Asian Robotics League Vex Game Announced

[Brandon Martus]

From Vex Robotics:

The game "Bridge Battle" will debut at the Asian Robotics League (ARL) Championship being held over two days from October 18-19 in Seoul, Korea at the COEX Convention and Exhibition Center. "Bridge Battle", a unique game based on the popular VEX Robotics Design System, was created at the request of ARL organizers for their inaugural competition that will feature more than 400 students representing 100 high school teams from six countries including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. This challenging team-based game will put high school students' engineering and technology skills to the test as they aim to build the most innovative robots possible and work together to obtain the most points possible. We are happy to allow any organization with the time, energy and resources to organize a robotics event of any scale to use the Bridge Battle game free of charge.

Press Release
Game Information

[AdamHeard]

Please, please someone send them a picture of CD-47 in 2000.

Overall, I like the game though.... I'm getting kind of tired of vex using balls, but I guess that's kind of a necessity to prevent teams from having to do any fabrication.

[Cory]

I don't really see the similarities to 2000 other than the trough. It isn't even oriented the same way. Nor does it have the ramps/bar to hang from.

It looks pretty cool to me. There seems to be a good variety of ways to score, while still being easy enough for any team to be competitive.
It also adds a bit of a challenge with the 12" tall trough blocking the path to the bonus platform, when robots can be up to 18" tall.

For a free game that's designed for any team/group to be able to play in their own unofficial competitions/offseason practice, etc you can't have a game element that isn't easily found. There really isn't anything more commonly available than a tennis ball.

This game seems like a good way for FRC teams who own VEX kits for training their new students, or for schools that have VEX kits but cannot afford to enter FTC competitions, to play a fun looking game.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Cory

I don't really see the similarities to 2000 other than the trough. It isn't even oriented the same way. Nor does it have the ramps/bar to hang from.

It looks pretty cool to me. There seems to be a good variety of ways to score, while still being easy enough for any team to be competitive.
It also adds a bit of a challenge with the 12" tall trough blocking the path to the bonus platform, when robots can be up to 18" tall.

For a free game that's designed for any team/group to be able to play in their own unofficial competitions/offseason practice, etc you can't have a game element that isn't easily found. There really isn't anything more commonly available than a tennis ball.

This game seems like a good way for FRC teams who own VEX kits for training their new students, or for schools that have VEX kits but cannot afford to enter FTC competitions, to play a fun looking game.

Agreed.... The main referance I was making was to their ball collector and it's ability to "steal" from the other goals.

I think a team with that ability, and the ability to limbo under to get to the bonus platforms will win it.

[Mr. L]

Our FRC team has passed on participating in FVC (FTC) in the past, but we own several Vex kits. If this competition is free to anybody who wants to run it, or participate for that matter, how do we register? I am really excited, our team already uses Vex as a way to get new students interested and active during the fall semester, we would love to expose them to competition! Please let me know if anybody knows who to contact to get involved!

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Mr. L

Our FRC team has passed on participating in FVC (FTC) in the past, but we own several Vex kits. If this competition is free to anybody who wants to run it, or participate for that matter, how do we register? I am really excited, our team already uses Vex as a way to get new students interested and active during the fall semester, we would love to expose them to competition! Please let me know if anybody knows who to contact to get involved!

It seems like it mostly involves downloading the manuals and acquiring the field components, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by Mr. L

Our FRC team has passed on participating in FVC (FTC) in the past, but we own several Vex kits. If this competition is free to anybody who wants to run it, or participate for that matter, how do we register? I am really excited, our team already uses Vex as a way to get new students interested and active during the fall semester, we would love to expose them to competition! Please let me know if anybody knows who to contact to get involved!

If you are interested in competing using your Vex kits this year, then please consider joining us in FTC. It's inexpensive to join and you have competitions located within easy driving distance.
And there is always the WPI-sponsored Savage Soccer right in your backdoor.

[Mr. L]

Originally Posted by KathieK

It's inexpensive to join and you have competitions located within easy driving distance.
Savage Soccer right in your backdoor.

We have about 50 kids that use our Vex kits to prepare for the season, but we don't want to pay for 4 or 5 registrations. Last year, we just had an in-house competition, and it was free (aside from the Vex kits). We don't want to send registration fees to FIRST and pay a tournament registration fee. Additionally, we don't want to travel much. This announcement is perfect for us because we hope that the other FRC teams in our area will have a low cost (free) event that we can participate in. I am a teacher, as is the other mentor of 1685, and it is already hard enough for us to find enough money to do FRC. Thanks though, we will keep FTC in mind in future years, if we can get enough money!

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by Mr. L

Our FRC team has passed on participating in FVC (FTC) in the past, but we own several Vex kits. If this competition is free to anybody who wants to run it, or participate for that matter, how do we register? I am really excited, our team already uses Vex as a way to get new students interested and active during the fall semester, we would love to expose them to competition! Please let me know if anybody knows who to contact to get involved!

Team 190, just across town from you, has hosted the VEX-based Savage Soccer competition for over ten years now; registering a team is free! Last year over 50 teams competed at the event, and we're hoping that this year there will be even more. In addition, Savage Soccer currently has several "remote" competition locations, from California to Kansas to Wisconsin.

Even if your team is participating in FTC this season, you can still participate in Savage Soccer as well. Team 228 is planning on entering two Savage Soccer teams in addition to our FTC team. (More competitions = more exposure to building robots = more time to compete = more inspiration!)

Right now were working on finalizing the details of what looks to be a wicked sweet game (currently code-named "Q"), so stay tuned for the October 20th kickoff date.

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by KathieK

If you are interested in competing using your Vex kits this year, then please consider joining us in FTC. It's inexpensive to join and you have competitions located within easy driving distance.
And there is always the WPI-sponsored Savage Soccer right in your backdoor.

no offense Kathie, but if you think about the impact on the kids vs the cost. This type of event has the potential for more value. For 900 (700 of which is a one time fee) you can have an event every year using vex or whatever you choose. I mean the field is of the same quality and the game is probably just as good as what will come out next week. So you can either pay FIRST $275 every year + whatever the tournament fee is just to compete. Or teams could get together and invest in a field and run lower cost competitions when ever they want. The only difference is the lack of a championship, but if you think about the impact on the kids and the real meaning of the program that isn't that important.

Now in actuality it is the same thing as just hosting an FTC scrimmage event and using whatever that game is. My point isn't against FIRST or FTC, I just think it is good to have opportunities to hold high quality events, for people who may not be interested in the other perks FIRST has to offer.

[Coach1733]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

no offense Kathie, but if you think about the impact on the kids vs the cost. This type of event has the potential for more value. For 900 (700 of which is a one time fee) you can have an event every year using vex or whatever you choose. I mean the field is of the same quality and the game is probably just as good as what will come out next week. So you can either pay FIRST $275 every year + whatever the tournament fee is just to compete. Or teams could get together and invest in a field and run lower cost competitions when ever they want. The only difference is the lack of a championship, but if you think about the impact on the kids and the real meaning of the program that isn't that important.

Now in actuality it is the same thing as just hosting an FTC scrimmage event and using whatever that game is. My point isn't against FIRST or FTC, I just think it is good to have opportunities to hold high quality events, for people who may not be interested in the other perks FIRST has to offer.

I agree! It costs about $1500 for a FIRST gameboard w/obstacles, $275 for registration, $500 for VEX kit, $300 for FIRST Competition fees for a single event, $500 to $1,000 a day busing for a tournament (and where we are from, busing is a must), and probably other costs! So $3,500 or so for a team verses about half of that for the same experience would be good....especially when you have multiple teams! It just makes what little money we have go further.

[KathieK]

I'm sorry for having inadvertently hijacked this thread. I was just trying to do my job as an FTC AP.

Please keep it on topic (Asian Robotics League) and if interested in debating the value of participating in FIRST vs holding unofficial less expensive events, let's create a new thread on that topic. I'd LOVE to hear opinons on that.

[OZ_341]

Does anyone know where we could find a team list?
I have been searching online and trying to contact our friends in Singapore to see if any of them are members of the ARL. Our partner teams are Temasek Secondary, Millennia Institute, and CHIJ Secondary. As a team they are called Singapore SMART or sometimes SMART Lions.

If you know anything, please post.

Thanks!

[Jeff K.]

We think that this is a great idea. A competition, whether it be official or unofficial, still boggles kid's minds and allows them to solve a problem. Since there is no fee, that can allow more teams to play. At our school, we have 12 other vex teams, and this way, they will be able to play. Besides that, it also adds more competitions, since only one competition isn't fun enough. You can never get sick of build season!

We have 3 FTC teams now, and we were one of the original 52 teams, and find Vex to be a great program. It is an excellent learning tool as well as prototyping tool. I took a tour of USC and saw in one of the workshops they were using Vex. We also used it to develop and prototype drive systems, and well as work on programming and sensors. We just wish that FIRST will stay with the vex platform in the coming years, but this is a great step to spread the interest in engineering and science.