Autodesk Inc. honored the winners of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, which took place April 27-29 in Atlanta, Georgia. Autodesk sponsors two design contests as part of the FIRST competition: The Autodesk Inventor Award and The Autodesk Visualization Award. Robert "Buzz" Kross, vp of Autodesk's Manufacturing Solutions division, presented the awards and prizes to six winning teams at this year's event.
The Autodesk Inventor Award is presented to the team that best understands, documents and communicates the distinct phases of the design process, from concept to production, using Inventor software. Inventor is the world's best-selling 3D mechanical design software.
* Grand Prize Winner: Team Cybersonics from Palisades High School, Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, earned the grand prize in the Inventor award category by using Autodesk Inventor and AutoCAD to create their winning Robot.
* Honorable Mention: The Burning Magnetos team from Summerville High School, Fort Dorchester High School and Trident Technical College, Charleston, South Carolina.
* Rising Star (Rookie) Winner: The NASA Fresta Valley Robotics team from Fresta Valley Christian School was the rising star this year for their use of Autodesk Inventor to design The Musketeer Robot.
The Autodesk Visualization Award recognizes excellence in animation that clearly and creatively illustrates the concept of "Ideas Realized." Student teams used 3ds Max to create a 30-second animation about how the FIRST Robotics Competition has helped them realize their ideas.
* Grand Prize Winner: Gunn Robotics Team from Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto, California, used 3ds Max to create their winning animation titled BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE.
* Honorable Mention Winner: Eagle Strike Team from Los Altos High School, Los Altos, California, used Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Inventor to create their animation titled DREAMS TO DESIGN.
* Rising Star (Rookie) Winner: Team Argos from Peoria, Illinois Area High Schools used Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Inventor to create their animation titled HOW TO CREATE A FIRST ROBOT.
Every year, Autodesk's involvement starts long before the championship, making software available to students for robot design, engineering and animation, demonstrating the company's commitment to helping the students of today become the engineers of tomorrow.
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, www.usfirst.org) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math. With the support of many of the world's most well-known companies, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students and the FIRST LEGO League for children 9-14 years old.
Autodesk Inc. (www.autodesk.com) is wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With seven million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the manufacturing, building, infrastructure, wireless data services and media and entertainment fields. Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency and maximizing profits. Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
