OUTREACH

NXP

February 2nd, 2022

Our team met up with an employee of NXP, a company that designs silicon which is modified by customers to fit their own needs. During the presentation, he explained the certain precautions that the company needed to take to ensure its efficiency in any scenario. He also went into depth on how NXP uses EQ, also known as Edge Intelligence, which learns to identify objects while going through a vigorous training process. 

ATLASSIAN 

January 26th, 2022

Our team met with Atlassian, a software development company that helps companies like Tesla and many other big-name brands with high-quality software. We learned about what it was like to work with an international group, as Atlassian has countless teams around the world. The meeting taught us about the fast pace environment of a top software company, and how it is important to share your knowledge with people you work with so everyone can grow together.

WELLAWARE

November 22nd, 2021

We met with representatives of the non-profit WellAware. Over the course of the presentation, we learned about the engineering behind the company's water wells. The experience was a great opportunity to learn about the ways engineering contributes to the world community --in this case through building water wells for rural African villages.

MYTHIC

November 10th, 2021

We met with a software engineer to hear about the process behind Mythic computer chips. Over the course of the presentation, the team learned about the engineering processes that go into designing the chips, and what functions the chips are designed to do. Furthermore, Mythic provided valuable insights as to how efficiency in software can be attained!

KUKA

August 3rd, 2021 

Our team got the opportunity to see the applications of robotics within the industry field. With the help of the valuable insight of the presenting engineers, we dove into the world of precision robotics, learning about their various projects! The most exciting part was learning about the company's rich and unique Bavarian roots!

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

July 22th, 2021

We got to hear the details behind Texas Instruments' control systems from one of their client instructures. Throughout the visit, we learned more about IOTs or "Internet of Things", which basically consists of devices with sensors, or other forms of data collection, which are then shared over the internet to other devices. Not only did we get some valuable information regarding company processes, but our presenter was kind enough to provide some poignant life advice as well!

HEADSPRING

July 14th, 2021

Over the past 3 years, we have formed a strong connection to Headspring, and this year was no exception as we held our annual meeting this year to introduce our rookies to the company, but this time, it was virtual! This year, we were able to be introduced to multiple employees with distinctive roles and received a very integrative presentation on the multifaceted aspects of their company. The main takeaway was their complex software development and marking processes. 

INTEGROMAT

June 24th, 2021

Similar to Headspring, this is another company we had a past relationship with! Our rookies were able to receive an introductory demonstration of how their software has aided us in the past!  In the previous, we made a custom automation program, which allowed us to automatically email companies en mass, by grouping the software processes of Gmail and Google Sheets!

WELLAWARE

November 19th, 2020

We met with representatives of the non-profit WellAware. Over the course of the presentation, we learned about the engineering behind the company's water wells. The experience was a great opportunity to learn about the ways engineering contributes to the world community, as they not only provided more water sources for these rural areas, but greatly improved the quality of life and opportunities for these communities as well!

HEADSPRING

November 13rd, 2020

Due to the restrictive nature of the pandemic, this year's visit to Headspring was done over Zoom, unlike our past meetings. During our virtual "tour" we received comprehensive insight into how to improve our robot's CAD. We additionally received a presentation on the company's complex processes and their work on software and marketing sections. 

NXP BEIJING 

November 2nd, 2020

Our team had the wonderful privilege of attending an informational presentation on TSN from the NXP lab in Beijing, China! Since it was the office's first interaction with FIRST, we started the meeting off by introducing them to our robot and annual FTC game. Afterward, the presentational team gave us a tour of their facility as well an an explanation of NXP's lab.

WELLAWARE  

October 29th, 2019

We invited the company WellAware to come speak to our team and our fellow Viperbots teams about the work they are doing in Africa and how the skills that we are learning in robotics are allowing them to complete this week, Our team, and 6 other FTC teams attended, learning the practical applications of engineering notebooks and STEM education in modern civil engineering projects. 

THINKERY MUSEUM  

October 26th, 2019

This October, we were invited to the Halloween Hootenanny by our local museum, the Thinkery. This was a great opportunity to reach a wide variety of people from the Austin Area. At the event, we demonstrated various science experiments, and showed off our robot while also letting attendees drive it! At this event, we got to connect with a lot of kids, and our hope is that through our event we've opened up their minds to the possibility of pursuing STEM activities and occupations in the future. 

HEADSPRING  

October 11th, 2019

We took a tour of Headspring, a local software company, in order to get real exposure to how software plays into the real market and learn about more jobs in the STEM field, as well as how to achieve them. Several engineers taught us about their occupations, including their distinct tasks and educational pathways. The marketing executives then showed us around their office space, describing each team and their duties. We additionally introduced us to the FIRST organization and our CAD to promote STEM an dour team values within our community.

NEPRIS

September 16th, 2019     

On September 16th, we held a nationwide educational video conference aimed towards those who were interested in STEM. We explained our team, our robot, and how they could get involved in the program. The video conference consisted of an “About the team” section as well as an open-question seminar about what FIRST is and how to get involved. During this video conference, we reached twelve classrooms and received one comment on how one teacher has used our lesson to help start a STEM program at her elementary school.

GIRLS IN TECH STEAMAPALOOZA 

September 16th, 2019

We had the opportunity to be featured in the STEAMPalooza event, “Girls in STEM” hosted by DELL. This event involved many meaningful interactions with young, aspiring female engineers. In our booth, we talked about our team, demonstrated our robot, and showed participants various science experiments. We also communicated with many DELL employees about future internships and work-life.

FLL MENTORING  

June 13th - August 8th 2019 

 Our team helped mentor 6 FLL teams from Laura Bush Elementary School over the summer. We met with these teams over the course of 5 days which lasted 7 hours each. We started off the day by introducing our team, what Viperbots is all about, and what we do in FTC. Then, we split the teams into groups of two. Within these groups, we helped them assemble LEGO Mindstorm kits for the season. When the kits were finished, they could finally test their robots in action and if they ran into problems, we were happy to give them advice as to how to fix the problem.

PUREWRX OFFICE VISIT

September 27th, 2018

The team met with the CEO and CTO of PureWrx where they discussed the building blocks into owning a STEM business, and the struggles that come with it. They talked about the history of their company and their plans for their 26-person startup company. We were able to get a tour of their storage facility and the hardware that they manufacture and sell. Finally, we gave a presentation of what our team does during the season, and how we incorporate that into FIRST values. They were able to give us advice for the future and in turn, we spread information about STEM in Robotics.

CARINGO OFFICE VISIT

AUGUST 9TH, 2018

Our team was able to visit the Caringo office and meet with the engineers behind the company. The company gave us a tour of their storage facility and explained the specs needed to run their devices. They allowed us to attend one of their engineering meetings where they discussed their communication process and how they organized their ideas. It gave us insight into a company’s team organization, helping us improve our performance in Robotics. Near the end, we presented a slideshow about our team and robot to give them information about the FTC competition.

FLL SUMMER WORKSHOP

 6/15, 6/29, 7/13, 7/27, 8/3, 8/10 - 2018

Our team hosted and mentored younger kids in our community that participated in the First LEGO League. The kids learned the fundamental values of teamwork while also learning how to build robots using Legos. They started by following steps to build working machines such as helicopters and planes that were powered by motors. The kids later wired and connected their machines to a computer where they practiced the fundamental blocks of programming. 

Having 4546 Viperbot mentors assist with the elementary students during multiple events allowed the kids to gain a greater understanding in how the higher levels of FIRST competition operate, and what they have to look forward to in the future.

FLL SUMMER WORKSHOP

August 25th, 2017

Tords the end of the summer, members of the team volunteered at the Laura Bush Elementary School (LWBE) First Lego League (FLL), Summer Workshop. Viperbot mentors assisted the young students in preparing a "base" bot at they prepared for a school year geared towards successful competition. 4546 members engaged with the future STEM professionals wherein we provided support in how 

FLL BUILD DAY

OCTOBER 6TH, 2017

The team attended an event hosted by Central Texas FIRST LEGO League in building LEGO field sets for First LEGO League competitions. Hosted at Arm corporate offices, the team was also able to gain an idea of what a professional work environment could entail. The team helped out with building things like a water tank to help out with the challenges for the FLL teams, and by doing this event we had a fun experience overall because we got to build our team chemistry.