During previous articles and videos, we talked about an overview of VEX competition seasons and competitions. This time I will be introducing the differences between two main VEX competition categories, VEX IQ and VEX V5. There are other competition categories aside from the two under REC foundation, but we will not talk about those. You can search it up if you’re interested.
This is the first episode of the series, and there will be more comparisons out in the future!!
Age Distribution
First, there is an age difference between the participants for the two categories. VEX IQ has an Elementary school and middle school division, while VEX V5 has a middle school and high school division. If you are deciding on which competition to join, you can use these as a reference, but you can also attend divisions that are higher than your current grade.
The category you should compete in is obvious for elementary and high school students. However, for middle school students, I recommend starting with the one you’re most interested in. If you want to challenge yourself and have a lot of time to practice, I would definitely recommend VEX V5. Don’t worry about starting with zero knowledge of robotics; everything can be learned afterwards if you have the passion and dedication.
Team Composition
One major difference is in the team composition. Since VEX IQ has a simpler game design and robot parts, it doesn’t require as many team members as VEX V5 teams. A Vex IQ team usually contains around 2 to 4 members, while VEX V5 teams may go from 2 up to 6 or even more team members.
This difference is mainly due to the more complicated and time-consuming work that VEX V5 teams must perform during the robot construction and competition preparation process.
Time Consumption
From my experience, VEX V5 takes significantly more time than VEX IQ. Your robot building time extends from about one week of construction in VEX IQ to about one month of construction in VEX V5. Furthermore, the time you will have to put in practices regarding driving and programming would increase due to the difference in match designs.
According to my own experience, if you have a busy testing schedule at school or you focus on your study more, I recommend taking one year off VEX V5 or else you might not be able to balance work and competition.
Robot Construction
VEX IQ robotics parts contain flat plastic beams that are connected together through plastic pins. Other plastic parts also have the same thickness as the beams. Connections between parts are easy to undo just by pulling the beams apart, making the construction process fast.
VEX V5 robotics parts are more diverse, with different types of channels with diverse shapes. The connections are done through screwing vex screws and nuts. The construction and separation of a robot would be so much more time-consuming because connection is not as easy to break as with pins.
More detailed comparison between VEX IQ and VEX V5 parts will be done in the future.
Programming
In VEX IQ coding, we usually go with VEXcode IQ to program. However, in VEX v5, tons of coding platforms work well at programming and are not restricted to the VEXcode systems. The structure of the whole project is also much more complicated, along with more sensors added to the robot.
Overall, I would say VEX V5 is a much more complicated game and requires a lot more effort and time. However, if you are willing to accept all the challenges along the way, you will definitely enjoy V5 as the season progresses.
I hope this article helps explain the differences between the two competitions. In the next article, I will discuss the differences in Competition and match design. Stay tuned!
