Robotics Acronyms

Robotics like many technologies has a wide array of Acronyms everyone should learn

• FIRST - For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology - a non-profit group running many different Robotics Competitions
• FRC - FIRST Robotics Competition (High School Level Robotics)
• FLL - FIRST Lego League (Elementary / Middle School Robotics)
• VRC - VEX Robotics Competition is run by IFI using the VEX platform
• FTC - FIRST Tech Challenge is a competition for Small non-LEGO robots using the NXT brick
• BEST - Boosting Engineering Science & Technology - A High School Robotics Competition
• IFI - Innovation FIRST Inc. - A Robotics company
• LSR - Lone Star Regional - the Houston FRC Competition
• GP - Gracious Professionalism - the prevailing philosophy in FIRST competitions. It describes teams should work together even though they are competing with each other
• KOP - Kit of Parts - the kit each team receives at kick off that includes necessary electronics i.e. the cRio and drivers station and basic robot pieces
• GDC - Game Design Committee - designs the game each year, including creating the rules for each game
• COTS - Commercial Off the Shelf - a category of parts
• HOF - Hall of Fame - the place where the winning teams of the championship chairman's go, which means that the team gets to go to championships every year after the induction
• cRio - Compact Reconfigurable Input Output - the computer used on the robot starting the 2009 season
• KISS - Keep It Simple Silly - a philosophy that some robotics teams feel like they should have followed realizing this on the day before shipping the robot out