FTC is designed for students in grades 7-12 to compete head to head, using a sports model. Teams are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and is programmed using a variety of languages. Teams, including coaches, mentors and volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as well as for community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments.
 
These robots are much smaller than First Robotics Competition Robots and use parts that are scaled like the “erector sets” of old. The FTC challenge is a great learning tool for students looking to transition to the larger teams needed for the First Robotics Competition. The FTC game has a similar format as the FRC game. In both FTC and FRC the challenge encourages alliance co-operation and the use of remote controls for control the robot.