North Bay to host another FIRST Robotics competition

North Bay is once again hosting its annual FIRST Robotics Competition from March 22 -24.

This year 32 teams from across the province have confirmed to attend the event.

The North Bay FIRST Robotics Steering Committee held a kick off event at Nipissing University to promote its upcoming North Bay FIRST Robotics Competition on March 13, 2024. (Supplied/Agnico Eagle)The kickoff event was held last week to outline competition criteria and reveal this year’s competition game.

Local FIRST Team 1305 members were on hand to demonstrate this year’s robot’s capabilities.

The robot, named “Cryo,” is programmed to pick up and propel “note” game pieces in both human-operated and autonomous (programmed) mode.

“Nipissing University is a proud sponsor and host of the FIRST Robotics Competition,” said Nipissing University President Kevin Wamsley, in a news release.

“We are so excited to be affiliated with this organization and this wonderful competition which involves the next generation of leaders in science and technology.”

Warmsley said the students competing share the university’s mission to take scientific principles and apply them to solve problems, speaking of the school’s longstanding support of the event.

“We really want to support the next generation of leaders and we also want to celebrate the volunteer spirit in North Bay and the surrounding region which makes this wonderful event happen,” he said.

Members of FIRST Team 1305 demonstrate their 'Cryo' robot to North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico and Mary Kelly of Agnico Eagle on March 13, 2024. (Supplied/Agnico Eagle)Agnico Eagle spokesperson Mary Kelly said her company knows how critical science and technology are to the current and future success of the mining industry as well as society.

 

“In order to meet the challenges for our collective future, we need to invest in and inspire the next generation to be leaders in science and technology, to be innovators and collaborators so that we can continue to create solutions for the challenges we face,” she said.

“FIRST Robotics provides an opportunity to nurture the aspirations of youth in a holistic manner – building the technical and social skill sets.”

Local FIRST Robotics team members, Inuka and Tessa, said they have heard from many teams from across the province that will be attending that they are very excited for the event.

Organizers said they expect up to 1,200 visitors to the city over the competition weekend.

The competition will be open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend. The best viewing times will be during the matches starting at 11:30 a.m. on March 23 and 9:30 a.m. on March 24.

• Download the CTV News app now
• Get local breaking news alerts
• Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox

For more information on FIRST Robotics, please their website.