WEST TN STEM HUB SUMMER RECAP: VEX ROBOTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The biggest event in robotics to date is VEX Robotics. Not only have they created a uniform system for international competition, but they have greatly impacted communities in rural areas on the national side of the competition. I might not have been a VEX Robotics team member in high school or middle school, but I do remember the feeling of being on a team working on engineering concepts and the community it brings. That is why the event I enjoyed most this summer was volunteering to judge the Vex Robotics online competition.

I was tasked with interviewing students about their engineering notebooks along with several other judges. Not only were the students from many different places, but the judges I worked with were from several different places as well. It was amazing to see the way that technology allowed for so many people to compete and it not be stressful on the teams to travel. They were able to show their design in full and no one was given an unfair advantage of not having jetlag or issues getting used to the time zone change. We did, unfortunately, have some connection issues, but they were resolved, and all teams were given the same amount of time to complete the interview. We were also tasked with judging the student’s enthusiasm for robotics. They were encouraged to show pride for their schools, and they did show their pride for their teams. The most memorable team would be a team I judged from Australia who had several blow-up kangaroos and a palm tree. Another team that was of interest was a 5th-grade group. It was by far the most advanced robot that I have seen from a school-age group. I had high expectations with it being nationals, but this robot exceeded my expectations. They had three flexible arms that had rotating chain belts with hooks. This allowed their robot to have almost a conveyor belt-like system to grab the stackable pieces from any angle.