INAUGURAL VEX ROBOTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION ANNOUNCED

[Karthik]

I'm sitting at the airport with a small group of Simbots, bound for LA. We're looking forward to a great weekend of Vex action!

[petek]

Originally Posted by Karthik

I'm sitting at the airport with a small group of Simbots, bound for LA. We're looking forward to a great weekend of Vex action!

Now I have this mental picture of Karthik at the airport surrounded by Vex robots, all waiting to board the plane. "Bwoo hah hah!" he exclaims. "No one caught on that Simbotics annihilation of FRC was just a diversion to keep the world from seeing my real master plan: truly autonomous Vex robots!" The robots all spin around in gleeful circles, snapping their grippers and juggling balls.

LA had better watch out.

[gblake]

For those of you who can't be there in person (like me ); watch the webacst - Go to http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...80&postcount=1 for the info.

In addtion to the competition, there are supposed to be some interesting announcements at the end of Saturday.

Blake

[DCA Fan]

I will be there saturday...if any of you see me, please say hello! I'll be one of the referees.

[IndySam]

There are a group of Goats there ready to show what Indiana Vex Robotics is all about. Good luck Nick and Chris!

[Nawaid Ladak]

congrats to the Chinese alliance, the number 3 alliance for winning this event

this looked a lot more fun than the FTC world championships, now i can see why im hearing VEX is going to attract mroe people than FTC. FIRST could have learned a thing or two from this event

btw: this game was really fun to watch, i'd love to see it adjusted to the point where it can be played with FRC bots

Karthik and Mark Leon made a electrifying announcing duo

[dtengineering]

I've been watching the finals of this event and am impressed.

The details they have announced about next year's game... local events, regional events, plus the Championship of the Americas (Omaha, Nebraska), Pan Pacific Championships (Hawaii) and Asian Robotics League Championship, all topped off with the World Championships in the spring... middle school, high school and college/university levels of competition... options for extended autonomous, OR no autonomous or the current mix (no details on how it will all work) are exciting.

The registration fees are... impressive: $75 for the first team from a school. $25 per team for each extra team from that school. And it is all done using a tested, proven control system with a wide range of components available.

It sounds like IFI has been listening to the feedback that teams have been giving FIRST about the VEX/FTC game.

One other interesting item I noticed... the game "sounds" (that start and end the game and telop mode) are the same as FIRST's... it may be possible that IFI owns the Intellectual Property on much of the current FIRST control systems.

In any case, I don't think our school's four VEX kits will be gathering dust on the shelf next year!

Jason

[fredliu168]

Anyone in University of Waterloo interested in starting a team?

[chaoticprout]

Just got back, man was that amazing, albeit tiring. Great competition, the fact that 205 qualifiers were played essentially on time is astonishing. Great job IFI in running such a quality event.

[Nica F.]

Originally Posted by chaoticprout

Just got back, man was that amazing, albeit tiring. Great competition, the fact that 205 qualifiers were played essentially on time is astonishing. Great job IFI in running such a quality event.

Haha, queing was NOT easy.

Congrats to winning alliance!

[Nawaid Ladak]

Originally Posted by Nica F.

Haha, queing was NOT easy.

Congrats to winning alliance!

considering all the trouble Karthik had during alliance selections, i can obviously see why.

the two best quotes from karthik over the weekend.
"just say what i say" (tells the Chinese translator during alliance selection)
"team 3 rejecting 11 from the bridge, in the words of Decembe Matumbo "No no no""(comentary during finals match 2)

i'll upload the finals matches to youtube later today, is there any other place where i can find archives of the matches

anyone else think IFI will get new rookie teams into their program while FTC loses teams?

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by Nawaid Ladak

btw: this game was really fun to watch, i'd love to see it adjusted to the point where it can be played with FRC bots

This game is very similar to the 2000 FRC Game. http://www.team237.com/2000game.html

I've uploaded videos I took from my camera on youtube:

SF1M1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMBeaHF-JLg
SF1M2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy_mQHwTEdA
SF2M2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0I6dhbgPbY
FM1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_i0FlnMHvM
FM2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD0K2EQXJKc

[fredliu168]

Originally Posted by Nawaid Ladak

anyone else think IFI will get new rookie teams into their program while FTC loses teams?

At this rate, the number of IFI teams will outgrow FTC combined with FRC in several years.

[OZ_341]

Nice to see that they elevated the field for easier viewing. It really helps the audience. The lighting was also very cool.

Looks like IFI really put a great deal of thought into this.

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by Nawaid Ladak

anyone else think IFI will get new rookie teams into their program while FTC loses teams?

I really hope that FTC doesn't lose any teams, but the VEX entry fees... especially the reduced fee for more than one team from a single school... are very competitive, especially considering that many schools have an existing investment in VEX.

Consider the cost of running an FTC team: $450 for a subsidized kit, plus $275 (based on this year's number) for entry fees = $725.

Now I happen to have four VEX kits, plus extra motors and components sitting in my shop. The entry fee for four VEX teams would be $150, leaving each team almost $150 to buy extra parts for this year's competition.

Interestingly, I have about 24 students signed up for my Engineering 11 class for next year... four teams of six works out pretty nicely. At one of our neighbouring schools, where they have ten VEX kits, they are considering fielding 10 VEX teams next year. Between just two schools we have half of a regional competition....

Four VEX teams + spare parts for the same price as one FTC team with no spare parts is tough to argue. Although loyalty to FIRST will encourage me to run an FTC team just to give the new system a tryout... I would be doing a disservice to my students if I passed up the VEX game.

I think VEX is going to boom. But perhaps this is just one step towards FIRST's ultimate culture-changing goal.

Jason