GREENVILLE, TX – March 1, 2018 – The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Online Challenges, which encourage students to take what they’ve learned through VEX Competitions and apply it to areas such as video creation, engineering design, website development, and photography. Students who submit to the Online Challenges have an opportunity to share their ideas, win prizes, and receive a chance to compete at the VEX Robotics World Championship.

“This year, we saw a record number of Online Challenge submissions from talented students around the world who show the powerful impact STEM exploration can have in shaping their future,” said Dan Mantz, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the REC Foundation. “I want to thank everyone for participating and sharing their inspirational work with us. We look forward to recognizing these outstanding teams at the VEX Robotics World Championship.”

The first-place winners of the 2018 Online Challenges are as follows:

ELECTRONICS ONLINE CHALLENGE SPONSORED BY TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

• 986A from Simi Valley, CA with Linksys WRT54G 2.4GHz Wireless Broadband Router

MAKE IT REAL CAD ENGINEERING CHALLENGE SPONSORED BY AUTODESK

• College/University: Fábrica de Nerdes from Sao Paulo, Brazil with DUAL AXIS ROBOT JOINT
• High School: 98807A from Wenatchee, WA with Pneumatic System Mounting
• Middle School: 9364X from Brentwood, TN with VEX Adjustable Tension Tether
• Elementary School: 1313A from Traverse City, MI with Amazing Multitask Piece
• Bonus Prize for 3D Printing: EFR from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico with The Advanced Linear Motion Kit

REC FOUNDATION STEM EDUCATIONAL VIDEO CHALLENGE

• 114T from Ontario, Canada with STEM Educational Video Challenge: Roberta Bondar

RECYCLING ONLINE CHALLENGE SPONSORED BY FUTURE FOUNDATION

• 6008A from Richwood, OH with Recycling Challenge: Sensory Table

ROBOT VIRTUAL WORLDS ONLINE CHALLENGE SPONSORED BY ROBOMATTER

• VEX ROBOTICS COMPETITION: 7110Z from Southlake, TX
• VEX IQ CHALLENGE: 31009A from Xi’an, China

ROBOTICS TEAM WEBSITE CHALLENGE SPONSORED BY DELL

• 4104A from Elizabethtown, KY with 4104 North Hardin Vex Robotics Website

VEX GAME DESIGN ANIMATION ONLINE CHALLENGE

• 7682E from Auckland, New Zealand with VEX Breakthrough

VEX PHOTOGRAPHY ONLINE CHALLENGE

TOP FIVE VEX ROBOTICS COMPETITION

• 8110C from Mankato, MN with Hard Work as Usual
• 9364A from Brentwood, TN with The Art of Robotics
• 2904A from Auckland, New Zealand with 1 mm difference
• 1119 from Mexico City, Mexico with Little things make big things happen
• 68001B from Cordova, TN with Mapping Out the Field

TOP FIVE VEX IQ CHALLENGE

• 10027A from Villavicencio, Colombia with SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATH AND FUN
• 1313A from Traverse City, MI with Hands Involved
• 11442E from New York, NY with Yes! The bonus tray!
• 10582 from Veracruz, Mexico with When one teaches, Two learn
• 112B from Hattiesburg, MI with Research Rules!!!

VEX IQ CHALLENGE GIRL POWERED ONLINE CHALLENGE SPONSORED BY GOOGLE

• 2014F from Redwood City, CA with Our Secret Power

VEX IQ CHALLENGE PROMOTE AWARD ONLINE CHALLENGE

• 11791C from Asuncion, Paraguay with Robotics in Aregua

VEX ROBOTICS COMPETITION GIRL POWERED ONLINE CHALLENGE SPONSORED BY GOOGLE

• 7983V from Bakersfield, CA with Girl Powered: Finding Our Voice

VEX ROBOTICS COMPETITION PROMOTE AWARD ONLINE CHALLENGE

• 2284B from San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico with Legacy Road

The winners, finalists, and their submissions are available at 2018 Online Challenges Winners.

The winning students and teams will be presented with their awards at the VEX Robotics World Championship, which will take place in Louisville, Ky. from April 25 through May 1. Recognized as the largest robotics competition in the world, the VEX Robotics World Championship will unite 1,400 of the best robotics teams internationally who will gather to compete for the title of “World Champion” for the VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U. For more information about VEX Worlds, please visit www.VEXworlds.com. For more information about the REC Foundation, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org or www.RobotEvents.com.

About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation

The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work.

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