FIRST Robotics
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is a worldwide robotics organization that was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen. It is an organization that hosts robotics competitions worldwide. FIRST has different competition levels for various age groups. FIRST Lego League (FLL) is for Elementary school. FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), which is the competition level we compete in, is for middle school students. Finally, FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is for high school students. One of the most important values of FIRST is Gracious Professionalism, which is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. Our Team
We are Infinity Tech, FTC Team 13684, a robotics team founded in 2017 by a group of middle schoolers at East Middle School. Our mission is to create an infinite stream of technologists who will shape the future. In the FTC program, middle schoolers build robots to perform certain challenges, which are different every year. We design, build, program, and test our designs from September, which is when the challenge is released, until November and December, when the competitions are held. At these events, we compete our robot against other teams, and we can win awards based on our robot's performance as well as innovation, professionalism, and our impact in the community. Our Impact
In addition to our core robotics work, Infinity Tech is also determined to make an impact in our community. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we were one of the few teams left out of 12 FTC teams that had previously represented the Plymouth-Canton community. As a veteran team, we decided to help start up new robotics teams in our district to introduce more kids to these STEAM opportunities. Between 2022 and 2025, we formed and mentored 8 FTC, 3 FLL Challenge teams, and 6 FLL Explore teams. We are in the process of starting even more teams for future seasons. We also collaborated with our high school team, Lightning Robotics, to organize a workshop at Canton High School for 5th graders, allowing us to introduce incoming middle-schoolers to the robotics teams. Infinity Tech also hosts one of the 12 official FTC kickoff events every September to get the competition season underway. These events allow the Plymouth-Canton school district to thrive in robotics, giving kids the skills they need going forward. Giving back to the community, we also volunteer our time at food banks and school cleanups, as well as participate in can drives. Our goal this year is to reach 500 hours of community service to show our support for the district.
