*all bold words are defined at the bottom of the page in "VEX Vocab", along with other
common
terms. Please note that this is specific to this page.
Robotics?
Robotics is something that our daily lives revolve around. It is a growing demand that more people want every
day. It is one of the fastest expanding and advancing fields of work in the world. That is why VEX IQ is
encouraging more
young people to learn it.
What Is VEX IQ?
VEX IQ is a robotics platform available to kids all over the world to encourage the growth of young minds. As a
program, VEX IQ hopes to get more kids interested in the field of
STEM
(Science Technology Engineering Math) and is becoming more and more popular as each year comes.
It offers a wide variety of challenges to satisfy everyone's needs. It balances rules and creativity to
make for spectacular possibilities. It teaches students teamwork and many lifelong skills, such as how to
make a strong, fast, and efficient robot. And that is why Leo schools
are proudly part of the VEX IQ
program.
What Are VEX's Challenges?
Before you can drive your robot, you'll need to build it first! Building in VEX IQ allows you
to learn different
engineering concepts. In VEX Robotics, Leo has learned ideas such as gear ratios, torque, and
four-bars. It
really makes you think because you have to follow rules like the height limit of the robot while making sure it
can complete the
tasks you want it to. In this year's game, you had to figure out how to drag and lift hollow cubes, and how to
get balls inside and
on top of cubes all while fitting your robot with 19 inch x 11 inch x 15 inch maximum size requirements!
After you have your robot built you'll have to drive it to score points. There are different types of driving,
skills
and alliance matches. It forces you to think of out-of-the-box drive strategies to score as many points
possible in a mere
sixty seconds! You not only need to have a strategy though, you'll need to practice it too, so you can be as
best as you can at it,
after all, that is what robotics is all about. Sometimes, when things don't go according to plan when you're
driving, you'll need
use quick thinking in order to know what to do next. It teaches you strategy, precise movement, and quick
thinking.
Similar to moving a character in a video game, you'll need to code the robot to know what do when something is
pressed. When your programming
a VEX robot for driving, it's called a TelOps program. This is essential as your robot will not know what
to do without it. But there is a second way to score, because
coding can also be used to make an autonomous program, so your robot will move without requiring driver
control. The coding aspect of VEX IQ teaches a deeply critical skill.
Another key aspect of the robotics program is the Engineering Notebook. The Engineering Notebook is the
documentation of the construction of your robot. You must have proper layout to make the
content look appealing and can be differed from other subject matter. More importantly, the content of
it needs to present relevant and important information. It teaches you how to
scientifically document the evolution of your robot and how it came to be.
While those may be the main things VEX IQ offers, there are even more challenges to tackle! One of these
obstacles is the
STEM
Project. In a STEM Project you must create
a four minute or less video based on the current year's topic, Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math.
It's goal is to teach you how that year's topic plays a role
in the community.
There are also Online Challenges. Some of the
Online Challenges that Leo is participating in are:
Robotics Team Website Challenge, where the team designs
and codes a website that presents information about their program in a professional, appealing way.
Promote Online Challenge, which is to create a promotional video advertising your team to your community to
recruit new team members, mentors, and volunteers.
Every year VEX IQ comes out with a new game, which is that season's game. Currently the 2019-2020
season's game is VEX IQ Squared Away. It is played on a 4' x 8' field in
60 second matches.
To score you have a couple different options. First, there are 3 hollow green cubes placed on the field. To
score them they must be placed on five inch
low platforms or possibly hung from nine and one half inch high platforms, worth 20pts each. Secondly, there are
two red and two blue cubes posititioned on opposite sides of the field. For them to be properly scored they must
be inside their color coodinating corners of the field, 10pts each. There are also a total of 35 orange balls
scattered around the field. They can be placed on top of a cube for 2pts each,
and inside one for 1pt each. This allows for a maximum possible score of 170pts. To see the official rules, head
to the
VEX IQ 2019-2020 Game Manual.
VEX Vocab
This section of the website is used to define a couple common terms used in robotics. Only bold words
on this page are defined in "VEX Vocab".
"1x"
- VEX IQ pieces are made in measurements of peg holes. Peg holes are about a half inch each.
For example, 1x4, 2x6, 4x8.
Alliance Matches
- In an alliance match two teams drive together in a 60sec match to score as many
points as they can. Each team must have two drivers and switch the remote control between
the 35 and 25 second mark.
Autonomous
- Autonomous is a program so your robot will move without driver control. This is used
for skills to gain more points.
Axle
- An axle is a metal or plastic bar made in various lengths usually used to connect gears and
motors.
Bid
- A bid could be to different places and earned in different ways. It could be from a local
competition to state, earned from a state qualifiying trophy.
You could also get to state at the end when there is open spots left through skills. You can get to VEX
Worlds only through a Worlds qualifiying award.
Brain
- The main center of control for your robot. It holds vital parts of your robot, such as
programs.
Four-Bar
- Four bars are a mechanism that uses four bars to rotate up and down. It can stay like a
sqaure and bend into shapes like rhombuses.
Gear Ratios
- Gear ratios are used to increase or decrease the amount of speed or torque in a tool.
A 2:1 gear ratio will give something more speed than torque,
while a 1:2 gear ratio would give you more torque over speed.
Motor
- A motor is a device that has a spinning piece inside of it, it can be connected to gears
using axles. It is plugged into the brain using a wire.
Peg
- A peg is a piece used to snap together other parts. It is blue and has connectors on both
sides of it, but there are other types of pegs.
Skills
- A driver skills match is when two drivers from a team drive together in a 60sec match to
score as many points as they can. They must switch the controller between the 35 and
25 second mark. You can also use your autonomous program in a 60sec period to score even more points. Your
combined score between driver and autonomous is your skills score.
STEM
- STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
