Iron Panthers from Burlingame High School showcase their robot for the competition. They were part of the Red Team. (All photos: Vansh A. Gupta/Siliconeer)

@Siliconeer #Siliconeer #SiliconValley #SanJoseStateUniversity @SJSU #Robotics #Tech #Science #Youth #FRC #FirstRoboticsCompetition2017 – If you or your kids have watch the move “Wall-E,” you would agree that it is not long before robots will be doing most of what is considered doable only by humans today. At the 2017 First Robotics Competition, the goal was to get as many balls as the robot could, delivered from a basket to an “airship” where the participants stand. Points are awarded to those who get most balls and have the least malfunctions. A Siliconeer photo essay by Vansh A. Gupta.

We are progressing towards a future where cars will drive by themselves, robots will be running our daily errands, humans will become fat and lazy, and machines will be the factory workers. It will be like the scene in “Wall-E” where humans are in a huge spacecraft and they have a completely different lifestyle. We can actually observe these changes today. The iPhone, laptops and now Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home are perfect examples of these changes. Even in competition and games, we now see robots battle rather than humans. The humans simply control the robots. The First Robotics Competition(FRC) Silicon Valley Regionals perfectly depicts what I am on about.

The Ciabatta from The Bakery by Design Tech High School in Burlingame, Calif; nope, not bread, it is a robot for the Blue Team in the competition.

The First Robotics Competition is a combination of sports, technology, and gaming. According to the FRC’s website, “Under strict rules, limited resources, and an intense six-week time limit, teams of students 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. Each season ends with an exciting championship.”

A Robot for the Red Team by Dark Matter from Santa Teresa High in San Jose, Calif.

The Silicon Valley Regionals are held at San Jose State University since 2000 and FRC have been around for 19 years now. This year the FRC, for First Steamworks Game, had over 3,300 teams participating with 83,400+ members and 20,000+ mentors from 25 countries. In layman’s language, the goal was to get as many balls as the robot could get delivered from a basket to an “airship” where the participants stand. Points are awarded to those who get most balls and have the least malfunctions. A Siliconeer photo essay by Vansh A. Gupta.

Students working together on their robot.
A robot for the Red Team performing the various challenges.
A picture of the commentator and emcee of the whole event.
A Red Robot towards the end of the competition round.
A giant scoreboard and screen was perfect for those who did not get a clear view of the happenings on the court.
A row of Blue Team robots preparing for the competition round.
Blue Team participants rejoice as they clinch this round.
The crowd cheering for the Blue Team.
A view of the expo hall.
A view of the whole event.