Hey, i recently discovered the FIRST robotics has their own smaller robot competition, the tech challenge.
When i looked at some videos, the set up seemed very similar to vex.
I was wondering what some other people thought about the two,
since FRC seems to be the bigger more expensive competition and vex/ftc seem like the way to go for my school.
Vex used to be the platform for FTC, until they decided to part ways.
In my view, Vex has infinitely more benefits. It is more affordable, allows for a variety of skill levels, allows for more innovation, and is truly a more practical step into the field of engineering.
Personally I prefer the VEX kit because I feel it is much easier to make modifications. I also feel that because of the hole system VEX has substantially more possibilities. The Tetrix system has some advantages though. For one the motors are much more powerful. The servo options are also a little better than the VEX ones. The Tetrix only covers the metal and motors. For the FTC they add in a lego kit for programming and sensors. This can lead to some integration problems. Although both Tetrix and Lego are made by the same company, Pitsco, they still suffer integration problems. The lego parts don’t seem to be able to hold up to the FTC matches. I’ve seen broken lego pieces and shattered components. Then there is the cost factor. Both kits are expensive. I feel that the VEX kit is a little cheaper than the FTC kit. The FTC kit is only available through FIRST so they can charge more or less what they want. The VEX kit is available to the general public so IFI has to compete on the “market”. Granted there isn’t much if any competition, the VEX system still appears to be a cheaper, cost wise, system. You get more bang for your buck.
As far as games go both IFI and FIRST have experience with these kind of games. They have both designed games that are challenging and exciting.
There has been gobs of discussion about the Lego/Tetrix platform. Here are some links to chiefdelphi.com. You will find both pro and con comments in these discussions: