Get involved
Four ways to help
Request a workshop for your school or team, mentor a team, volunteer at an event, or start a team of your own. We have started two FTC and FLL teams and mentor five or more.
01 Request a workshop
For schools, FTC and FLL teams, and community events. Workshops are free.
What we bring
- The Introduction to FTC Workshop: Fusion 360, the FTC SDK, finite state machines and PIDF controllers. More than 150 rookies from 15 or more teams have taken it.
- School showcases with the robot, like the ones at Emerald High School and the Fallon expo.
- A drive-the-robot field for fairs and festivals. At the Alameda County Fair, 400 or more students took the controls.
- Online sessions for schools and nonprofits outside the Bay Area, like our seminars in Pune.
What it costs
Workshops are free. Ask us about yours.
Tell us about your group
02 Mentor a team
Ask us to mentor your FTC or FLL team. We mentor 5 or more teams today.
Teams we mentor
- FTC 23279 Turbotrons placed 3rd in the East Bay LM2.
- FTC 23512 TeamX qualified for regionals.
- FLL 57010 Team Rocket won an award at a recent qualifier.
- FTC 25810 Quantum Leapers and FTC 23460 Cybersparks.
We have also started two FTC and FLL teams and worked with 10 or more FTC teams in scrimmages and workshops.
Ask for a mentor
03 Volunteer
Help at a fair, a festival or a school showcase, or share what you know.
Where help counts
- Demonstrations at fairs, festivals and maker events. The Tri-Valley Innovation Fair drew 1000 or more visitors.
- School showcases and workshops across the Tri-Valley.
- Talks, tours and mentoring from professionals. We have connected with 10 or more, from a Google software engineer to the owner of ACP Composites.
Students who want to join
Students can join FTC team 18466 Mastermindz. New members take 8 weeks of summer training in design, hardware or software. The team site
Offer your help
04 Start a team
A short guide to what we teach every new team, from FIRST registration to PIDF control.
We have started two FTC and FLL teams. This is what we teach a new team, in the order we teach it.
- Register with FIRST. Teams sign up for the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) or FIRST LEGO League (FLL) at firstinspires.org.
- Start on a low budget. Free software such as Onshape lets you design custom parts before you buy anything.
- Learn CAD. We teach Onshape and Autodesk Fusion 360.
- Learn the FTC SDK. FTC robots are programmed in Java with the FTC SDK.
- Use finite state machines. Split an autonomous routine into steps, where each step waits for the one before it.
- Tune with PIDF controllers. PIDF control moves slides, arms and wheels to a target and holds them there. Gravity feedforward keeps a slide from sagging.
- Build to a standard. Our summer training uses build quality guides so every part is made the same way.
- Scout and pick partners. FIRST Scouter, our open-source scouting site, computes live OPR for alliance selection.
Want help getting started?
Donate
Fund the next workshop
Donations fund workshops, demonstration fields and robot parts.
Inspiring Mindz Inc is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 99-5027211. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.