ROBOTICON is a celebratory showcase of competitive youth STEM programs, mostly terrestrial robots but also some aerial drones.  It features FIRST and REC Foundation robotics scrimmages and qualifying competitions, demonstration events, lightweight combat robotics, and more, and ROBOTICON is the only place where you can see all these different youth competition opportunities in one place!

Read on to see the different competitive programs you’ll be able to enjoy seeing and playing at ROBOTICON 2022!

FIRST Robotics Competition teams will be playing the 2022 season game, Rapid React at ROBOTICON!  Check out the video below to see how the game is played. 

  

Visit the FIRST Robotics Competition | FIRST (firstinspires.org) website to learn more about programs and to find a contact in your area.

FIRST Tech Challenge, for  youth in 7th to 12th grade,  challenges teams to design, build, program, and operate robust small scale robots in an alliance format.

FIRST Tech Challenge robots use an Android operating system in an accessible, real world engineering experience that’s guided by adult Coaches and Mentors.

Students also keep an engineering portfolio to document their build processes.

The 2022 game is called Power Play.  Game details will be revealed internationally in September and will be updated here for ROBOTICON participants.

Visit the FIRST Tech Challenge website to learn more and find the right contact in your area.

The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation series of events include VEX competitions for K-12, as well as the Aerial Drone Competition, and VEX U for collegiate level game play.  REC supports more than 20,000 teams from 50 countries playing in over 1,700 tournaments worldwide. Here’s the 2022-23 games that will be played at ROBOTICON – most of which are full scale qualifying events for the new season.

For more information about any of the programs below, visit the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation website.

VEX IQ Competition Slapshot is played on a 6’ x 8’ rectangular field.  Two robots compete in the Teamwork Challenge as an alliance in 60-second-long teamwork matches, working collaboratively to score points.

Teams also compete in the Robot Skills Challenge where one robot takes the field to score as many points as possible. These matches consist of Driving Skills Matches, which will be entirely driver controlled, and Programming Skills Matches, which will be autonomous with limited human interaction. 

VEX Robotics Competition Spin Up is played on a 12’x12’ square field. Two (2) Alliances – one (1) “red” and one (1) “blue” – composed of two (2) Teams each, compete in matches consisting of a fifteen (15) second Autonomous Period, followed by a one minute and forty-five second (1:45) Driver Controlled Period.

The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing Alliance by Scoring Discs in Goals, Owning Rollers, and Covering field tiles at the end of the Match.

The VEX U college and university competition has more than 300 teams competing annually. Based on the VEX Robotics Competition, VEX U teams are allowed more customization and greater flexibility than other grade levels while providing the effective costs and real-world limitations of a restricted development environment.

The Aerial Drone Competition offers an exciting educational drone sporting event that focuses on hands-on, student-centered learning.

Teams learn about drones, flight principles, programming, documentation and communication skills while expanding their understanding and building interest for Drone-related workforce and career opportunities.

Check out the 2022-23 game in the video below

Under SPARC Tournament Rules, ROBOTICON will be hosting official Beetleweight, Ant weight and Fairy weight class combat robotics tournaments.  Check out the video below from our State Fair Frenzy Tournament at the Florida State Fair in February.  The tournament is open to anyone, of any age.  Review tournament rules before registering to confirm you can build a robot to the required specifications before the event.