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3. FUTURE Foundation Robot Construction Challenge

The FUTURE Foundation exists to advance robotics and technology through education.

Build a mascot for your team out of VEX Robotics components. Your mascot can cheer for your team, dance, shoot (safely!) confetti, wave flags or anything else you can picture your mascot robot doing to support your team.

 

Prizes

• 1st: FUTURE Foundation Robot Construction Award: $750 VEXrobotics.com gift certificate and automatic team qualification for the 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship if the entrant is part of a registered VRC, VEX U or VEX IQ Challenge team
• 2nd: $500 VEXrobotics.com gift certificate
• 3rd: $250 VEXrobotics.com gift certificate

Requirements

Overview

The FUTURE Foundation exists to advance robotics and technology through education.

Build a mascot for your team out of VEX Robotics components. Your mascot can cheer for your team, dance, shoot (safely!) confetti, wave flags or anything else you can picture your mascot robot doing to support your team.

Eligibility

• This contest is open to registered 2015 VEX Robotics Competition and VEX U teams.
• Designs submitted in previous Online Challenges are not eligible for submission this year.

Requirements

• Build a VEX robot to be a mascot for your team. The robot must be portable, so there is a limit of a maximum size at rest in its “starting position” of no more than 72” (183mm) height + width + depth. Your robot may exceed this size in use. Your robot may be a couple of inches too big, but clear violations of the size limit will result in score reductions. Explanation: This means that a robot 36” tall that is 18”x18” on the base is legal, but one that is 48x18x18 is not.
• Create a video of the robot in action posted to YouTube, not more than 2 minutes long. Extra judging credit will be given to robots that are shown in use at a tournament or a school event. After your 120 seconds of video demonstrating the robot, you should have up to 15 seconds of credits. The credits must be at the end, not the beginning of the video.
• The robot should be made mostly of VEX components, with the use of non-VEX components allowed for decorations or for video, sound, cameras, or similar elements not provided by VEX.
• No flames or chemicals.

Challenge Tips Mascots have many roles in sports programs. Mascots:

• Promote the spirit and joy of a team
• Make friends
• Inspire team building
• Represent their teams in public
• Appear at events
• Dance
• Engage with children and other fans
• Participate in cheering for their team

Your VEX Robotics mascot does not have to fill all these roles, but you might want to think about them while you work on your mascot.

Judging

Judges will select ten finalists from the submitted entries, and will take community voting results into account in making their choices. The finalist submissions will then be judged by additional selected professionals whose scores will be combined with the preliminary-round judges’ scores to determine the winner of the FUTURE Foundation Robot Construction Challenge.

Evaluation and Additional Information

• The judges will be looking for a robot that does a great job of being a mascot.
• The robot or robotic machine is well made and functional, and safe in use.
• The robot completes its task in a creative, fun, interesting way.
• The video clearly shows the robot in action, and how it performs its task.
• The video is well made with good video, editing and use of sound and music.