About VEX Robotics

VEX Educational Robotics is a robotic building system which allows you to design, build, control, then disassemble and rebuild remote-controlled, autonomous or semi-autonomous robots. There is also a VEX Pro series which allow you to make even larger and more powerful robots. VEX consists of several key building blocks:

Motion

VEX motion is composed of motors, gears, wheels, bearings and other related components. VEX motion components make your robot move. To give you an idea of the range of motion products, not only does VEX have normal rubber wheels, they also have omniwheels in different sizes, wheel legs, off-road wheels and more.

Power

VEX power gives your robot the energy it needs to run all the motors and electronics. VEX uses two different batteries; one for the microcontroller (including all the motors and sensors) and another for the hand-held transmitter. VEX uses rechargeable battery packs, but also gives you the option of using AA batteries.

Structure

VEX structure is made of metal parts and is used to make the frame of your robot. VEX standard spacing and hardware makes it easy to make larger sized robots.

Sensors

VEX is introducing more and more sensors. The current selection of VEX sensors already includes touch, infrared, ultrasonic, potentiometers, switches, encoders and more.

Control

The VEX remote control system currently uses a standard RF 6 channel remote and receiver, and a newer WiFi based gaming joystick (for use with the Cortex microcontroller) . There is an RF crystal in both the RF transmitter and receiver that can be changed to increase the number of robots operating in the same area. Currently up to 9 robots can be used simultaneously using the RF system, and an almost infinite number using the WiFi system. If you use the Cortex microcontroller with a WiFi dongle, you can also control your robot from the computer.

Equipment

VEX has you covered with protective eye-wear, standard wrench sizes and more.

Software

VEX has you covered with three different programming packages. Note that VEX has two main microcontrollers; PIC based (first generation) and CORTEX (second generation). Be sure to choose the right version of the software for your microcontroller.

easyC

easyC makes advanced robotic programming easier than ever. In addition to all of the features offered by easyC offers greater control and flexibility with user defined functions. You can now create custom functions with the ease of a mouse-drag, and you can share your user-defined functions between projects and users with the same ease. Download (activation license required)

ROBOTC

ROBOTC is a complete solution for programming with VEX. It includes an operating system for the VEX Controller and a Windows-based environment for developing and debugging programs. ROBOTC rocks the world of robotics competitions with a bold new feature set designed to take your team to the finals and beyond. Designed from the ground up to program robots, ROBOTC provides a formidable advantage for VEX enthusiasts. It includes a high level of support for teachers, and is ideal for students new to programming. Try RobotC free for 30 days.

MPLAB

Program like the pro’s do using the MPLAB IDE with the MPLAB C18 compiler. The MPLAB IDE is a text-based Integrated Development Environment for writing ‘C’ programs using the ANSI ‘C’ programming language. The IDE allows you o directly write ‘C’ programs to control your VEX robot, without any sort of overlay. At the heart of the MPLAB IDE, is the MPLAB Mcc18 ‘C’ compiler. The Compiler translates the written ‘C’ code into the machine language code which is used by the VEX Micro Processor. Try the DEMO and download the USER GUIDE.

Autodesk 3D Curriculum

The Autodesk VEX Robotics Curriculum is designed to help students master the fundamentals of robotics and the engineering design process while learning to use industry-leading Autodesk Inventor design software and the leading classroom robotics solution, the VEX Classroom Lab Kit. The Autodesk VEX Robotics Curriculum is included for FREE in the VEX Classroom Lab Kit, which is designed to bring VEX Robotics into the classroom while making your budget go farther.

Project Ideas

VEX Robotics is a modular design system that allows you to creat almost any kind of stationary or mobile robot. VEX provides detailed instructions as to how to build a couple of different robots and takes you through the procedure step by step. However, few students have felt the need to build a third robot and immediately go about inventing and building their own designs.

Your students will quickly learn how to use the modular parts and can set about building their first autonomous robots:

Tumbler Robot

What the robot can do: The tumbler is a robust differentially driven robot that operates right-side-up and up-side-down. The large off-road wheels help the robot climb steep angles, and then flip over if the angle is too high. Instructions The Tumbler assembly instructions are simple and clearly explained with images. The robot need not be programmed and connects directly to the VEX microcontroller and uses the pre-installed code.

Protobot Robot

What this robot can do: The Protobot is design to pick up tennis balls and place them into bins. The Protobot uses a pivoting arm and a spinning gripper to pick up the balls, and travels on four differentially driven wheels. The robot uses the VEX microcontroller and is remote-controlled. Instructions The Protobot assembly instructions are simple and clearly explained with images. The robot need not be programmed and connects directly to the VEX microcontroller and uses the pre-installed code

Tomahawk Robot

What this robot can do: The VEX Tomahawk was inspired by the Dodge Tomahawk which is a Concept Vehicle powered by a Dodge Viper V-10 Engine. The VEX Tomahawk demonstrates how a very complex robot can be created with the VEX Robotics Kit. The unique feature of the Tomahawk is the way it is able to steer. This is achieved by simultaneously varying the camber of all four wheels. Two Servos independently control each side of the Tomahawk. This allows the Tomahawk to achieve a 30 degree lean angle. Additionally power is reduced to the inside rear wheel during a turn improve steering performance. There are no instructions as to how to build or program this robot.

Curriculum

Autodesk VEX Robotics Curriculum

The Autodesk VEX Robotics Curriculum combines industry-leading Autodesk® Inventor® design tools with the premier educational robotics platform for middle and high schools, the VEX Robotics Design System. You can even download all the VEX parts for FREE.

Course Materials

Course proposals & outlines, STEM Activities & Assessments, Robotics & Related Standards, Rubrics, and more, all for free! There are 8 sections and the list is always growing.

Games & Challenges

Generate excitement for learning though robotics competitions in the classroom. There are four challenges including: Wiffle War, Robot maze Challenge, IED Clean-Up and the Ordnance Disposal Design Challenge.

VEX Machinations

VEX Machinations is a step by step guide to building VEX robots beyond the Square Bot. (by Justin Petersen and Yolande Petersen)

Competitions

There are now many VEX competitions taking place worldwide, from North America to Tokyo. A VisualEdge Game-in-a-Box provides a unique opportunity to introduce robotics into the classroom. Each game is designed to stimulate student learning and engages participants to solve a variety of math, science and engineering problems.

Games are designed for various levels of experience and can be adapted for use with any educational robotics system that you may be currently using. Everything you need to play the game is in the box. Components typically include scoring goals, scoring components, fasteners, rules, field construction plans, and scoring software. All you have to do is add your own robots.

Involution Challenge

Involution Challenge is a battle-tested intermediate-level robotics game that offers fast-paced action and is a true test of efficient robot design, control and skill. A combination of a unique scoring goal and a limited number of scoring components adds the element of strategy and quick thinking into the problem-solving equation. Rookie and veteran robot builders can be competitive at the same time and will both find this game a serious test of their abilities. Along with the game components, Involution comes with a CD full of everything you will need to run a full-scale, robotics competition of you very own.

Cone Zone

Cone Zone is a entry-level robotics game that is action-packed and full of excitement. The unique scoring device, the Conic, provides a challenge that, on the surface, appears simple, but presents many design obstacles in order to score quickly and effectively. The scoring components, a regulation set of pool balls, provide many different scoring possibilities and thought-provoking design problems due to their size, weight, texture and inertial qualities.

Elevation Challenge

Local VEX Robotics competitions are being held in many different cities, states and countries. Teams can register for the VEX Robotics Competition to get their official VEX Team Identification Number and Team Welcome Kit. Once teams have registered, they can come back here and sign up for events they would like to participate in (listed below). More events are being added every week. Check back to see if new events have been announced in your area. Top teams from around the world participating in local, regional and national VEX Robotics Competitions listed here will qualify for the VEX Robotics Championship of the Americas.

What to Buy

RobotShop has a category specifically for VEX Robotics kits and products. The VEX Classroom kit is ideally suited to teams of 2-3 students.

 

Ok folks, I know it’s taken a while, but the results are finally in and we now have winners for the GoRobotics 10th anniversary giveaway! I’m super excited about this and very grateful to our prizes sponsors:
Pololu
Solarbotics ,
Vex Robotics,
Apress, and No Starch Press.

Before listing the winners let me say a few words on the judging. Each project had at least two judges (and some had three) who evaluated the robots based on three criteria: Originality/Creativity (25%), Workmanship (25%), and Builder Experience (50%). Finally, each robot got up to a +/- 50% adjustment based on the judges discretion. Basically we tried to judge based on cool robots and account for how much experience the builder had. In the end, I think it worked out pretty well. I’d also like to give a big thanks to all the entrants! It was a lot of fun judging all the neat creations. You folks do some nice work!

To accommodate some winners I changed around the prizes a bit from the original post. So, without more delay, the winners:

3rd Place - HaloBOT by mcb1 – chosen at random

Mark says, “I built HaloBOT for my daughter. It was her design, which was based on an earlier version that used overseas sourced parts. It is based on Picaxe18 and can be programmed in either basic or flowchart, which suits her programming level.”

HaloBOT wins:

Pololu Jrk 21v3 USB Motor Controller (donated by Pololu), Build Your Own CNC Machine (donated by Apress), LEGO Mindstorms NXT One-Kit Wonders (donatedby No Starch Press). ($105 total!)

2nd Place – Mosquito Rover by MarkusB

Markus says, “[The Mosquito Rover] Navigates around via IR, produces oxyhydrogen, shoots off rubber plugs. The idea behind the mosqito rover was to combine robotics and chemistry — in this case electrochemistry — and that the robot makes it’s own explosives by solar power and propels a second small flying object with it.”

He also says, “I will donate the Arduino Kit to a Chinese student who can not afford to buy it under the condition to build a robot and post this robot on LMR.” Awesome!

The Mosquito Rover wins:

Oomlout Arduino Experimenters Kit (donated by Solarbotics), Practical Arduino and LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0: The Kings Treasure (donated byApress), and The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor’s Guide (donated by No Starch Press) ($165 total!)

1 st Place Prize – LadyBugBot by isotope

Vadim ‘isotope’ says, “Regarding how the idea of building LadyBugBot came to me… It did as all brilliant ideas come, when I was opening my fridge to get another beer, I saw a tiny ladybug magnet… At that very moment, my Muse dropped a construction brick on my head, and I told myself I’m going to build a robotic fridge magnet! And I did it! )))”

Vadim has been interested in electronics since an early age, but didn’t start building robots till well after college when he stumbled across the website letsmakerobots.com. Now it’s his hobby of choice.

LadyBugBog wins:

Penguin Robot Extreme NXT(donated by Apress), Wall Hugging Mouse Kit (donated by Zagros Robotics), LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots (donated by No Starch Press) ($268 total!)

Grand Prize Winner – Walkin’ Sticks by ButchAlline

ButchAlline says, “This is a very simple crawler robot using three servos and a Basic Stamp 2. It can do most of the moves of the 16 servo hexapods at one tenth the price. Next step is to add radio control and maybe a camera.”

Butch is a 71 year old, retired mechanical engineer. He says, “I have always had an interest in electronics, got a ham license 40 years ago, and have flown RC planes for the last 25 years.” He got into robotics after buying a Basic Stamp II and workbook. He built “Walkin’ Sticks” after being shocked at the price of commercial hexapod robots.

Walkin’ Sticks wins:

Vex Dual Controller Starter Bundle with RobotC (donated by Vex Robotics) ($500 USD!)

Congratulations to you all! Below is the list of the top 15 by score. The results were very close! You’ll notice that our grand prize winner, Walkin’ Sticks, was actually 3rd place by score, but due to import/export restrictions, the Grand Prize can only go to a US resident.

Top Winners:

Place	Robot	Creator
1	LadyBugBot	Isotope
2	Mosquito Rover	MarkusB
3	Walkin’ Sticks	Butch Alline
4	CleanBOaT	Ricardo Dias
5	Blind Lemon	ignoblegnome
6	Sub-Zero Hyperdrive	Jacky Snipes
7	A-Pod	Zenta
8	VEXetable Chopper	Ben Graham
9	Portal Turret	Victor
10	MiniEric	Ro-Bot-X
11	XD	Xevel
12	TOBI – The Tool Bot	TheGrue
13	VEXplorer Robot	Alex Cormier
14	Oriental Dragon	Gareth
15	GBC-NXT Train	Jetro

Update: The contest is now closed. I’ll be gathering the entires and sending them to our judges over the next week or two. Stay tuned for a post announcing the winners. If you won I will also contact you via email. Thanks and good luck!

The past few months have been a lot of fun, with us giving away nearly $750 dollars of awesome robot prizes. But, we’re not done yet! April is the official 10 year anniversary of GoRobotics.net and we’ve saved the best prizes for last! This month we’ll be giving away over $1,000 dollars of prizes from our sponsors Pololu, Zagros Robotics, Solarbotics , Vex Robotics, Apress, and No Starch Press. Our sponsors have been incredibly generous and we hope to be able to offer more contests in the future.

The final robot giveaway is going to be a little tougher to enter than previous contests. This is only fair because we’ve got some awesome prizes and we have confidence that you, our faithful readers, will rise to the challenge. To enter this month’s contest, post a link in the comments to a project that you’ve built. It can be a link to your own website, a forum, or something similar, but we suggest adding your project to RobotBox and posting a link to that (shameless promotion, natch!). One entry per person, so pick your best project.

Here’s how the prizes will be awarded:

1. First prize goes to our favorite project. Favorite will be voted on by a panel of folks TBA.

2. Second prize goes to the second place favorite.

3. Third prize goes to a randomly selected project – this means there’s no excuse for you not to submit your project no matter how “good” you think it is!

The contest ends April 30th, at 12AM EST. Comments are moderated to prevent spam. Your comment won’t show up till the moderator has approved it.

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The Christmas season is upon us, and it’s time to whip up your gift lists. Why not put a little robot love on there? Here’s some great suggestions for robotic gifts. We’ve featured 10 great products that will make excellent gift ideas for your robot loving friend or relative.

LEGO Mindstorms NXT

I wonder if LEGO fully understood what they were getting into when they first released their “Robotics Invention System”, or “RIS” in 1998? Now, two revisions later we have the LEGO Mindstorms NXT system, which is about as perfect of a product as you can imagine. Involving a tight-knit team of LEGO and robotics enthusiasts, LEGO developed NXT from the ground up and surprised the public with their new system in 2006. The NXT system supports over 40 different programming languages, and supports a wide range of additional sensors created by 3rd parties. The kit comes with 3 motors (with feedback), 4 different sensors, and 571 pieces. You can check out some of the fabulous NXT creations over at The NXT Step Blog.

Mindstorms NXT retails for $250 USD.

Buy LEGO Mindstorms NXT from RobotShop.

Wall-E RC Toy and DVD

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Pixar is known for creating beautiful, heartwarming, and sophisticated animated films that appeal to both children and adults. Their latest masterpiece is the story of Wall-E, a trash robot stranded and alone on Earth.

One of the more interesting product tie-ins is the U Command Wall-E “interactive robot” which uses an IR remote for control and can be programming with hundreds of different actions and combinations. This may be ripe for hardware hacking and is extremely cute, to boot.

Of course, if you’re looking for something a little less costly, the 3 disk Special Edition of Wall-E on DVD would make an excellent gift for your robot loving friends.

Buy U Command Wall-E from Amazon.com.

Buy 3 Disk Special Edition Wall-E from Amazon.com.

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I get a lot of emails and comments posted from folks asking questions about robotics. Unfortunately, most of them are rather specific and I just don’t have the time to answer them all individually.

Thankfully, that’s where a few cool products, books, and websites come into play. Back when I first got started in robotics (back in 1998 or so), there were very few books on the subject and even fewer websites or nifty products.

But, times have changed folks! Robots are now almost as cool as iPods and Emo.

I’ve put together a small list of items that you can use to 1) start your journey into robotics and 2) enhance your knowledge. Feel free to leave comments on other useful items. This is meant to be a starting point. It’s also a good place to find good gift ideas … hint hint hint.

Kits

1. LEGO Mindstorms

The venerable granddaddy of all easy-yet-powerful robotics kits, LEGO Mindstorms now comes in two flavors, the old version RIS 2.0 and the new version Mindstorms NXT. LEGO Mindstorms NXT sports an impressive array of new features, like ultrasonic range finders, powerful graphical programming environment based on LabView, and bluetooth, the old version Robotics Invention System 2.0 is still a good buy. You can pick up a set for under $200 off of eBay or perhaps find it on clearnace at your local toy store. Either way, LEGO makes outstanding building systems, and no roboticists shop is complete without it.

2. VEX Robotics Development System

I don’t personally own a VEX system, so I can’t say based on person experience, but I’ve heard lots of good things about them (if someone at Innovation First is reading this, hook me up). The kits are similar in design to an erector set of bygone years, and are very sturdy and well constructed. Vexlabs.com sells a wide array of add-ons and expansions that make the possibilities vast and varied.

3. Viper Robotics Development System

I recently did a complete review of the Viper robotics development system from Microbric. The kit is unique in that it has various modules that connect up to the central motherboard via little plastic connectors that also form the electrical connections. The kit is attractively priced and is well worth it, for the components you get.

The system is programmed in Visual Basic syntax and is based on the Atom processor from Basic Micro.

Books

Why learn the hard way, when you stand on the shoulders of others? These books will expand your knowledge and give you confidence about moving to the next level. Check your local bookstore, or use the links below to order off of Amazon (and help GoRobotics.net out!).

1. Robot Builder’s Bonanza, Third Edition (Robot Builder’s Bonanza)

An oldie-goldie. Gordon McComb does a bang-up job of introducing robotics to the real world. Check out our review of the 2nd Edition of Robot Builder’s Bonanza here.

2. Build Your Own Robot!

Karl Lunt wrote for Nuts and Volts (more on this later) for years. Afterwards, he assembled all his articles into this fabulous book, filled with nifty ideas on how to build a robot. This is great for your bookshelf. You can read our review of Build Your Own Robot! here.

3. Intermediate Robot Building

This is David Cook’s second book, in which he covers the topics of robotics in a bit more detail than his previous Robot Building for Beginners book.

Magazines

Books are great to have, but it’s always nice to have a steady stream of new information coming your way. This is a great motivator, and there’s no better way that by subscribing to some of these magazines.

1. Robot

ROBOT Magazine is a new magazine that focues on the educational and hobbiest market. The high-quality magazine always has interesting and informative articles for both the advanced user and beginners.  You can read our review of the first issue of ROBOT Magazine here.

2. Servo Magazine

Servo Magazine covers all things related to robotics. Not nearly as pretty or well layed out as ROBOT Magazine, but still informative. If anyone from SERVO is reading this, how about a little love and giving us a subscription!

3. Make: Technology on Your Time

This is one hefty magazine! Published quarterly, you can expect to find over 150 pages in this high quality “mook” (magazine + book). They cover all things related to hacking and making things, including robotics and electronics. Well worth the price.

4. Nuts and Volts

A great hobbiest magazine related to all things electronic.

5. Circuit Cellar

This is a bit above most beginners heads, but a great addition for the more advanced user.

Websites

Obviously, since you’re reading this, you’ve discovered the power of the web. Amplify that power by visiting these websites to learn about robotics.

1. GoRobotics.net

Of course we’d list ourselves first! Features robotics news, projects, and reviews.

2. The NXT Step

This a resource site for all things related to LEGO Mindstorms NXT (the first item on our list).

3. Robots Dreams

This site covers all the great robot news from Japan. Gives a fresh perspective on the other side of the world, and it’s in English!

4. Bot Junkie

More robot news to ease your cravings.

5. MAKE Magazine

Hackery and making from all around the internet. TONS of information.

6. Hack-A-Day

New hack every day. A must visit. Submit your hacks.

7. Engadget

All things gadgets. They also frequently link to us, so give them some love!

Toys

1. Pleo

Pleo is a life-like pet dinosaur. You can find out more about Pleo at PleoBot.com. Designed by the creater of the Furby, Pleo will learn and grow like a real animal. Pleo is a big favorite with adults and children alike.

2. Robosapien V2

WowWee toys makes a whole line of robots that are lots of fun and great for hacking. The RoboSapien is probably the most popular.

Hopefully, these links should get you started on your journey. If you have anything to add, please leave it in the comments below. Happy robot making!

This post is part of the ProBlogger group writing project!