Hardware & Structure
This part acts as the "brain" of the robot, housing the screen, battery, and ports.
What is the Robot Brain?
This sensor allows the robot to "see" how far away an object is using sound waves.
What is the Distance Sensor?
In block coding, these C-shaped blocks are used to make the robot repeat actions.
What are Loops (or Repeat blocks)?
This is the term for a series of two or more gears meshed together to transfer power from a motor to a wheel or lift.
What is a Gear Train?
This is the name of the standard "starter" robot build used to learn the basics.
What is the BaseBot (or Clawbot)?
These are the gray or colored plastic beams with holes used to build the frame of your robot.
What are Structural Beams?
This sensor can detect different colors and the brightness of light.
What is the Optical Sensor?
You use this specific block to make the robot wait until a certain condition is met.
What is the "Wait Until" block?
If a small gear turns a large gear, the robot gains more of this "pushing force."
What is Torque?
This term describes a robot moving entirely on its own using pre-written code.
What is Autonomous?
This VEX IQ part is used to connect two beams together at a fixed 90-degree angle.
What is a Corner Connector?
This sensor is a physical switch that tells the robot if it has crashed into a wall or if a lift has reached the bottom.
What is the Bumper Switch?
This is the name for the "if-then" blocks that allow a robot to make decisions.
What are Conditionals?
If a large gear turns a small gear, the robot loses torque but gains this.
What is Speed?
To keep your robot from tipping over when lifting a heavy object, you need to keep this "center" over the wheels.
What is the Center of Gravity?
This long, square-shaped metal or plastic rod is inserted into motors and wheels to make them spin.
What is a Shaft (or Axle)?
This device is both an input and an output; it can detect a finger press and glow in many different colors.
What is the Touch LED?
These green blocks are used to compare values, such as "Is Distance < 50mm?"
What are Operators?
This is the name of the gear that is attached directly to the motor.
What is the Driving Gear (or Input Gear)?
This is the name of the handheld device used to steer the robot during "Driver Control."
What is the Controller?
These small rubber pieces slide onto a shaft to prevent wheels or gears from sliding off.
What are Shaft Collars?
The Distance Sensor uses this type of wave—the same used by bats—to measure range.
What is Ultrasonic?
This is the area in VEXcode where you must tell the software which motors are plugged into which ports.
What is the Devices Menu (or Robot Configuration)?
This is the gear ratio if the Driving Gear has 12 teeth and the Driven Gear has 60 teeth.
What is 5:1?
This is the term for a robot's ability to perform a task the exact same way every single time.
What is Consistency (or Reliability)?