I am creating a presentation and display here in Saskatchewan, Canada about VEX 123, VEX Go and VEX IQ, What do you think are the benefits and strengths of VEX vs. other programs such as First Robotics, for example?
Hopefully this will increase interest in the Province and other schools.
Thanks in advance
For our organization (a self-funded community team) we went from FRC to VEX primarily for economic reasons (“more bang for the buck”). For the cost of a single FRC robot for the entire organization, we can field 6 VRC teams and add dozen IQ teams on top of that. Additionally, VEX has better year-over-year continuation, for example, IQ programming skills can transfer directly to VRC programming.
My favourite part is the continuation of the program through grade level as well. Thanks for the “bang for your buck” comment. That mad a lot of sense for me.
I’ll try to do an Apples to Apples comparison. Note I’ve been with the VEX program since the first incantation as FVC.
VIQ - robots are easy to assemble, can be programmed, driver mode is super popular with the roboteers. Matches are cooperation between two robots playing a game. Same game can also be played autonomously (skills)
FLL - robots are easy to assemble, can be programmed, no driver mode. Matches are timed tasks.
The physical costs are about the same with VEX being cheaper for initial setup (brains . motors, etc. ). FLL is much cheaper for ongoing parts and has a wider variety of parts than VIQ. Initial registration fees are $200 for VIQ, $250 for FLL. Field elements are about the same at $125 for VIQ and FLL at $95. About 90% of an VIQ and FLL elements is reusable parts,
Event costs are about the same between $25 and $75 an event.
Both RECF and FIRST have grant programs to start new teams.
FIRST in the US is a mess trying to find out where FLL teams and matches are. I have people come to me for help finding FLL since I know the groups, but as a beginner parent trying to find a program it’s very hard. FIRST really wants a sponsoring FRC team to help the FLL roboteers. RECF offers much better support.
Online support is very limited for FLL. The VEXForum has VIQ activity, but it’s pretty light.
VRC - Metal Robots, very good control system (C++, Blocks, Python) , limited parts compared to FTC. Matches are alliances playing a game. Field size is 12’x12’
FTC - Metal robots, it’s a good control system using Java on phones (Android Studio) and a blocks language. Pretty much unlimited parts. Matches are alliances playing games. Field size is 12’x12’ Some FTC teams use the metal frames from VEX to play with. The newer field frames are better than the plastic frames from VEX, and are $250 less.
Initial registration fees are $200 for VRC, $295 for FLL. Event costs are about the same. Game elements are $620 for VRC and $460 for FTC. Game elements are not reusable as parts. (Except for the 4 flat VRC plates from year to year)
Initial team setups are about the same, in the $4K range for starter robots, fields and tiles. Second year costs are about the same at about $750 for parts.
Both RECF and FIRST have grant programs to start new teams.
Online support for VRC is VEXForum, there is a FTC forum that is also very active.
FIRST and RECF support for their respective programs is very good. A large number of FTC teams are supported by FRC teams as a feeder program.
FRC does not have an equivalent in VEX. The costs are much higher ($6K registration fee and first event, $3K per event after that, Worlds is $6K. Parts are expensive but there is a huge array of what you can use. A robot will cost you ~$15 to $20K.
FRC is not for the faint of heart or those without massive build and programming skills. Adults play a much larger role as mentors, there is a lot of teaching going on. The learning wall is steep for rookie teams, but there is a huge rookie support network in place. (Fun fact, my sister’s team has been leaders in making rookie support as good as it is today)
Chief Delphi forum is the big support area. You can look at it and see the overall complexity increase (pathing, Apriltags, vision, etc.)
I agree with the “bigger bang for the buck” comment. But I want to be clear, FRC is a much different bang. There is a much higher level of engineering in FRC and the control systems rival what a small mfg plant would be using on production lines.
They are all great programs. In Delmarva between all 5 programs we reach only about 5% of the eligible roboteers. So there is lots of empty space that can be filled.
You might want to ask this question on the Chief Delphi forum. It’s the home for FRC teams. It’s a huge circus right now it’s their event season, but you will get an answer.
Good luck!