Bryan Salesky said the annual FIRST Robotics of Western & Central Pennsylvania competition is likely the region's best-kept secret, but it's a secret he adamantly wants everyone to know about.
As the CEO and co-founder of Pittsburgh-based autonomous vehicle company Argo AI, Salesky hopes to encourage the students who are participating in the annual build-a-robot challenge to realize that the lessons learned and problems solved during the sports-like tournament can translate to careers in the autonomous mobility industry, be it jobs at Argo or elsewhere.
But to do that, Salesky, and by extension Argo which serves as a sponsor of the event, argue that the regional version of the international FIRST event series — an acronym that expands to For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — needs more exposure and prominence locally.
Now in its 20th iteration, FIRST Robotics of Western & Central Pennsylvania began its four-day event with about 2,000 participants at the Convocation Center located at California University of Pennsylvania on March 16. By 2023, Salesky said Argo will take charge in a leading $500,000 fundraising effort that will aim to bring the event to downtown Pittsburgh starting next year as part of a larger plan that strives to bring in even more participation in the event locally but from those who may not have the transportation resources necessary to attend it elsewhere.
Argo has committed to matching the first $150,000 raised for that effort, which so far has secured donation pledges from the Arconic Foundation, BDO USA, Carnegie Mellon University, Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, Ernst & Young, The Heinz Endowments, Highmark Health, the Howmet Aerospace Foundation, MSA Safety Inc., PNC Bank Financial Services Group Inc. and Seegrid Corp. Such funding would allow for the event to take place in Pittsburgh over the next two years and also support some of this year's expenses, Argo said.
"This is the next generation that's going to be building automated systems, and whether it be self-driving cars or self-flying planes or other forms of automation, this is where they're getting the skills, it's right here," Salesky said. "This really is a sporting event, it's a spectacle, and so part of what we want to do is get interest for next year when we bring it to downtown and we want to get the community to come in and support these kids. Even if you don't have kids or you don't have kids who are of an age to participate, that's fine. We want them to come down and see the energy and the atmosphere, which is incredible."
Salesky first got involved in the event back in 2004 when he started working at Carnegie Mellon University, which hosted the version of the competition for younger-aged students called the Lego League. Now, he mentors his own team of high schoolers in the competition, a group called Mars Robotics. Separately, Argo also sponsors several other teams that are competing in the event.
And despite his decades of experience in the robotics industry, while serving as a pioneer in the field himself with respect to his leading of Argo's AV developments, Salesky said its these very students he mentors or interacts with more broadly in the competition that are actually teaching him about new innovations in the ever-growing sector.
"Just working with the kids, you get to see how excited they are when they have a breakthrough and get something working," Salesky said. "One of the things I've learned is just how capable middle and high school kids are in programming. I mean, even if their school doesn't necessarily teach those skills, they're obtaining them just by reading online, watching YouTube — I call it University YouTube. I mean, it's incredible; they know more about some subjects than I do these days…I've mentioned a lot about science and math but some of these kids learn so much more, there's a number of kids that don't do any programming or building; they do marketing, they do fundraising for their teams, they do product management, they learn how to do communications, how to be a team player, how to work with others and solve challenging problems. There's just so many adjacencies, it's a sport for everyone."
Argo estimated that hosting such an event in Pittsburgh could result in $1 million worth of tourism revenue for the city given the accommodations, dining and entertainment needs of the event's attendees over the four-day period. Any final decision to move the event to downtown Pittsburgh would require approval from FIRST's board of directors, however.
"The greater Pittsburgh region has always been supportive of FIRST, such as sponsoring and mentoring local teams, and this initiative takes it to a whole new level, which is just awesome for the students, families and business community," Daphne Frownfelter, regional director and chief state advocate of FIRST Pennsylvania, said in a statement. "On behalf of the student teams, I want to thank Argo AI and all the organizations for their support."
