ROBOTICON Tampa Bay 2018 Returns to University of South Florida

TAMPA, FL - At ROBOTICON Tampa Bay 2018, nearly 1000 students from around Tampa Bay and Florida will descend on the University of South Florida Yuengling Center (formerly Sun Dome Arena) on September 29 & 30 to learn while they play, and show guests the power of hands on, mentor driven STEAM education. ROBOTICON Tampa Bay is free to the public and events take place from 10am to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday. Individuals and organizations interested in being part of the event as sponsors, donors, or exhibitors, or wanting to secure free event tickets, are invited to visit ROBOTICON.net to learn more.

With support from University of South Florida, Hillsborough County, Lockheed Martin, Jabil, JPMorgan Chase, USF Connect and the Florida High Tech Corridor, AFCEA, Women in Defense, SourceToad , Visit Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Sport Commission, and other fine community organizations, ROBOTICON Tampa Bay provides students and guests an opportunity to enjoy a full scale FIRST Robotics Competition event featuring high school student built robot that weigh up to 120 lbs., as well as FIRST Tech Challenge (7th to 12th grade teams) , and FIRST LEGO League (4th to 8th grade teams) scrimmages and practice games, and a FIRST LEGO League Jr. Expo for our youngest roboticists, ages 6 to 9.

This year, ROBOTICON is Space themed. Special guest Kurt Leucht, of NASA-Kennedy Space Center will be speaking and hosting a workshop. STEMWERX is hosting wind tunnel data acquisition demonstrations at ROBOTICON this year, where guests can test CO2 cars in a Jet Stream 500 wind tunnel to find the cars with the best aerodynamics along with discovering what feature contribute to the aero efficiency. There will also be an Innovation Fair showcasing commercial and industrial robotics and education exhibits. Guests will also be able to tour Team Pits to see team members working on their robots, and have a chance to talk to students, visit the Innovation Fair to enjoy STEAM demos, vendors and organizations, learn about the Tampa Bay Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics Center (AMRoC) under development, as well as about technical, industrial, and science career and college opportunities.

The mission of ROBOTICON is to increase public awareness of and engagement in the power of hands on, mentor driven youth engineering and robotics programs like FIRST, and to provide participating youth with a low stress, high-quality competitive event with opportunities for skill building, networking, and college and career readiness experiences. Special thanks to Florida FIRST Alumni, ROBOT League of Tampa and West Florida Robotics for FIRST program support. ROBOTICON 2018 is a Manufacturing Day event.

About The Foundation for Community Driven Innovation
The Foundation for Community Driven Innovation (FCDI) is a 501c3 not for profit organization dedicated to supporting academic achievement, economic development and the spirit of innovation through inspiring programs, active learning and exciting, innovative projects. We do this by facilitating fiscal sponsorship for youth robotics teams, and by supporting exciting hands on learning and living events like Gulf Coast Maker & Comic Con, Tampa Bay’s annual maker festival, and ROBOTICON Tampa Bay, an annual youth robotics showcase event. FCDI is also leading development of Tampa Bay’s first Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics Center (AMRoC). Visit FFCDI.org for more information.