After an outstanding 2013 season and a wait seemed to take an eternity, Texas Torque met bright and early for the much-anticipated FIRST Robotics Competition KICKOFF, the webcast through which FIRST reveals the challenge of the year for all FRC teams.

This year’s game — “Aerial Assist” — requires teams to build a robot capable of passing a 2 foot diameter ball to other robots in order to score in ground and 7 foott high goals. Teams may also toss balls over a 5 foot high “truss” that spans the width of the field along the center line. The video released by FIRST is shown below (and can also be accessed under the “About FIRST” tab).

Texas Torque team members and mentors spent the day going over the new set of rules, potential strategies, and the beginnings of design. The event marks the beginning of the build season for Texas Torque; for the next six weeks, team members will work to design, prototype, and construct the robot for the year before the seven week competition season begins. This year, Texas Torque will be attending the Dallas Regional, Lone Star Regional, and the FIRST World Championship (held in St. Louis following the seventh week of competition).

We wish all teams the best of luck this season!