HOUSTON, Texas — April 30, 2026 — Scouting Robotics, Inc., in partnership with FIRST Robotics Competition Team 321, the RoboLancers of Philadelphia, officially announced the public launch of Tech Crests™, a new structured skill-development program designed to help student robotics team members build technical expertise, leadership skills, and confidence through hands-on learning.
The initial release of Tech Crests™ debuted publicly during the 2026 FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas, following nearly two years of internal development and testing with the RoboLancers organization beginning in fall 2024.
Tech Crests™ provide a guided pathway for robotics students to develop both broad technical knowledge and specialized expertise across multiple disciplines commonly found within competitive robotics programs. Each Tech Crest™ is earned through mentorship, practical demonstrations, safety instruction, and applied project work.
“Tech Crests™ were created to give students a structured and meaningful learning journey,” said Michael Johnson, Co-founder of Scouting Robotics and Head Coach of FRC Team 321, the RoboLancers. “The goal is learning, not earning. We want students to gain real skills they can immediately apply to strengthen their teams and prepare for future STEM careers.”
The inaugural release includes Tech Crests™ in areas such as:
- 3D Printing
- CAD Design
- Electrical Systems
- Laser Cutting
- Machining
- Programming
- Project Management
- Team Organization
The program also introduces a larger “Skill Tree” framework featuring future Tech Crests™ currently in development, including advanced programming, robotics strategy, motion systems, fabrication technologies, public speaking, budgeting, and communications.
Unlike traditional classroom learning, Tech Crests™ emphasize practical application and mentorship. Students must work directly with approved trainers — including coaches, mentors, or experienced student leaders — who guide instruction, assess proficiency, and certify completion of requirements.
Program developers emphasized that the system is intentionally flexible. Teams can implement Tech Crests™ through structured workshops, independent learning, or real-world team projects.
Each Tech Crest™ is designed around approximately five hours of focused learning and includes safety instruction, technical knowledge, troubleshooting, and hands-on demonstrations. For example, the 3D Printing Tech Crest™ teaches students how to prepare files for printing, troubleshoot common print failures, select materials, and safely operate printers. Meanwhile, the CAD I Tech Crest™ introduces parametric modeling, sketching, 3D design workflows, and engineering collaboration practices used by real robotics teams.
The program also stresses professional workplace habits and leadership development. The Project Management Tech Crest™, for example, requires students to lead a small project team, organize deliverables, manage timelines, and conduct project review meetings.
According to Scouting Robotics leadership, Tech Crests™ were developed to address a growing need for structured STEM training systems that can scale within youth robotics organizations while still maintaining flexibility for teams of different sizes and experience levels.
“We hope this helps team members build skills and gain confidence. Robotics teams flourish when students develop both broad foundational abilities and areas of deep expertise.” – Michael Johnson, Co-founder, Scouting Robotics Head Coach, FRC Team 321
As part of the public release, Scouting Robotics is asking participating teams to provide feedback and usage data through an official completion form system. Organizers say the community feedback process will help shape future releases and improve the program over time.
Additional Tech Crests™ are already planned for release in Summer 2026.
Tech Crests™ are developed by Scouting Robotics, Inc. in partnership with FIRST Robotics Competition Team 321, the RoboLancers. The program is being provided freely for public review and implementation by teams that agree to participate in feedback and tracking efforts.
For more information about Tech Crests™, upcoming releases, and implementation resources, visit the Scouting Robotics website.
