Resources
All of the resources on this page have been checked and verified by former VEX EDR robotics students and aim to bring together some of the best resources for those starting in VEX EDR.
USEFUL Websites.
VEX Robotics
The official VEX robotics website is the best place to go if you ever need to look for parts to buy or look up anything about the current game.
Robot Events
Robot Events is the website where competitions, skills scores, matches results and teams are posted. Go here if you ever need to look up any of the events you’re attending.
Vex Forum
The official VEX Forum is a great place to look for anything related to VEX, be it building questions, coding syntax or just general inspiration. VEX will make game modifications and provide technical support through the forum.
VEX DB
VEX DB consolidates the match data from Robot Events and makes it easy to look at teams and all of their previous matches and scores.
Current Game
A quick link to the current VEX EDR game. You can find all the rules and specifications for the game right here.
Building.
Before your start building, browse the parts guide to get used to the nomenclature of VEX pieces.
Getting started with building can be hard. We recommend you check out the VEX Forums if you need inspiration because many other teams will post about what they’re doing.
If you are running into a problem, out of ideas, or looking for a starting point this is a great place to look. Don't be afraid to make an account and post your own questions as well, or ask a more experienced Blaze team for advice.
Teams can also find a lot of videos on YouTube with tutorials on how to build, as well as reveals of other bots teams have made for the current season (and past seasons).
Coding.
The VEX V5 Brain is coded in VEXCode, which is a C based language. There are many different IDEs (integrated development environment - a long name for coding studio) for VEX V5. While we recommend VEXCODE as it is officially supported by VEX, it is worth checking out the other options if you’re an advanced user.
VEXCODE
VEXCode is the recommended IDE, with official support from VEX. It supports wireless programming and has block based as well as text coding options. This program is the best starting place for new users.
PROS v5
PROS is based on the Atom Editor, which means it is more modular and can support plugins and external libraries. It comes with many built in features, including a chassis controller that has a built in PID Loop. However, PROS is not an official Vex product and in our usage seems to be less stable than VEXCode.
Robot Mesh Studio
Robotmesh Studio is a web-based IDE which makes it great if all you have access to is a web browser. You can use many different languages which can make it easier for someone who has never worked in C before.
Awards.
Qualifying awards in Washington State generally fall into four categories - skills champion, tournament champion, the excellence award and the design award. Skills champion is won by placing highest in skills and tournament champion is won by winning the tournament. The design award is given to the team who’s engineering notebook best follows the design award rubric. Excellence is given to the best team overall who has to perform well in matches, skills, and have a good engineering notebook.
The engineering notebook
A third essential part to VEX robotics is the engineering notebook, which serves as documentation of how your team followed the engineering design process throughout the construction of your robot. The notebook logs your design choices, build progress, strategy, rationale for choices - everything your team has done throughout the season. While many teams won’t bother with the notebook, in order to have a chance at the design award or excellence award, your team needs to have a notebook that follows the design award rubric.