Image by Flickr user nasa hq photo

Update January 31: The robotics task has been assigned, and robotics teams have officially begun to build their basketball playing robots.

The Charleston Regional Business Journal following along and conducting video interviews with Team 342 from Fort Dorchester High School. Posted above is the first video of the series which features a junior at Fort Dorchester High School and a programming mentor for FIRST Robotics Team 342 talking about the robotics competition’s impact on students in the Lowcountry.

First reporting: To kickoff the FIRST Robotics Competition season, teams from throughout South Carolina and neighboring states will gather at The Citadel this Saturday for the unveil of a new, exciting, and challenging robotics game.

From the kickoff, teams have just six weeks to solve the season’s common problem before four weeks of intense competitions using the same kit and a standard set of rules to be followed by over 54,000 high school students on over 2,400 teams worldwide.

On January 7th at The Citadel's Mark Clark Hall, the competition for students in grades 9-12 will be announced at 10:30 a.m. and the distribution of robot kits will happen at noon.

In the 2011 game “LOGO MOTION,” two alliances of three teams competed on a 27-by-54-foot field with poles, attempting to earn points by hanging as many triangle, circle, and square logo pieces as possible. Bonus points were earned for each robot that hung and assemble logo pieces to form the FIRST logo. Robots also deployed Mini-Bots to climb vertical poles for a chance to earn additional points.

The FRC culminates in the Charleston area during the fourth week of competition with the Palmetto Regional on March 22, 2012 at the North Charleston Coliseum. Over 50 high school teams from the Southeast will compete for a spot in the national championship.