Electrical Foundations (through FRC or FTC)

Electrical Foundations (through FRC or FTC)

Applying for your Electrical Foundations Micro-Certification
As a member of a FIRST Robotics Competition or FIRST Tech Challenge team, you have built up a number of valuable technical skills. The SMART Electrical Foundations Micro-Certification, brought to you by FIRST and the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy, let you showcase these skills as part of a college application or resume, or simply let others know what you have accomplished through FIRST.

Electrical Foundations covers basic wiring and electrical tasks commonly performed by technicians on robotics systems.

To apply for yours:
  • (Optional) Review the lesson materials to brush up and see what is covered in the units 
  • [REQUIRED] Upload photos of your work to your portfolio according to the prompts 
  • [REQUIRED] Obtain approval of your uploads by CMRA or a Certified Teacher**
  • [REQUIRED] Take the online exam (60 min, multiple choice, passing = 70%)**
**Requires purchasing Student Certification Access and have CMRA or a CMRA Certified instructor approve uploads
Process for applying for the Micro-Certification

Exam Prep: Wiring & Circuits (through FRC or FTC)

The exam will test your knowledge of common conductors, insulators, wires, and connectors (including crimping with hand tools). You will also be asked to demonstrate an understanding of multimeter use for conductivity testing. If you need to review any of these topics, please use the links below.

Exam Prep: Voltage: Parallel and Series Circuits (through FRC or FTC)

The exam includes knowledge questions for common electrical components, batteries and voltage, shared voltage nodes, the common voltage terminal, and electrical jumpers. You will also be asked to demonstrate an understanding of multimeter used to measure voltage and troubleshoot electrical problems such as short circuits.

Exam Prep: Voltage and Current: Motors (through FRC or FTC)

The exam includes knowledge questions for motors, motor direction, current/amperage, and fuses. You will also be asked to demonstrate an understanding of multimeter used to measure current and identify where your motors are being used on your robot.

Exam Prep: Controlling Signals (through FRC or FTC)

The exam includes knowledge questions for using a microcontroller to send signals (high and low), identifying ports on components, motor control boards, and relays (H-Bridges). You will be asked to demonstrate that your robot can control its motors.

Exam Prep: Sensors (through FRC or FTC)

The exam includes knowledge questions about touch sensors and distance sensors and how they work. You will be asked to demonstrate that your robot is using a sensor. 

Exam Prep: E-Panel (through FRC or FTC)

The exam includes knowledge questions about planning and laying out an E-Panel. It also asks what you would need to organize an E-Panel. You will be asked to demonstrate how your components are connected.
Contact Us