VEX V5 Teacher Training

[Rick_TYler]

Robot Mesh conducted V5 programming training for nearly 40 teachers in the last month, using Python, C++ and Blockly in Robot Mesh Studio.

Since the official V5 clawbots are not yet available, we built (or had the participants build) seven clawbots with V5 Brains, motors and Vision Sensors, combined with custom-cut EDR components to simulate the new V5 structural components.

My impressions:

• These are not your old Cortex clawbots: Playing robot Freeze Tag 1 Playing robot Freeze Tag 2 Playing robot Freeze Tag 3

• Most of the participants used Blockly for programming their vision sensors. Here is a demo video. We will be publishing more information soon on the viability of Blockly as an alternative to Python or C++. Don’t write off visual programming for VRC.

• The V5 motors are great. You’ll love them.

The hardware is all pre-production beta gear, by the way. The programming environment was Robot Mesh Studio production release for V5. You can try it today.

[John_TYler]

In case anyone ever felt embarrassed about a fastener falling off their robot, I’d check out 0:30 in the first video.

[Rick_TYler]

We have had a couple of requests for the rules of Robot Freeze Tag, so here they are.

Drivers will operate robots using the Controller.

Robots all have two bumper switches on the rear of the robot.

Robots play in a restricted area, determined by the Referee. Starting positions of the robots will also be set by the referee.

While a robot is unfrozen, it must turn the V5 Brain screen green. Optionally, it could also read something like “Unfrozen” or “Active.”

When a robot is tagged (one of its bumper switches is pressed by another robot), it will stop moving for 5 seconds, and display the word “Frozen.” The display could also flash red, if the programmer likes.
When a robot is frozen, no other robot can be within 30 cm (about a foot) of the frozen robot. The tagging robot must back off at least 30 cm from the frozen robot. This is to prevent a robot from sitting behind a frozen robot and tagging it immediately after it turns back on.

After being frozen three times, the robot is permanently frozen, and is out of the game. A permanently frozen robot should flash its screen red and green alternately. No other robot may interact with a permanently frozen robot.

A frozen robot may NOT respond to commands from the controller. The referee will be checking this, so make sure your program insures that your robot cannot respond to controller commands while either frozen or permanently frozen.

Any robot may tag any other unfrozen robot.

Last robot moving wins.

@tabor473