FIRST STEAMWORKS: Half Field Model

“Two adventurer clubs, alliances of three teams each, prepare for a long distance airship race by collecting fuel to build steam pressure, installing gears to engage rotors, and climbing aboard for takeoff. The airship best prepared for flight when the launch timer reaches zero wins” (2017 FIRST Robotics Competition STEAMWORKS Game Animation*). Designed by two FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) alumni, volunteers, and mentors, along with two current FIRST students, this LEGO set is a scale model of half of the field for FIRST STEAMWORKS, the 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC, http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc) game. 

For those of you that support this idea (thank you in advance!) and have an association with an FRC team, please comment which team you support on this page. We would like to gather some basic demographics of who supports this set from the FIRST community. Please comment with an S if you are a student, M for mentor, P for parent or O for Other. (i.e Support from Team 810 M). Please share this project to your fellow teammates as well as on social media (Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, Chief Delphi, etc.).

Official FIRST Game Reveal Video: 

This set includes:

• Half of the field
• 1 Airship
• 1 Boiler
• 2.5 Hopper Stations
• 1 Alliance Wall
• 3 mock robots of the Red Alliance with three crew members and two pilot Minifigures
• 3 mock robots of the Blue Alliance with three crew members and two pilot Minifigures
• 50 units of fuel
• 22 gears
• Minifigures of two of the FIRST founders: Dean Kamen and Woodie Flowers​

This set contains the elements needed to replicate at least half of the playing field (Red Alliance is shown in the images). The set would also include the parts necessary to make the other half of the field (Blue Alliance). By getting two sets, a person can completely replicate the field.

The central element to this set is the Airship. At the beginning of the match, the airship is missing gears to activate the one central rotor and three smaller rotors. This Lego model, similar to the real field, allows the gears to be attached to the rail of the Airship. Two pilots receive gears from their robots through one of three lifts located on the bottom portion of the Airship. The robot may start with a gear at the beginning of the match and receive more through the loading stations. The Airship also contains three ropes that can be utilized at the end of the match for robots to lift themselves into the air and contact a touchpad, which is also shown in this model.

The Airship needs fuel. Teams can provide it by having their robots transfer fuel into the boilers through one of two goals. The boiler is located right next to the player station and is also able to recycle fuel back to the teams. The fuel can be received from the loading stations, as well as from hoppers that are found on the perimeter of the field.

The alliance wall contains three player stations and a loading station for the opposing alliance. The player station is where the crew members control their robots. On top of each player station is the banner, an emblem of the team situated there. From the alliance walls, crew members can load gears and fuel into the loading station, as well as receive recycled fuel from the boiler.

Six example robots are included in this set. Three robots are for the Red Alliance, and three robots are for the Blue Alliance. These robots are loosely based on the game reveal video. One can even design their own STEAMWORKS bot to complete the challenges in the LEGO model, just like in the FRC game!

FIRST changes lives. It is an organization that has inspired young people to be generational leaders and innovators, particularly in STEM fields, with its signature Sport of the Mind since 1992.

FIRST and LEGO already have a strong partnership through FIRST LEGO League Junior (http://www.juniorfirstlegoleague.org/) and the FIRST LEGO League (http://www.firstlegoleague.org/). Adapting LEGOs to promote another FIRST event is a logical step and one we know can capture the minds not only of FIRST fanatics but also of young builders. Both FIRST and LEGO foster creativity. Furthermore, the availability of LEGO field models for FRC teams in future years could be key in helping them visualize and strategize the tasks at hand.

“Ready your robot, fly your banner, and prepare to take flight” (2017 FIRST Robotics Competition STEAMWORKS Game Animation*). Please consider taking a moment to share this project on social media, as well! Every post to platforms, like Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and beyond, helps the set gain notoriety! Let’s work together to make this set concept a reality!

There are three other contributors to this set: Robopetzer, dmelcer9, and TheAndrewcpu. All four of us give our explicit permission to use our work (as shown above) in this set.

* “2017 FIRST Robotics Competition STEAMWORKS Game Animation.” YouTube, uploaded by FIRST Robotics Competition, 7 January 2017,