Vex In Depth

Team 254 - Virtual Information Session

VEX vs. FRC

VEX has much smaller robots

VEX has smaller teams

• Programmers, builders, drivers will get more
• opportunities and things will be more hands on
• More Student vs. Mentor driven

Changes this Year

Teams of four students

Take home parts to assemble

• After students have CADed their complete robots with approval
• Pick up parts on Saturdays to ensure distancing and safety

Meeting 3 times a week

• Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays after school on Microsoft teams

Dedicated new members will receive small kits

• Learn about simple mechanisms, motors, programming, and more

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VEX Robot Specifics

Robots must fit within 18x18x18 inch cube

Use only VEX parts

• No 3d printing or custom metal
• CAN cut parts and manipulate VEX parts

Uses VEX V5 systems

• V5 Brain, sensors, motors, etc.

VEX Robot Specifics

VEX Robot Examples

CAD

Autodesk Inventor 2021

• Free license for students
• Runs decently on surfaces

CAD in VEX

• Place parts
• Constrain parts together
• Create custom plastic parts
• Many different uses

CAD Examples

Programming

We will be using VEXcode text

• C++

The team will have a GitHub

A lot of programming is spent doing autonomous

Motors, sensors, macros, PID

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Building

Nolan, Jonas, and Team captains will be teaching how to build

Freshmen will receive kits

• CAD

Join a freshmen team and work

together to create a robot for this season

• CAD
• Build
• Program/Drive

Gameplay & Matches

Matches are 2 vs 2

Begin with a 15 second autonomous period

• No driving or human interaction
• Rewards teams with a bonus

Then, 1 minute 45 second driving period

• Human control
• Points counted at end of this period

This Year’s Game

Tournament Structure

Teams play through 6-10 qualification matches

• Determines seeding for elimination matches
• Random alliances

Teams pick an alliance partner for elimination matches

• Highest seed picks first, then continues until 16 alliances have been formed

Elimination matches = bracket play

• Think playoffs in sports seasons

Awards distributed at the end of tournament

• Can qualify for states, worlds, etc.

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Qualification System

Four tiers of tournaments

• Regular Tournaments (Start/Mid Season)
• Qualifies for States & Signatures
• States Championships
• Qualifies for Worlds
• Signature Events
• Qualifies for Worlds
• Hosted at unique places
• World Championship
• Most competitive teams from around the globe

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Worlds Matches

Skills

1 minute, 1 team on field

Score as many points as possible in that time

• Finishing quicker = better

Two categories: Programming and Driving

• Total skills score is the total of both

Skills ladder determines extra qualification spots

• States and Worlds

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Skills