Welcome to the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship.
My name is Grant Cox, I'm the Chairman of the VEX Robotics Game Design Committee,
and I'm here with Tyler McCrary, the VEX World Championship Master of Ceremonies.
Hi everyone!
Grant and I are here in Dallas and can't
wait for you to join us in just a few short days.
We want to make sure that you can come prepared
and get the most out of your VEX Worlds experience.
It's been a while since we've all gathered for VEX Worlds.
It's going to be the first time in Dallas for everyone,
and we know that for many of you watching at home,
it'll actually be your first time ever attending VEX Worlds.
So instead of the typical on-site Driver's Meeting,
we wanted to release this video ahead of time
so that you have some time to absorb the information and prepare for the event.
That's right.
We're going to talk about the event agenda,
the new contactless Team Check-In process, and some of the fun activities
we have planned for Teams while there.
Of course, we'll also be covering inspection, going over some key rules,
and answering some of the rules related questions that you have submitted in advance.
The first thing I want to make sure
everyone knows about is the VEX Worlds App for Android and iOS phones.
The app features a map of the venue, the VEX Worlds Agenda,
Division Assignments, and Match Schedules.
Teams should also install the VEX Via app so they can check Match
results and rankings as they're happening.
So because we have all those apps, and all the information we need from
Teams can be entered online,
that means we don't need to have an in-person Team Check-In.
Instead, for the first time ever, we are going to have an online Team Check-In.
Kind of like you do for checking in a flight?
Exactly.
36 to 48 hours before the event, Team contacts will be emailed a link to check in to VEX Worlds.
That link will take them to a special page on robotevents.com where they will
select the Team they're checking in, and answer a series of questions like:
How many students are you bringing?
How many adults are you bringing?
All the typical questions you'll be asked during an in-person check-In.
Except now it's ahead of time, so you don't have to stand in line, right?
Exactly.
Plus, one of those questions is going
to let you sign up for a pre-selected inspection time,
which means you won't have to wait in a long line for that either.
Teams will have a set of 30 minute windows to select from.
You can sign up for a window that fits your schedule, show up during that window,
and get inspected with as little wait as possible.
So if I wanted to get there right when it opens, I can select
the first window, get inspected first,
and be one of the first on the practice field? Exactly.
That's probably what I would do.
Or if you prefer to get checked into your hotel and come a little later,
be a little more relaxed, you can select a later inspection time.
And if you miss your time, there will be a standby line
that you can wait in once all the scheduled Teams are inspected.
On that note, is there anything new about the inspection process itself?
Yes. Here's how that will work.
So in everyone's pit, there will be a self inspection form that the Team will fill out
first before they come to inspection to cover some of the basic items.
For those of you who attended LRT Worlds last year, it's kind of similar.
When a Team's pre-selected inspection time comes up.
They will bring that form with them to the inspection area, where
the inspector will do the final check over to make sure that everything is legal.
What else should they know for this year?
Like, how are divisions ranked?
Who plays first in the overall finals?
Right to the finals you are.
Well, that was released in the latest version of the game manual.
So each division will have ten standard Playoff Matches, just like a normal event.
Then the champions from each division will make their way
to the VEX Dome to play in the overall World Championship Finals.
These finals will be another set of one Match per-alliance to show us what they've got.
In order to determine the playing order of these alliances,
they will be ranked based on the score that they won their division with.
If there are any ties, then the first tiebreaker
will be the sum of the two Teams Qualification Match scores.
Awesome.
Next up, we're going to get to some of the questions that were
pre-submitted by Teams in advance of this meeting.
Do you have anything else before we dive in?
Yes, let's talk about Drive Team Members.
So first off, the VEX IQ Challenge has always been a teamwork oriented program.
Matches are played by two Teams playing together to score as many points as possible.
And each of those Teams brings two Drivers who switch off the controller halfway through the Match.
When the pandemic hit, we took a lot of steps to try and be as flexible as possible
and provide as many opportunities for Teams to play as we could.
And I remember in 2021, I gave a lot of speeches,
a lot of webinar talks about how 2021 was going to be the year of flexibility.
You know, yes.
Some of the rules might not get followed specifically perfectly to the letter of the law.
Maybe some of the rules will get opened up a little bit
to allow and accommodate for some of these special circumstances.
In 2022, the plan was always to go back
to the original rules and kind of bring things back to normal.
Of course, the Omnicron variant had other plans, and so last Fall
we had to bring back
some of the expanded rules, such as driving with one Driver instead of two.
So let me be perfectly clear.
Yes, we know using a single Driver in a game
that was intended to be a teamwork challenge is a competitive advantage.
We know that.
There are only two circumstances under which a Team is allowed
to only have one Driver in a VEX IQ Challenge Teamwork Match.
The first one is if you normally have two Drivers, but
one Team member can't make it to the event due to illness, schedule conflict, etc.
In this case, the manual has always had an allowance for this.
Rules G6B, and G6C allow Teams
to substitute in a replacement Driver even if they're from another Team.
The second reason, is if you are a Team who is operating under a local health and safety guideline
that states your student cannot be on an extracurricular Team
with another student, or stand next to another student in a Driver Station.
Point one is the same as it always has been.
And honestly, at Worlds, this is sometimes a fun way for Teams
who are finding themselves in a tight spot to get to know each other better.
As for point two, the last Game Manual Update included a revised blue
box in G8, that spelled out examples of some of the behaviors
that were outside of the intent of this medical circumstances single Driver allowance.
For example, If you're able to have four students
all sitting in your pit together eating pizza out of the same pizza box,
it's probably a bit of a stretch to claim that you
then can't have two students standing next to each other in the Driver's Station.
That should make common sense.
Now, I know that the enforcement and kind of the interpretations of G8
have evolved over the course of this 21-22 season.
So to put us all on the same page, here's how it will be handled at VEX Worlds.
First, as I said earlier, the baseline is that everyone is required to have two Drivers.
G6 and G8 are still as fundamental to the VEX IQ program as they always have been.
Everything else that I'm about to talk about are exceptions, not the norm.
If you're in a situation where one of the students
missed their flight, or your primary Driver had a band practice
and they couldn't make it and you don't want to use
your backup Driver because they're not as good,
or you didn't have budget for the whole Team
to attend, or any of those types of things.
That's not a G8B situation.
That's not a medical circumstance.
That is a G6 situation, just as you would have been in a pre-pandemic VEX Worlds.
As such, you will be asked to either find a replacement
Driver or set the controller down after 35 seconds.
Now, if you are a Team who finds yourself in a situation
where your school still has pandemic restrictions in place,
and is only permitted one student on the Team, we are going to allow that.
But we are going to require some verification of the circumstances,
restrictions, or guidelines that have landed you in this situation.
If I may editorialize a bit, it is a little odd
that you would be allowed to come to an event with 15,000
other people there, but we get that some areas still have these restrictions
and we want to make sure that you are accommodated accordingly.
So there will be a single Driver Verification Form available
on the VEX Worlds website, and you will also have an opportunity
to discuss your circumstances with event staff during inspection on-site.
The intent for this verification process
is to try and improve Team experiences on both sides of the equation.
On the one hand, if you are a Team who finds yourself in one of these situations,
you will have the opportunity to explain your case and still compete.
On the other hand,
if you're a Team who is concerned about other Teams in their division
potentially bending the rules for competitive advantage,
we hope that this process will create an atmosphere of trust.
As you can be assured that any Team who is seen competing
with a single Driver at VEX Worlds has filled out the proper documentation
and been pre-approved by REC Foundation staff.
Well that knocked out about half the questions.
Are you ready for some tough ones?
As ready as I'll ever be.
Will Non-Drivers be able to stand next to the field when a Team is competing?
This is covered by rule G8C.
Drivers are the only Team members that are allowed to be in the Driver's Station.
No adults are permitted in the Driver Station.
At VEX Worlds, this expands to the whole playing field area.
Adults will have to sit in the bleachers with everybody else.
Under what conditions can Drivers switch out?
We have three kids on one Team and we'd like to give them all a chance to drive at Worlds.
So this is a little different than what we talked about earlier,
but this is also covered by Rule G6.
So in rule G6, students may still have more than one role on the Team.
So your designer can also be the programmer or another Driver.
So basically, there are no rules preventing having multiple Drivers
on your Team, and from Match to Match, you can swap them out as you please.
Of course, you still need to only have two Drivers in the Match
and they need to swap the controller at 30 seconds.
But your Driver for one Match doesn't necessarily need to be the same Driver as the next Match.
If a Ball is on the outer line of the Starting Corral, does that count as Cleared?
So this is covered by the game manual, as a lot of these questions are going to be.
As far as the definitions of Cleared and Starting Corral,
the Starting Corral is defined as the area of the floor
on either side of the field, each of which are bound by the field perimeter
and the outside of the solid black line closest to the 6' edge of the Field.
So it's the outside of the solid black line.
If a Ball is contacting that black line inside the Starting Corral,
then it has not been Cleared.
The placement of the Ball directly under
the bar can dramatically affect whether or not Robots can get it.
How will we ensure that all fields are set up equal
and that the Ball is not placed in an advantageous position?
So this is covered by Rule G16, which does state that
Field tolerances can vary by as much as plus or minus an inch.
So Teams must be expected to design robots accordingly.
That being said, if you ever have any concerns
about the placement of game objects prior to the Match,
the most important thing to do is check with the Head Referee.
Never adjust objects yourself.
Also, there was a specific Q&A asked about Balls
directly under the PVC pipe versus like an inch off to the side.
It had to do with a rendering perspective, depending on which picture you looked at.
At VEX Worlds, it will be all consistent with what is listed in Appendix A.
Is the Optical Sensor from VEX IQ Gen 2 allowed?
Good question.
The best resource for parts legality
questions is the VEX IQ Challenge Legal Parts Appendix.
When this question was asked, that wasn't listed in there because sometimes
it takes a little while to update, but by VEX Worlds it will be all updated.
Yes, all VEX IQ Gen 2 electronics, accessories are all permitted for sure.
We would like to confirm that Balls will be counted in the Low Goal if breaking
the vertical plane of the outer edge,
even if touching the floor outside of the Low Goal.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
So this is answered by the definition of Scored.
There was also a Q&A about this,
Q&A Number 1078.
The definition of Scored states that "The Ball must be partially or fully
within the three-dimensional area defined by the infinite vertical projection of the Low Goal."
Which basically means, yes, breaking the plane of the Low
Goal will count as Scored, even if it's contacting the floor outside.
There are no rules that say anything about the floor outside.
Is WD-40 or any form of lubricant allowed?
So this is covered by rule R8.
No aerosols, liquids, anything like that.
Also, WD-40 is actually not a great lubricant for robots.
You probably shouldn't use it on VEX IQ Robots, it could go poorly for you.
The website says you recommend the Robot to be shipped by April 25th.
We might not want to ship it there, as we might still want to work on it.
Is it fine if we bring it there on the actual day?
Absolutely.
The shipping option is only there for Teams who might not want
to bring their Robot on a plane with them or in checked luggage or what have you.
So it gives them an opportunity
to ship it in advance and ensure that it will be in their pit ready to go.
If you are driving or if you're comfortable bringing your Robot with you, absolutely.
Just don't forget it at home.
These next few questions are about the end of the Match.
You ready to answer some of those? Let's do it. All right.
When Hanging, can you put the controller down
as the hang happens or only once the hang has been completed?
So this and the next few questions are all going to be referencing
G12, which is the "when it's over, it's over" rule.
Or the "it ain't over till it's over" rule.
But basically the Match is ended
and the scores are counted once all Robots and game objects come to rest.
A lot of Teams and Drivers put their controllers down as a very clear
visual indication that they are no longer operating the Robot or it's no longer moving.
It's not actually required for you to put your controllers down,
we like it because it's very clear.
But no, if you want to set it down as soon as your Robot starts
its Hanging sequence, that's fine.
If you want to hold on to it
until it's done Hanging and then set it down, that's fine.
If you have it Hanging on a lanyard around your neck
and you just want to let go of it, that's also fine.
There's a lot of different ways.
But the most important thing that I want to get at with this question is,
you have to cease all inputs at time equals zero when the Match is over.
Whether that's when your Hang is completed or not.
You know, that depends on the robot in the Match.
How do we define "Time's Up"?
If the High-Hang structure is still elevating
the Robot during the final buzz, does it count as Low-Hang or High-Hang?
All right. So again, T equals zero is when the Match is over.
That time equals zero moment is when the buzzer plays at the end of the Match.
It's at the start of the buzzer, not the end of the buzzer.
And the definition of High-Hang talks about what happens if it's, "too close to call."
Basically, the Head Ref is going to have to make a judgment
of where your Robot was at that moment when the buzzer started.
If it is barely too close to call, we generally recommend that the Head Referees
give the benefit of the doubt to the Teams and count it as a High-Hang.
But of course, the benefit of the doubt only goes so far.
And if your Robot is like all the way down here,
it probably isn't going to count as a High-Hang.
If Balls are shot during the final buzz, do they count?
All right. So as I mentioned earlier, the specific wording in G12 is,
scores are counted once all objects and Robots come to rest.
So if the object has left your Robot when the buzzer sounds, it's in the air,
we will give it until the time when it comes to rest, and then count it in that position.
It's kind of like NBA rules, buzzer beater shot counts
as long as you get it off before the buzzer sounds.
It leaves room for the big cheer whenever it makes it in the goal.
Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
Well, that's about all the questions we have time for today.
I'm sure there will be more at the event.
Make sure to check in with your Head Referee in your division if you have specific questions.
That's right!
Teams should definitely check out all the ceremonies that are happening in the dome.
The opening ceremonies will have amazing lights and music and have lots of awards that'll be given out.
And the closing ceremonies are where we'll play the overall finals,
give away the top awards, and have the game unveiling.
But between those ceremonies, we have prizes for pit decorations,
costume contests, along with a bunch of really fun exhibits to go visit.
Yep. Teams won't want to miss those.
You can always get a bunch of cool swag from those exhibitors.
So what if someone gets lost or doesn't know where to go,
what to do, or has questions about the app, online Team Check-In?
Where can they go for that kind of help?
Help can always be found at Pit Admin.
That is your one stop shop to get any answers,
report any issues like lost children, get pit maps, all that fun stuff.
Right.
No Team Check-In, no bags to pick up or things to fill out when they get there.
Yep, online Team Check-In.
Teams do that before they arrive,
and if they forget or can't figure out how, they can always get more help at Pit Admin.
All right, this was fun!
I hope it was just as informative for the Teams as it was for me.
Tyler, just wait until you see these Teams.
I look forward to this moment every year, and this one has been a long time coming.
Thanks everyone for watching until the end.
Be sure to say Hi to Grant and me when you see us at the
2022 VEX Robotics World Championship. See you there!