Quote:
Originally Posted by jtdowney
I am pretty sure there was one year (Quad Quandary was the game) where the competition was named FTC but the VEX platform was still used. The next year (Face Off) the switch to the Tetrix platform was made. This coincided with the switch off the IFI platform for FRC in the same year.
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In 2005 there was a very limited pilot program using VEX components playing a small version of the 2004 FRC game.
In 2006 there were a few teams playing "Half-Pipe Hustle" as FIRST VEX Challenge (FVC).
In 2007 the FVC really grew, and they played a great game (my opinion) called "Hangin' Around."
In 2008, FIRST changed the name to FTC and teams played "Quad Quandry" using VEX components. That same year, "Bridge Battle," the first VRC game, was played in Asia and North America.
For 2009 FIRST replaced the VEX platform with Tetrix for FTC. IFI and later the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation (REC Foundation or RECF) continued to support the VEX community with the VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) playing "Elevation" in 2009, "Clean Sweep" in 2010, and "Round Up" in 2011. Additionally, the Technology Student Association (TSA) has adopted VRC as its official robotics competition, BEST has adopted the VEX Cortex control system, and various other competitions from Skills to the Coast Guard Academy are partnering with VEX and the REC Foundation for their programs.
Ironically, I believe, it was Radio Shack's decision to exit the educational robotics market in 2006 that really helped the VEX/FVC program get rolling as they blew their inventory out the doors at 50% off. Many of us running VRC programs today started by cleaning out Radio Shack stores at a big discount.
According to some old-timers at IFI, Radio Shack named the product line "VEX."