FIRST and Lego breaking up

[MrGibbage]

I think most of us have seen the big news today. Lego and FIRST are getting a divorce. I am pretty mad about this, but I see it as a great opportunity for FIRST to make something great.

I really see this as Lego's fault. If it comes down to choosing between FIRST and Lego, I'd probably stick with FIRST. It will probably mean buying a lot of new hardware. I don't suppose there's a way that FIRST continues to use Lego, without having Lego's endorsement/permission. But maybe there is. I mean, FIRST could say "We are going to continue with Lego Robotics. We won't have Lego employees helping with the mission model designs and table designs, so we will be working with other experts to get that done. We'll be removing all Lego branding, and we will use Spike Prime and EV3 for the foreseeable future." Is that even possible???

I think FIRST should take this time to start finding HW/SW developers (Pybricks, perhaps). Develop some great hardware, but in the meantime, let everyone continue with Spike and EV3. Even though Lego has stopped production, there's enough out there to keep the program working. When the new HW is ready (including production), let everyone know they can start using or not. Up to you. But we'll have something new because eventually we will start to run out of Spikes.

Finally, if it really comes down to it, I'd rather support a non-profit than a for-profit. FIRST, you have me for the long run. Take this time to make the program even better.

[dlech]

And if you didn't see the news: https://community.firstinspires.org/first-lego-education-partnership-update

[MrGibbage]

Six new answers here from FIRST: https://help.firstinspires.org/s/topic/0TOUk0000003DjtOAE/first-lego-league?language=en_US One thing that stands out, and is especially important here, is that it looks like FIRST is possibly looking to develop their own tech for going forward. So, what would the pybricks community like to see in a new hardware platform? Some ideas I have are easy: USB C & OLED display with touch screen. But what about GPS? wifi 7? More ports for external sensors/motors? What could we do with an HDMI port? Everything open source. That OLED display? You can configure it with your own HTML. I have no idea what goes into developing platform SW like pybricks, but I gotta think the devs here have some ideas as well.

[dlech]

We would like to see them keep using SPIKE Prime and MINDSTORMS EV3. We've spent years working on those!

[john-coppinger]

Right? You guys have provided a signal service to this community. Your work should be lauded and celebrated, not retired early simply because planned obsolescence makes Lego even more stupendously profitable.

[MrGibbage]

According to the FAQ, we will be able to continue using Spikes for several years:

FIRST® is actively developing our own K-8 (kindergarten through eighth grade) offerings for 2027 and beyond. Part of this effort includes introducing new program names, experiences, and supporting technologies.

FIRST also plans to support SPIKE™ Sets (Prime and Essential) used with FIRST® LEGO® League Explore and FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge through the 2028-2029 season, providing important continuity as we launch the future of our K-8 offerings.

More details will be made available ahead of the 2027-2028 season. Sign up so you can stay up to date on FIRST K-8 program offerings.

[john-coppinger]

On the other end of the imagination spectrum, what about just reasonably priced hub & motors clones?

[MrGibbage]

YES SIR!!!

[laurensvalk]

What hardware will teams be able to use in FIRST® K-8 programs after the 2026-2027 FIRST® LEGO® League season?

FIRST® is actively developing our own K-8 program offerings for 2027 and beyond. FIRST plans to support SPIKE™ Sets (Prime and Essential) through the 2028-2029 season, and more details on what other hardware will be supported will be made available ahead of the 2027-2028 season.

This is looking promising!

If anyone has contacts at FIRST, feel free tell them that we're happy to keep supporting SPIKE and MINDSTORMS for use in robotics competitions, and possibly collaborate more closely.

[MrGibbage]

I will let my contacts know your desire to work more closely. I think this would be awesome in so many ways!

[laurensvalk]

Thanks for spreading the word! With millions of MINDSTORMS sets still out there, that's easily thousands of teams that participate at zero cost.

When revived with Pybricks, these bricks are totally ready for modern robotics competitions 🤖