Details of Vex Competition

[dpick1055]

My school had in FIRST team last year (team 1055) and unfortunately we were not able to get a sponsor and have no way of paying for the FRC competition next so we are looking into creating a vex team. I was wondering how much the actual competition would cost, what the age range would be, where the competitions will be held, and any other information that would help convince my teachers to let us create a vex team

[sanddrag]

As far as I know, the details have not yet been released by FIRST. Does anyone know when we are going to hear alll about it? Because I recall something about kickoff being in October.

As for your FRC team, there is still lots of time to raise money because I think you have like until the end of November or early December to pay. It can definitely be done.

[GeorgeTheEng]

FIRST hasn't released details yet on what is happening with vex, but what I can tell you is that in the competition held in Atlanta, the teams were given 4 vex kits. They could use parts from 3 on thier robot and the 4th was a spare. They could only use one of the robot controllers.

Rough estimate therefore would put the cost at $1200 in parts. They are probably looking at the $1000-2000 range including the entry and everything you'd need. Of course, I could be totally wrong.

[billbo911]

What I find really interesting is that even if FIRST decides to not have this competition, and I hope and pray they do have it, that Vex is still a great learning system. You can build with it quite easily. You can validate design concepts. Experiment with programming (I currently use the MPLAB, MCC18 compiler and IFI loader and a prototype programming module). All this and more for an exceptionally reasonable amount of money.

I would very strongly suggest that all teams acquire at least one kit. You would be surprised what you can do with it once you get started. I'll admit, one kit may fall a little short on parts to build beyond basic systems, but aren't all complex systems built out of combinations of basic subsystems? Believe me when I say, you can experiment and fine tune ideas and concepts by building subsystems one at a time. Then, when you get one dialed in, dismantle it and move on to the next. Before you know it, you have mastered systems designs and concepts and are ready to build a full blown bot, using the proven ideas and concepts you have already validated and fine tuned in the Vex environment.

That being said, I hope Vex is not limited to just a testing and learning system. I truly believe FIRST will do well to add Vex to it's existing challenges.

[dpick1055]

I really do hope that FIRST decides to have a vex competition because there are still many people at my school interested in robotics and this looks like the best thing we can do. I think it would be a great addition to the FIRST line up and would give an opportunity to schools with less money to get involved with FIRST.