2 of 23

Agenda

Robotics Club Overview

Team Formation
Robotics Club Information & Requirements

Advice for Mentors

Suggestions for first meeting
What happens during a tournament?
Mentor Role

Next Steps for Club

Important dates
Ordering equipment

3 of 23

VEX Robotics

We use VEX Robotics kits

https://www.vexrobotics.com/iq

And the REC Foundation’s program for our robotics club.

https://www.roboticseducation.org/teams/vex-iq-competiton/

We use VEX “IQ” at Sandpiper (3rd through 8th grades). It’s simple enough for the younger kids and still sophisticated enough for the older/more advanced kids. (If your team is interested in another level: VEX Go, VRC, etc. we’re open to assist).

4 of 23

Robotics Program - General Timeline

August - Teams are formed once Mentors (parent volunteers) are found. Teams are usually formed by approximate grade level (and around 4 to 6 kids per team). Teams start to meet weekly.

September - Teams meet to design, build, test and modify and program robots, work on Notebooks and game strategy.

October - When first tournaments usually become available

Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb - More tournaments available to qualify for state championships. Sandpiper will host a tournament in late Jan.

March - State Championships (in Northern CA)

April/May - World Championships in Dallas

5 of 23

Tournament Overview

VEX IQ Areas of Competition:

Teamwork Challenge - Two-team alliance works together using driver-controlled robots to score points.

Robot Skills Challenge - Made up of two challenges where the scores are added together for the final Robot Skills Challenge score. Driving Skills - one team, one robot driven on the field for 60 seconds. Autonomous - one team, one robot, programmed beforehand and run on the field for 60 seconds.

Design Notebook – the notebook is used to document the design, construction and iterations of a competitive robot. The Judges will use the notebook during interviews at tournaments that review Notebooks.

MAIN FOCUS OF TOURNAMENT

HIGHLY ENCOURAGED

(CAN HELP TEAM EARN MORE POINTS)

6 of 23

VEX IQ 2024-25 GAME

“Rapid Relay”

7 of 23

TEAM FORMATION

8 of 23

Team Formation

The number of teams for any year depends on the number of parent mentors!

Team Formation

An Interest Survey will be available for students and Mentors to sign up.
Mentors will work with Sandpiper Robotics Lead to form full teams from list of interested students.
Teams from prior years usually reform without issue.
Team Mentor (and teams’ parents) will decide when and where to hold weekly meetings (rm 6 or students’ homes).
Teams pay for all necessary equipment and tournaments (including a field to practice on if not practicing at school)
Sandpiper does have around 6 kits and 2 fields to lend out for teams practicing at home.

9 of 23

Costs

1 - Team registration fee (around $100 per team).

This is determined by the total number of teams that register.

2 - Each team will need to buy or borrow a robotics kit

Robot Kit - Gen2 Education Kit - $469 (this kit is fine to start with)

https://www.vexrobotics.com/228-8899.html

Robot Kit - Gen2 Competition Kit - $679 (this kit has more build pieces)

https://www.vexrobotics.com/iq-competition-kits.html

Sandpiper has a few Gen1 kits available to loan (no hero bot build)

3 - Optional (only required if you are not practicing at school)

VEX IQ Full Field Perimeter & Tiles - $330

https://www.vexrobotics.com/iq-field.html

VEX IQ - Game Elements Kit - $140

https://www.vexrobotics.com/228-8893.html

10 of 23

Costs

3 - Variable Costs

Tournaments in normal season

estimated $100 - $150 per tournament (per team)

Most teams compete in a few local tournaments
Sandpiper Tournament held in mid December

Qualification only events

$255+ for State Championships - must win local event
$1800+ for World Championships - must win at States

Bottom line - expect to pay a few hundred$ at a minimum for the normal season, more if team advances to States or Worlds

11 of 23

ROBOTICS CLUB �INFORMATION & RULES

12 of 23

Robotics Communications

Robotics Program Lead - Administration

Rick Taylor sandpiperrobotics@gmail.com

– Rien Gupta rieng007@gmail.com

– Kevin Li kevinwriting1213@gmail.com

Robotics Lead Mentor Advisor - Mentor Support

Rick Taylor, sandpiperrobotics@gmail.com

Robotics Program Email: sandpiperrobotics@gmail.com

Please add these email addresses to your “Safe Senders” list within your email service provider (ie Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Comcast, etc) otherwise emails from us may go directly into your spam folder.

13 of 23

Robotics Club Requirements�Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct must be signed by all participants and their guardian
Mentor will ensure all team members complete

"All team members, which includes all students and adults associated with a team, are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful and positive manner while participating in the VEX IQ Challenge. If team members are disrespectful or uncivil to staff, volunteers, or fellow teams at an event, the team may be Disqualified from their current or upcoming Match. Judges may also consider team conduct and ethics in determining awards.”

Rule G16 in 2016/17 VEX IQ Game Manual

14 of 23

Robotics Season

Basic Season (varies and teams can decide which competitions to participate in)

August/September

Teams are formed and weekly meetings are held

October through February (weekly meetings continue)

Most local Tournaments on Saturdays
Can see list of IQ competitions on www.RobotEvents.com

California State Championship: by invitation only

March time frame, 1 day event

World Championship: by invitation only

April/May - 3 day event, Dallas, Texas�

All Sandpiper Robotics Club teams are highly encouraged to participate in the Sandpiper tournament to be held at our school in mid December.

15 of 23

Interested In Joining?

Go to the Sandpiper Robotics Interest Survey at:

Robotics Interest Form (for students and Mentors)

16 of 23

ANY QUESTIONS?

Thanks for coming! Please email sandpiperrobotics@gmail.com with comments or questions after the meeting.

17 of 23

TEAM MENTORS

What’s needed to be a Robotics Team Mentor?

No robotics or technical experience needed
Enthusiasm for robotics and helping kids learn - highly desirable
~1.5 hr/week after school or on a weekend
Commit to the Mentor Code of Conduct and a spirit of learning
Commit to at least one tournament (the Sandpiper Tournament is a great option)
Self-hosting (vs. Room 6): Figure out getting all the gear and space needed

As a team Mentor you’ll be expected to:

Form a team (and help the team come up with a team name)
Hold weekly team meetings
Guide team through the process of designing, building, testing, programming, and modifying a robot to score points based on that year’s game.
Compete in local tournaments and continue to hold weekly meetings modifying the robot and progressing as a team

18 of 23

Mentor’s Role

Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors, will build a robot using the VEX IQ robotics platform to solve an engineering challenge that is presented in the form of a game.

Resources:

– Sandpiper Robotics: https://www.sandpiperrobotics.com

How to Mentor a VEX IQ Team (your team will be Registered through Sandpiper)
Current Game Information and game manual

– An Intro to this year's Hero Bot “Swish" (your team can build any robot they like, but the Hero Bots make it easier since they also include full build sheets). Build sheets are no longer available for Gen1 robot kits.

– We have many experienced mentors who are willing to drop into your team’s meeting to offer advice or answer questions.

19 of 23

Mentor Code of Conduct

Mentors will treat each other and all involved in the program with respect, amongst the team and with other teams.
Mentors will plan and schedule Robotics Program sessions, and monitor attendance for their respective team.
Mentors will manage their Robotics Program team’s time to learn how to engineer, design, program, and operate a robot within a team and problem-solving structure.
Mentors will ensure that the student team members work independently (with minimal adult supervision) in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the VEX IQ platform.
Mentors will ensure a safe and productive team environment, ensure all student team members are concentrating on the team’s task at hand, and have an equal opportunity to participate.
If student team member’s behavior is consistently distracting, the mentor will report the behavior to the student’s parents and the Sandpiper Robotics Lead.

20 of 23

Suggestions for First Meeting

Show Videos from VEX (optional)

VEX IQ Program Overview videos-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oASzHdvoN3Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9p66WbOvkI
VEX IQ Hero Bot “Swish” intro video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2-8d

21 of 23

NEXT STEPS

Enter information on the Interest Form or email Sandpiper Robotics
Work with Sandpiper Robotics and teammates’ parents to form a team
Decide when and where team will hold weekly meetings
Will team buy own equipment or loan kit from Sandpiper?
At first meeting try to decide on team name
Design, build, test, program and modify

22 of 23

Practice Room Schedule

View “Robotics Room Practice Schedule” for on-site available practice times/days. (Room 6)

Email Rick Taylor (Sandpiper Robotics) to be added to the schedule

Teams may only sign up for one practice day/time to start (and limit to 90 minutes).

Only one team should be in room 6 at a time as it gets too crowded (and chaotic) with 2 teams.

1 of 23