THE
VEX ROBOTICS
COMPETITION
Team 1241 - Theory6 Robotics
Introduction
•
Great opportunity for middle school,
high school and post secondary
students.
•
Science, Technology, Engineering
& Math (STEM) experience.
•
Hands on & realistic approach to
learning.
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Soft skills: teamwork, leadership,
problem - solving.
•
Given way to other robotics
products that cover education,
consumer and business markets.
History of VEX
•
Created by Innovation FIRST in
1996
•
Originally produced electronics
for autonomous mobile ground
robots.
•
Leader in educational and
competitive robot products.
•
Several companies: VEX
Robotics Inc., RackSolutions
Inc., Innovation FIRST Labs Inc.
How does it work?
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Pre-made modifiable parts
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VEX Robotics releases a new game every year.
•
Team is responsible for designing, creating, programming and
evaluating every other aspect involved.
•
Attend various regionals to compete. Winners and certain awards
qualify for World Championships.
What does a VEX Robot look
like?
The Regionals
•
Teams attend various regionals to
compete with other local teams.
•
Play a certain number of qualification
matches with random partners.
•
Top 8 at the end of QM, get to be
“Alliance Captains”, who get to pick
their own partners for the Elimination
Rounds.
•
Robot & Programming Skills
Challenges
•
Tournament Champions, Design &
Excellence award winners qualify to
World Championships.
The VEX Game
•
All games are played on a 12”
by 12” field.
•
Each match features 4 robotics,
two on each alliance of blue &
red.
•
Match consists of autonomous
and tele operated modes.
•
Certain constrains which the
robot must meet with.
•
Game objects can be
manipulated according to game
rules.
Autonomous Period: 20 seconds
Tele-Op Period: 120 seconds
sack attack (12’ -13’)
The World Championship’s
•
Consists of 400 H.S Teams, split across 4 divisions: Science,
Technology, Engineering & Math.
•
100 Middle School and 50 college/university teams.
•
Teams play qualification matches to establish ranking, and then do the
normal alliance selection.
•
Top 8 seeds play elimination rounds, and then the winning alliance of the
division faces off against the winning alliances of the other divisions in an
ultimate showdown.
•
Eliminations are best of three matches.
•
Have been held in Greenville, Dallas, Florida & Anaheim.
The Entrepreneurship Aspect
•
Each VEX team =
Enterprise.
•
Several administrative
tasks become key in
being a successful.
•
Project Management
•
Accounts, Budget,
Sponsorship
•
Media Outreach:
Facebook, Youtube,
Twitter, Website.
•
Community Involvement
The
Canadian
Timeline
• 2012 - 2013 VEX Robotics Season
•
Toronto VEX Robotics Competition - Dec 1, 2012
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Crescent VEX Robotics Scrimmage - Dec 8, 2012
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Southern Ontario Robotics Championship - Dec 15,
2012
•
Central Toronto VEX Robotics Championship - Feb 2,
2013
•
St. Catherine’s VEX Robotics Competition - Feb 9,
2013
•
Mississauga VEX Robotics Competition - Feb 23, 2013
Are you a new team?
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Initiation - Resources, Man Power,
Time etc.
•
Finances & Budget
•
Project Management - Outline the
Future, Delegate.
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The VEX Game (Eg. Sack Attack):
•
Robot
•
Awards
It’s time to get involved.
•
It’s very easy to get involved in the VEX Robotics Competition.
•
Join a team, create a team.
•
Become a hobbyist, or a VEX Volunteer.
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VEX Website: www.vexrobotics.com
Important Links
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www.vexrobotics.org
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www.curriculum.vexrobotics.org
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robotevents.com