ST. LOUIS — In 2018, for the first time, high school students in For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST^®) Robotics competition will be allowed to use Dynamo Brushless DC (BLDC) motors that will be supplied by Nidec Motor Corp. 

Since the inception of the competition, FIRST teams have been able to use only brush motors. BLDC technology, which is widely used in robotic applications, offers the participants another option that will provide more control of their robots as well as better efficiency and higher performance.

More than 92,000 high school students on approximately 3,600 teams from 26 countries are expected to participate in the 2018 FIRST competition. Working with more than 20,000 engineering mentors, these students will build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. Teams use an average of five to eight actuator motors per robot.

“BLDC motors play a critical role in the field of automation, and we are pleased that we are able to introduce this technology to these talented future engineers,” said Nidec Senior Product Manager Alex Valentino. “I am eager to continue to work with FIRST to expand the BLDC motor offering to meet the needs of the teams. Like FIRST, Nidec is committed to inspiring innovation and fostering young people’s capabilities so that their dreams become realities. These are our future leaders who will use technology and science to make our world a better place.”

The Dynamo 12V DC Brushless motors will come with integrated controllers. Nidec is also providing custom cable harnesses to make the connection between the controllers and the robot interface as simple for teams as possible.

For more information, visit http://www.nidec-motor.com.

Publication date: 11/20/17

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