Autodesk Renews Commitment to Engineers of Tomorrow in 2006 FIRST Robotics Competition

By DE Editors

Autodesk, Inc.(San Rafael, CA) has announced it will continue helping high schoolstudents to push the boundaries of innovation in engineering and 3Ddesign visualization through its longstanding sponsorship of the FIRST(For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) RoboticsCompetition for 2006. Autodesk has been a major sponsor of the FIRST(Manchester, NH) Robotics Competition since 1992. Now, as thecompetition’s official supplier and championship sponsor, Autodesk willprovide more than $8 million in software and other resources sostudents can design their robots.

More than 1,100 teams with more than 30,000 participants from theUnited States, Canada, Brazil, Great Britain, Ecuador, and Israel willbe competing in 33 regional events around the U.S. Regional winnerswill then compete in the championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlantafrom April 27 through 29.

Using software from Autodesk, including Autodesk Inventor and 3ds Max,teams will design and build robots, and enter them in a series ofdesign contests. The teams and their mentors must solve complexengineering problems over the initial six weeks of competition, using astandard kit of parts and a common set of rules.

“Partnering with mentors, developing relationships, and working as ateam to achieve a common goal are elements for success both inengineering and life,” said Dean Kamen, inventor, entrepreneur, andfounder of FIRST.

In addition to financial contributions, software grants, and trainingwith the FIRST Robotics Competition, Autodesk sponsors two designawards presented at the championship event. One, the Autodesk InventorAward, will be presented to the team that best understands, documents,and communicates the distinct phases of the design process usingAutodesk Inventor software. The second, the Autodesk VisualizationAward, is awarded for a 30-second animation about how the FIRSTRobotics Competition has helped students realize their ideas.Animations must be produced using Autodesk 3ds Max software.

For more information, visit usfirst.org.