The VEX IQ Challenge consists of the VEX IQ Challenge Highrise robot game and the optional STEM Research Project. The VEX IQ Challenge provides an opportunity for students, with the guidance of an adult mentor, to explore and solve exciting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) challenges.
Students develop valuable knowledge, skills, and experience and a tremendous sense of accomplishment in building a robot and developing a STEM research project to compete in the VEX IQ Challenge.
VEX IQ CHALLENGE HIGHRISE
Two robots work collaboratively, as an alliance, to score points in Teamwork Challenge matches of 60 seconds in length. Teams can also participate in two additional challenges; The Robot Skills Challenge, where one robot takes the field to score as many points as possible under driver control; and The Programming Skills Challenge, where one robot scores as many points as possible autonomously, without any driver inputs.
The object of the game is to attain the highest possible score by moving Scoring Cubes into the Scoring Zone and by building Highrises of Cubes of the same color on the Highrise Bases.
There are a total of thirty-six (36) Cubes, twelve (12) of each color, available as Scoring Objects in the game. There is one (1) Scoring Zone and three (3) Highrise Bases on the field. Each Robot (smaller than 13”x19”x15” to start) begins a match on one of two Starting Positions.
Each Cube Scored in the Scoring Zone is worth a point value equal to the Highrise Height of the same color as the Cube. That is, if a team builds a Highrise of 3 red Scoring Cubes on the Highrise Base, a red cube in the Scoring Zone is worth 3 points.
STEM RESEARCH PROJECT
Each season, one Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subject is the featured theme of the VEX IQ STEM Research Project Challenge. In this 2014-15 season, the Project Challenge theme is Engineering. Teams can use this STEM Research Project to explore how engineering can be used to solve challenges and make our world a better place.
Engineering can be used to solve simple and complex challenges in your local and global community. In the VEX IQ Challenge this season, teams will learn more about the challenges of engineering tall structures in the VEX IQ robot game: Highrise. In the STEM Research Project, your team can explore any engineering challenge of interest, in any type of engineering that you choose. Your team’s exploration might start by using the VEX IQ curriculum lesson, “It’s Your Future,” to learn more about the different types of engineering.
VEX IQ CHALLENGE STEM RESEARCH PROJECT DOCUMENTS
VEX IQ CHALLENGE HIGHRISE DOCUMENTS AND DOWNLOADS
- Highrise Game Manual (Rev. Aug. 1, 2014)
- Highrise Game Appendix (Rev. Aug. 1, 2014)
- Highrise Awards Appendix (Rev. May 31, 2014)
- Highrise One-Page Game Description
- Highrise Appendix: Field Description
- Highrise Robot Inspection Checklist
The following documents are ZIP archives. In some browsers you will need to select (in Windows, right-click) the archive and then download it. Just clicking on the archive name may not work:
- VEX IQ Challenge Highrise Logos (ZIP File)
- VEX IQ Challenge Logos (ZIP File)
- VEX IQ Challenge Product Logos (ZIP File)
VEX IQ CHALLENGE RESOURCE LINKS
- The VEX IQ Game Design Committee maintains an official game Q&A forum on the VEX IQ Forum. This Q&A Forum is the ONLY official source for questions about game rules. Before posting a question on the official Q&A forum, please read the Q&A Usage Guidelines.
- To learn more about the robotics platform used in VEX IQ, please check the VEX IQ pages.
- 2014-2015 VEX IQ Challenge Events
- VEX IQ Challenge Curriculum