VEX Robotics is a robotics program for elementary through university students, and a subset of Innovation First International. The VEX Robotics competitions and programs were overseen by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) until May 2026, when VEX split from the foundation and created the Global Robotics & Science Foundation (GRSF) to oversee competition. VEX Robotics Competition was named the largest robotics competition in the world by Guinness World Records.
There are five leagues of VEX Robotics competitions designed for different age groups and skill levels. The VEX V5 Robotics Competition (V5RC), the largest, is targeted toward middle and high school students. The VEX IQ Robotics Competition (VIQRC) is targeted toward elementary and middle school students. The VEX AI Robotics Competition is a 'spinoff' for high school and college-level students. The competition features no driver control periods, hence the name 'VEX AI'. VEX U is a robotics competition for university students. The game is similar to V5RC, but traditionally features a unique ruleset with more relaxed rules on the construction of their robots, and teams consisting of two robots.Last there is VEX Drone which is a competition similar to VEX U.
In each of the four competitions, the VEX Robotics Game Design Committee creates a new challenge annually. Students must then design, build, program, and drive a robot to complete the challenge as best they can within the constraints. After competing in local and regional tournaments, qualifying teams are invited to attend the VEX Robotics World Championship.
The description and rules for the season's competition are released during the world championship of the previous season. From 2021 to 2025, the VEX Robotics World Championship was held in Dallas, Texas each year in mid-April or mid-May, depending on which league the teams are competing in. St. Louis, Missouri hosted the event in 2026 and is scheduled to hold the RECF STEM World Championship in 2027. VEX Robotics and the GRSF have announced that the 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship will be held in Las Vegas, on April 23 through April 30, 2027.
VEX V5
VEX V5 is a STEM learning system designed by VEX Robotics and the REC Foundation to help middle and high school students develop problem-solving and computational thinking skills. It was introduced at the VEX Robotics World Championship in April 2019 as a replacement for a previous system called VEX EDR (VEX Cortex). The program utilizes the VEX V5 Construction and Control System as a standardized hardware, firmware, and software compatibility platform. Robotics teams and clubs can use the VEX V5 system to build robots to compete in the annual VEX V5 Robotics Competition.
Construction and Control System The VEX V5 Construction and Control System is a metal-based robotics platform with machinable, bolt-together pieces that can be used to construct custom robotic mechanisms. The robot is controlled by a programmable processor known as the VEX V5 Brain. The Brain is equipped with a color LCD touchscreen, 21 hardware ports, an SD card port, a battery port, 8 legacy sensor ports, and a micro-USB programming port. Usage with a VEX V5 Radio enables wireless driving and wireless programming of the brain via the VEX V5 Controller. The controller allows wireless user input to the robot brain, and two controllers can be daisy-chained if necessary. Each controller has two hardware ports, a micro-USB port, two 2-axis joysticks, a monochrome LCD, and twelve buttons. The controller's LCD can be written wirelessly from the robot, providing users with configurable feedback from the robot brain. The VEX V5 Motors connect to the brain via the hardware ports and are equipped with an internal optical shaft encoder to provide feedback on the rotational status of the motor. The motor's speed is programmable but may also be altered by exchanging the internal gear cartridge with one of three cartridges of different gear ratios. The three cartridges are 100 rpm, 200 rpm, and 600 rpm.
VEXcode V5
VEXcode V5 is a Scratch-based coding environment designed by VEX Robotics for programming VEX Robotics hardware, such as the VEX V5 Brain. The block-style interface makes programming simple for elementary through high-school students. VEXcode is consistent across VEX 123, GO, IQ, and V5 and can be used to program the devices from each. VEXcode allows the block programs to be viewed as equivalent C++ or programs to help more advanced students transition from blocks to text. This also allows easy interconversion between text-based and block-based programming. VEXcode also lets students code in C++, which gives the opportunity to learn basic C++, but to collect data from sensors or to move the drivetrain, VEX uses a header file.
PROS PROS is a C/C++ programming environment for VEX V5 hardware maintained by students of Purdue University through Purdue ACM SIGBots. It provides a more bare-bones environment for more knowledgeable students that allows for an industry-applicable experience. It has a more robust API that allows for more precise control of the hardware for competition-level uses in V5RC/VEX U. It is based on FreeRTOS.
VEX V5 Robotics Competition
VEX V5 Robotics Competition (V5RC) (formerly the VEX Robotics Competition, VRC, and VEX EDR) is a robotics competition for registered middle and high school teams that utilize the VEX V5 Construction and Control System. Previously under the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, the competition is now managed by the Global Robotics & Science Foundation.
In this competition, teams design, CAD, build, and program robots to compete in tournaments. At tournaments, teams participate in qualifying matches where two randomly chosen alliances of two teams each compete for the highest team ranking. Before the Elimination Rounds, the top-ranking teams choose their permanent alliance partners, starting with the highest-ranked team, and continuing until the alliance capacity for the tournament is reached. The new alliances then compete in an elimination bracket, and the tournament champions, alongside other award winners, qualify for their regional culminating event. .
The current challenge is VEX V5 Robotics Competition: Override.
General rules Middle and high school students have the same game and rules. The most general and basic rules for the VEX V5 Robotics Competition are as follows, but each year may have exceptions and/or additional constraints. Each robot is partnered with another robot in a pair called an "alliance". In any given match, each alliance competes against one other alliance. One team is designated as the red alliance, and the other as the blue alliance. No robot may exceed the dimensions of an 18-inch cube until the match has begun. No robot may contain hardware, software, material, or content that is not distributed by or explicitly allowed by VEX Robotics. The playing field consists of a 12-foot by 12-foot square of foam tiles bordered by a wall of metal-framed polycarbonate dividers. Anything outside of these border walls is considered as off of the playing field. The various field elements associated with that season's competition are arranged in a defined and reproducible manner before the start of each match. At the start of the match is a 15-second 'autonomous' period, where all four robots navigate the field based on pre-programmed instructions without driver input. After the autonomous period has ended, the 'driver control' period begins. This stage of the match consists of one minute and forty-five seconds of manual control of the robot using one or two handheld controllers utilized by the respective number of 'drivers'. The object of the match is to attain a higher score, i.e. more points, than the opposing alliance. The method by which the alliances attain these points varies significantly with each season. Throughout the match, the blue alliance is not allowed to enter the red alliance's 'protected zone' of the field, and vice versa. The designated areas of the field are often different for each season. During the autonomous period, the protected zone normally consists of half of the field where the alliance starts, whereas the driver control period rarely features a defined protected zone, as was the case for VRC Tipping Point, VRC High Stakes, and VRC Push Back. Intentionally removing game objects from the field will result in a warning, minor violation, and/or major violation (disqualification). Intentionally and repeatedly damaging any of the robots involved, either during the match or otherwise, will result in immediate disqualification.
2026-2027 Game: Override The objective of Override is to, within a 15 second autonomous period where no human interaction is permitted and a 1 minute 45 second driver control period, score as many points as possible by stacking a combination of pins and cups on goals situated throughout the field.
Gameplay and scoring
Override is played on a 12 ft × 12 ft field. The field contains 56 cups, 63 pins, nine goals, four toggles, and four loaders. Two alliances, red and blue, each consisting of two teams, compete to score more points than the opposing alliance.
Each scored alliance-colored pin is worth five points, while each scored yellow pin is worth ten points when it is owned by an alliance. The ownership of yellow pins in a quadrant is controlled by the corresponding toggle. Each robot ending the match in the Midfield is worth eight points.
The alliance with the higher score at the end of the 15-second autonomous period receives a 12-point Autonomous Bonus. If the autonomous period ends in a tie, each alliance receives six points.
2025-2026 Game: Push Back
The objective of the game is to score as many blocks as possible in goals within a 15-second autonomous period, and 1:45 driver control period. Each field consists of two long goals, two center goals, four loaders, and two park zones.
Field Element - Goals The goals may be pictured as 'tubes ' above the field. Long goals can fit fifteen blocks of any color, while center goals can fit seven. Goals feature control bonuses that are always awarded to the alliance with the most blocks scored in the control zone of each goal. Center goal control zones incorporate the entire goal, with the 'upper center goal' granting an eight-point bonus, and the 'lower center goal' granting a six-point bonus. Long goal control zones incorporate a marked center region of the goal, and grant a ten-point bonus.
Scoring Each block considered scored within a goal is worth three points. A block is considered scored within a goal if that block is: in contact with the inside surfaces of a goal; is not in contact with a robot of the same alliance as that block; is not in contact with the floor. At the end of each match, teams may elect to 'park' their robots in a park zone, exclusive to each alliance, and can receive an eight-point bonus if one robot is parked, and a thirty-point bonus if both alliance's robots are parked. The autonomous period winner, the alliance that scores the most points during the 15-second autonomous period, is granted an additional ten-point bonus added to their score .
Skills