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RECF Radar: July 29, 2026

Tracking Innovation & Impact Across Robotics, Drones, and Workforce Development

INNOVATION

Students work on Robot

New RECF Robotics Events, Forums, and Manuals Roll Out

The NEW RECF Robotics season will kick off with exciting events, community forums, innovative game manual updates, and new comparison charts to streamline your season planning.

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Students participate in Aerial Drone Competition

Drones and Land Robotics Sync for Next-Level Strategy

ADC Pro Mission 2026-2027: Off Grid is here. This season, get ready to guide your drone through thrilling teamwork, piloting, and autonomous flight challenges that will put your strategy and precision to the test.

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INSIGHTS

Pilots fly a drone

RECF to Partner with USI to Offer FAA Part 107 Training and UAS Certifications

We are thrilled to partner with the Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) to offer FAA Part 107 training, UAS curriculum, and stackable certifications, equipping students and educators with essential credentials for the drone workforce.

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Educator uses Autodesk Fusion

Shape the Future of Engineering with Fusion Fundamentals

Fusion Fundamentals is a free course for educators to integrate Autodesk Fusion into the classroom. Support career readiness with hands-on CAD projects for students and practical design workflows.

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IMPACT

Students participate in Aerial Drone Competition

Celebrating the Aerial Drone Competition’s First Signature Event

The Aerial Drone Competition’s March Madness: Hoosier Edition brought nearly 50 drone teams from across the country to the Midwest to compete in a two-day event at the Hulman Center at Indiana State University.

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Dallas ISD educators and coaches, robotics and drones team

Dallas Students Dream Bigger Through Robotics and Drones

For Patricia and Omar Cortez, Dallas ISD educators and coaches, robotics and drones mean much more than competing. At their Texas campus, robotics began as an after-school competition but has since become a schoolwide learning path.

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Students participate in Aerial Drone Competition

Aerial Drone Competition Partners With San Diego for Case Study

The sky is no longer the limit for RECF Aerial Drone competitors. Through our partnerships students are learning coding, piloting, engineering, teamwork, and problem-solving through competitive drone education.

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JROTC Students participate in Aerial Drone Competition

From Drone Competition to Community Impact: A Student’s STEM Journey

When Keaton Spellacy first joined a drone team through his JROTC program, he was immediately drawn to the hands-on challenge of competition. Introduced to robotics and drone programs supported by the RECF, he quickly realized that excitement alone wasn’t enough to succeed when competing.

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This message is intended to provide important information to RECF constituents.
Our mailing address is:
Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
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Greenville, TX 75402
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2025-2026 Signature Event Updates

  1. An Event Partner wanting to apply to host a Signature Event must have hosted events for at least 2 seasons prior to applying. 
  2. Signature Events must use the officially branded award banners for the Excellence Award and Tournament/Teamwork Champions Award.
  3. When hanging field skirts the VEX Robotics logo/brand name can not be covered up on the competition fields.
  4. VEX V5 Robotics Competition Signature Events may have regional capacity and max per organization restrictions lifted 8 weeks before the event if the event is not full (similar to the process already in place for VEX IQ Robotics Competition Signature Events).
  5. Minimum pit size reduced to 8’x 8’ instead of 10’x10’.
  6. Beginning in the 2025-2026 season, the REC Foundation will collect $10 instead of $5 per team registration on all Signature Events. This is to help offset travel costs for REC Foundation staff to support these larger events.