General Info

This workshop is primarly for coaches of VEX IQ Challenge teams who are new to robotics and who want to learn more. It is required for coaches of new teams sponsored by Nelson Team Grants that will be participating in one of the eleven LAUSD VEX IQ Leagues. Coaches of new League Host VRC teams are also welcome to attend.

No prior robotics, programming, or technical experience is required to be a VEX IQ coach. Coaches need to be able to use the Chrome browser on their portable computer. Everything else that coaches need to know to start a team will be covered at this workshop. The workshop will consist of three main sections:

08:00-09:50     Build a Basic Robot
09:50-10:00     Break
10:00-10:45     Team Logistics
10:45-12-30     Basic Programming

VEX IQ Super Kits will be provided for elementary and middle school coaches. VEX V5 Super Kits have been ordered for league host high school coaches.

Please bring a charged portable computer with Chrome browser that your team can use for programming. Windows 7/8/10 laptops work with all available programming software. Windows laptops, Macbooks and Chromebooks work with Robot Mesh Studio in Chrome browser, which is recommended. iPads also work for VEX IQ. You will need to install USB drivers and firmware for your computer to work with the programming software. It would be best to install these in advance to be sure your computer will work:

1. Go to https://www.robotmesh.com/studio and click on the Install RMC plugin... link in the top right corner to install the Robot Mesh Connector (RMC), so you can download programs to your robot via your computer's USB port.
2. If that is successful, elementary and middle school coaches should follow the VEX IQ link to install and run the VEX IQ Firmware Update Utility. High School coaches use VEX V5 hardware, which is updated automatically.

This is a voluntary workshop; there will not be any monetary compensation.

LeRoy Nelson
LeRoy@larobotics.org
310-529-4637 Cell