Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
| Abbreviation | REC Foundation |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2006 |
| Founded at | Greenville, TX |
| Type | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters | Greenville, TX |
Members | 201,000+ students 20,100+ teams |
Key people | Dan Mantz (CEO) |
Staff | 50 |
Volunteers | 467,000 |
| Website | www |
The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation is a US-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization based in Greenville, Texas seeking to increase student interest and involvement in STEM. The REC Foundation manages robotics competitions in the VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U programs[1]. In addition to the VEX Robotics competition programs the REC Foundation manages an Online Challenges program, the STEM Hall of Fame, and, with VEX Robotics, the Girl Powered program.[2]
Activities[edit]
VEX IQ[edit]
The VEX IQ Challenge provides elementary and middle school students with open-ended robotics and research project challenges that enhance their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills through hands-on, student-centered learning. A VEX IQ Robotics set is used, with plastic pieces that snap together using pegs, and it is extremely easy to construct a robot. The students use a graphical software to program the robot. There are two parts to the contests: Robot Skills, which is a single robot trying to score as many points as possible, and the Teamwork Challenge, where two robots attempt to work together to complete the same task.[3]
VEX Robotics Competition[edit]
Also known as VEX EDR, VRC is a robotics competition for middle school and high school students with two different divisions: middle school and high school. In this division, aluminum and steel parts are used, and the robots are built using the VEX EDR Design System. Students from Grades 6-12 may participate. Additionally, while the visual code editor is still available, most students take advantage of VEX's RobotC for their programming. At tournaments, teams participate in qualifying matches where two teams vs two teams participate. In the Elimination Rounds, alliances of three teams are selected by the top-seeded teams, and the alliance who wins the finals is the winner of the tournament.[4]
VEX U[edit]
The VEX U level competition is for college and university students. The rules are nearly identical for this division as for the EDR division, but VEX U teams are allowed to take advantage of more customization and greater flexibility than other levels. Also, their robot creation is limited by the need to find effective costs and a restricted development environment in order to model a real-world situation. In addition, in past competitions, Vex U teams needed to create two different complementary robots, one big and one small, and program them to work together to defeat opponent teams.[5]
In the VEX U competition although very similar to VRC EDR competition, has some distinguishable rules to its division. Rather than being limited to an 18" cube, in VEX U you have the availability to go up to a 24" cube. The autonomous period is also extended in competitions to last 45 seconds, where all interaction with robots is strictly prohibited. As a result the driver control period is shortened to a period of 75 seconds, immediately after the autonomous period.
Starting in the 2016-2017 game Starstruck, rather than having the usual 2-team vs 2-team format, VEX U matches would be 1-team vs 1-team.[6]
VEX Robotics World Championship[edit]
The 11th annual VEX Robotics World Championship was held from April 25-May 1, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. Throughout the year, 20,000 VEX teams from around the world competed locally for a spot in VEX Worlds.[7] The 2018 VEX Robotics World Championship brought over 30,000 people, including 1,648 teams from 30 nations. Based on these statistics, VEX Worlds 2018 is now the Guinness World Records largest robotics competition.[8]
Girl Powered[edit]
In 2016, the REC Foundation and VEX Robotics, Inc. joined forces to launch the Girl Powered initiative. The purpose of Girl Powered is to engage more young women in science, technology, engineering, and mat (STEM) through competitive robots.[9]
Grants[edit]
The REC Foundation sponsors robotics programs through the REC Foundation Team Grant Program, which seeks to match schools and organizations interested in adapting VEX Robotics programs (VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U) with the necessary resources to get their program started. Grants are for schools and organizations who are not currently participating in one of their programs.[10]
References[edit]
- ↑ "At VEX Worlds 2016, students use robotics to tackle future problems of business and society". TechRepublic. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ↑ Tyler, Zach. "'Girl Powered' event shows how robotics is for all students". The Anniston Star. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ↑ "VEX IQ". VEX Robotics. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
- ↑ "VEX EDR". VEX Robotics. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ↑ "VEX U Current Game". Robotics Education & Competition Foundation. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ↑ "VEX Robotics Competition In The Zone - Appendix E" (PDF). VEX Robotics. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ↑ Brown, Nick. "Future STEM Leaders Take Center Stage at 11th Annual VEX Robotics World Championship". Retrieved May 29, 2018.[dead link]
- ↑ "VEX Robotics World Championship". Robotics Education & Competition Foundation. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ↑ "Robotics Education & Competition Foundation Partners With VEX Robotics To Launch Girl Powered Initiative Around The World" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ↑ "REC Foundation Team Grant Program". School IT Grants.info. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
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