The FRC glossary

A group of three teams that play together on the red or blue side of a match.

The pre-playoff process where the top-seeded teams take turns inviting other teams to form playoff alliances.

The standard genderless quick-connect (often SB50) used between the battery and the robot.

A fiducial marker (like a simple QR code) placed on the field that cameras use to estimate the robot's pose.

The opening segment of a match where the robot operates entirely on pre-programmed code with no driver input.

The intense period after Kickoff (historically ~6 weeks) when teams design and build their robot before competitions.

The mandatory padded protective bumpers around a robot's frame, colored red or blue to match the alliance.

Controller Area Network — the wiring/protocol that lets motor controllers, sensors, and the roboRIO communicate on one daisy-chained bus.

The largest FRC community forum, where teams share technical knowledge, designs, and code.

A trajectory-optimization tool that generates time-optimal autonomous paths, often paired with WPILib.

WPILib's recommended structure that organizes robot code into Subsystems and Commands for clean, reusable behavior.

A FIRST value blending cooperation and competition — helping others even while competing against them; some games reward it directly.

Commercial Off-The-Shelf — pre-made parts teams can buy rather than fabricate, within the rules.

Honors exceptional student leaders for their contributions and leadership within their team and community.

A regional model where teams earn points across multiple events to qualify for their District Championship.

The NI software (and the physical station) that connects driver inputs to the robot and reports status during matches.

A sensor that measures rotation/position of a shaft, essential for closed-loop control and odometry.

The final phase of teleop, usually with a special scoring objective such as climbing or parking.

Expected Points Added — Statbotics' rating model estimating a team's contribution to match score.

A brushless motor with an integrated Talon FX controller and encoder, controlled over the CAN bus.

Control that predicts the output needed (e.g., to overcome gravity or reach a velocity) and is combined with PID for accuracy.

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — the non-profit founded by Dean Kamen in 1989 that runs FRC and its sister programs.

The season-ending world championship (held in Houston) for teams that qualify through events and awards.

A program giving teams credits to select specific Kit of Parts components from partner vendors.

The entry-level FIRST program for younger students, using LEGO-based robots and research projects.

The flagship high-school program where teams have a few weeks to design, build, and program an industrial-size robot to play that season's game.

The middle/high-school FIRST program using smaller robots — a common stepping stone to FRC.

The ratio between input and output rotation in a gearbox, trading speed for torque (or vice-versa).

A core FIRST value: competing hard while treating everyone with respect, kindness, and integrity.

A sensor that measures the robot's heading and rotation; common units are the NavX and CTRE Pigeon 2.0.

FRC's most prestigious award (formerly the Chairman's Award), honoring the team that best embodies FIRST's mission and impact.

The required check that a robot meets size, weight, safety, and rules before it can compete.

The event in early January that opens the season: the new game is revealed and the build period begins.

The components FIRST provides to every team each season as a starting point for the robot.

The FIRST-provided everybot/starter robot design teams can build as a reliable, competition-ready baseline.

A high-performance brushless motor (with integrated Talon FX electronics) controlled over CAN via Phoenix.

A plug-and-play smart camera widely used for FRC vision targeting and AprilTag-based localization.

The 120A circuit breaker that protects the entire robot's main power circuit between the battery and PDH/PDP.

A drivetrain using rollered wheels that lets the robot strafe sideways without turning.

REV Robotics brushless motors with built-in encoders, paired with SPARK MAX/Flex controllers.

Tracking the robot's position on the field over time using encoder and gyro data (often fused with vision).

A free, cloud-based CAD platform popular in FRC for collaborative robot design.

A group of teams that publicly document their build season in real time to share knowledge with the community.

Offensive Power Rating — a calculated estimate of a team's average scoring contribution, derived from match results.

A popular tool for designing and following autonomous paths/trajectories for FRC drivetrains.

Free, open-source vision software that runs on a coprocessor or Limelight for targeting and pose estimation.

A ranked list of teams an alliance captain uses to decide whom to invite during alliance selection.

A feedback control loop (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) that drives a mechanism to a target by reacting to error.

The elimination bracket after qualifications; FRC uses a double-elimination format among the alliance captains' picks.

REV's power distribution board that feeds and protects the robot's circuits; the successor to the CTRE PDP.

CTRE's power distribution board that splits battery power into protected branch circuits.

Randomly-scheduled matches that determine each team's seeding/ranking at an event.

Points earned from match outcomes and bonus objectives that determine a team's qualification ranking.

A stand-alone event (used outside district areas) where winning advances a team toward the FIRST Championship.

The National Instruments controller that is the 'brain' of the robot, running team code and coordinating all devices.

The required orange light that indicates robot state (solid = enabled, blinking = disabled).

The Python implementation of WPILib, letting teams program their robot in Python.

The top award for a first-year team, recognizing a strong start that embodies FIRST's values.

A team in its first year of FRC competition; rookies have access to special grants and awards.

Systematically collecting data on robots' performance to inform strategy and alliance-selection decisions.

A REV Robotics motor controller for brushed and brushless (NEO) motors, configured via REV Hardware Client.

An analytics site providing EPA ratings, predictions, and historical FRC data.

A drivetrain where each wheel module can independently steer and drive, giving full omnidirectional movement.

CTR Electronics motor controllers (Talon FX is integrated in Falcon/Kraken; SRX is a standalone CAN controller).

The main portion of a match where drivers control the robot from the alliance station.

The community database of teams, events, matches, and results — with a public API used by many scouting tools.

Provides clean, regulated low-current power (e.g., 5V/12V) for sensors, the radio, and other accessories.

A rugged tank-style drivetrain with wheels mounted on one side ('cantilevered'), popular for its simplicity and durability.

Recognizes an outstanding mentor who exemplifies excellence in communication and teaching within FRC.

The official, free software library for programming FRC robots in Java, C++, or Python (RobotPy).