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*One submission per team per academic year.*
In the VEX Competitions, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, teams of students are tasked with designing and building a robot to play against other teams from around the world in a game-based engineering challenge.
VEX IQ kit (elementary & middle school)
VEX EDR kit (middle & high school)
There are competitions throughout the year, and schedules will vary throughout the state. Visit https://www.robotevents.com/robot-competitions/vex-robotics-competition?... for a complete listing.
Students typically meet once per week to practice in the weeks and months leading up to competition.
The costs depend on whether or not you have to purchase a vex robot kit. If you don't have a kit, the start up costs can be costly but are still relatively inexpensive compared to other robotics competitions. If you already have your robot kit(s), then the costs are significantly lower since you will only incur expenses for parts and registration fees.
Team sizes are flexible.
Students can win trophies and/or certificates for their accomplishments in several categories.
Outcome of the Activity:
Use mechanical tools, such as motors, gears, and gear trains in the construction of a robotic or automated system. Identify where forces are acting upon various points on the system and document with simple diagrams. Use the concepts of force, torque, and mechanical advantage to calculate the force acting upon the points in the system.
Develop a system to demonstrate force, torque, work, and power acting upon or being done by a robotic or automated system. Justify the design by creating mathematical models that show the calculations.
Use appropriate instruments to measure and record electrical, light, and audio outputs of a robotic system. Compare measured data to acceptable norms for the system. Document whether the system is performing within accepted parameters and cite evidence to support the claims. Perform maintenance or follow recommended procedures to correct malfunctions or underperformance within the system. Write a justification for any maintenance that is performed, citing data obtained from test results.
Create a service and maintenance report on a robotic or automated system. The report should include text explaining the maintenance and corrective measures conducted. It should also include text justifying whether the system is functioning properly or recommending additional measures to correct any issues within the system.
Create a flowchart of a program for a robotic system. Convert the flowchart into a working program. Test, modify, and optimize the program. Write a technical report evaluating the performance of the program.
Log, store, and export data received from two or more sensors (for example, vision/light, audio, and touch) in a robotic or automated system. Explain why these procedures would be useful and provide specific examples.
Working in a team,design and create a robotic solution to a given problem. Incorporate the engineering design process, as well as science and engineering practices, to develop a solution that meets the criteria for entries in a regional, state, or national robotics competition. Maintain an engineering notebook to document the details of the project. Write a technical paper (see components of the report below) and develop a presentation describing the solution and development process for the team solution. The technical paper should include, but is not limited to:
e)Data analysis (e.g., charts, graphs, calculations)
f)Results/Problem solution (include engineering drawings)
g)Conclusions and recommendations for future research