SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Altium will return as a sponsor of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), an annual competition among young robot designers. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen to increase youth interest and participation in science and technology.
 
Each of the high-school teams will use the Altium Designer electronics design solution to develop custom circuits and modules for the robots. After the competition, the teams will have access to Altium Designer for one year.
 
This year, teams will also be able to download design files for the system, as well as study and modify them. Under a Creative Commons open source license, designs for the power distribution panel, digital side car, analog and solenoid breakout and several sensor carrier boards have been released. Teams using these designs for their custom hardware must publish the modified designs, creating a community of open hardware. The FRC Championship will take place April 16-18 in Atlanta, GA with over $9 million in scholarships up for grabs.
 
“With its generous contribution to the FIRST Robotics Competition at our highest Crown Supplier level, Altium makes it possible for us to turn the FIRST vision of inspiring young people’s interest and participation in science and technology into a reality,” says Paul Gudonis, FIRST president.