About VEX Robotics
Versatile, affordable and accessible, the VEX Educational Robotics Design System is an ideal platform for student robotic competitions. Beginning builders can design, assemble and quickly iterate their robots through trial and error. Advanced builders can utilize sphisticated programming capabilities to power highly intelligent bots.
VEX is a unique and challenging team-based game that will put high school and middle school students' engineering and technology skills to the test. Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors will aim to build the most innovative robots possible and work together to obtain the most points possible. In addition to just having a great time and building amazing robots, through their participation in the VEX Robotics Competition and their work within their team, students will learn many academic and life skills.
HAWAI`I ROBOTICS TEAMS ADVANCE TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Second Annual Pan-Pacific VEX Robotics Championship showcases students' STEM skills, problem solving and critical thinking
HONOLULU – Nearly 1,000 middle and high school robotics students from Hawai`i, California, Nevada and China put their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to the test for the past three days in a friendly, spirited competition that pitted robots against robots, and showcased students' ingenuity, teamwork and ability to think analytically under pressure.
Throughout the second annual VEX Robotics Pan-Pacific Championship, which started Thursday and wrapped up today at the Hawai`i Convention Center, 132 qualifying matches took place between 86 student teams from 48 Hawai`i, mainland and Chinese schools. Teams squared off in the game of "Clean Sweep." The object of the "Clean Sweep" challenge is for two-team alliances to maneuver their robots to place as many small, medium and large balls as possible onto their opponent's side of the field and by "locking up" small balls in triangular goals.
Twenty-four teams, including 18 from Hawai`i, competed in the final championship rounds. The eight three-team alliances that competed in the finals were:
- Highlands Intermediate, McKinley High (Team E), Moanalua High (Team C)
- Bellarmine College Preparatory (Teams A, B and C) – San Jose, CA
- Kalaheo High, McKinley High (Team F), Moanalua High (Team A)
- Honoka`a High, McKinley High, Waiakea High
- Campbell High, Hawai'i Baptist Academy, Campbell High (Team B)
- Nanning Minzhu Primary School (Teams A) – Guangxi, China; Changping Middle School, Guangdong Province, China; High School Attached to Northeast Normal University – Jilin Province, China
- Kalani High, McKinley High (Team D), Farrington High
- Waialua High & Intermediate (Team A), Mililani High (Teams A and B)
The alliance of Honoka`a High, McKinley High and Waiakea High earned second place in the Championship. In the end, the three-team alliance from Bellarmine College Preparatory took the top honors, finishing as the Pan-Pacific Champions.
Four Hawai'i schools who competed at the Pan Pacific Championship qualified to advance to the VEX Robotics World Championship that will take place at the Dallas Convention Center and Arena April 22 – 24, 2010, including: Honokaa High School, Waiakea High School, McKinley High School, Pearl Highlands Intermediate. At the World Championship, these winning teams will have the opportunity to challenge their top-ranked peers from other countries around the world, including teams from the Asian Robotics League, South America and Europe.
Other award-winning teams include:
- McKinley High (Team E) – Robot Skills Champion and Programming Skills Champion
- Bellarmine College Preparatory (Team A) – Robot Skills, second place
- Lahainaluna High (Team M) – Programming Skills, second place
- Nanning Minzhu Primary (Teams A and B) – Judges Award for potential
- Hawai'i Baptist Academy – Think Award
- Iolani School – Energy Award
- Lahainaluna High – Judge's Award
- Honokaa High – Judges Award
- Kalaheo High – Build Award
- Kaua`iBots – Create Award
- Kaiser High and Niu Valley Middle – Sportsmanship Award
- Bellarmine College Preparatory – Amaze Award
- Pearl Highlands Intermediate – Excellence Award (Middle School)
- McKinley High – Excellence Award (High School)
Robotics education is a key component of the Lingle-Aiona Administration's Hawai`i Innovation Initiative, which seeks to transform Hawai`i's economy from one based on land development to one based on the innovative capacity of Hawai`i's residents, especially our youth. Robotics provides students with a strong educational foundation in science, technology, engineering and math, and offers them opportunities to solve problems, work as teams and think analytically – skills useful in any career.
VEX Robotics is one of six major programs in which Hawai`i students can participate. The six programs include VEX, FIRST Robotics, FIRST LEGO League, Botball, Underwater Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV), and Micro Robotics.
Recognizing the importance of promoting robotics at an early age and sustaining students' interest in STEM education throughout their schooling, the six robotics programs which previously operated autonomously earlier this year joined together to form the Hawai`i Robotics Organizing Committee (ROC) (www.robotics.hawaii.gov). This is the first time all six of the robotics programs have coordinated their efforts to promote robotics education in elementary, middle and high schools statewide.