Q&A
VEX IQ Robotics Competition 2026-2027: Level Up
Marcado: GG10
Welcome to the official VEX IQ Robotics Competition Question & Answer system, where all registered teams have the opportunity to ask for official rules interpretations and clarifications. This Q&A system is the only source for official VIQRC rules clarifications, and the clarifications made here from the Game Design Committee (GDC) are considered as official and binding as the written Game Manual itself.
Please review the Q&A Usage Guidelines before posting. This system is only intended for specific VIQRC game rules questions.
- For event, registration, or other competition support questions, please contact your Program Support Manager.
- For VEX technical support, contact [email protected] or [email protected].
- For game questions, suggestions, or concerns outside of specific and official rules questions, contact [email protected]
3185: Ben bag stuck on Robot
If a bean bag gets stuck on a robot and they have no way of removing it, can they reset the robot to remove the bean bag?
Respondido por committee
Yes, Teams may retrieve and reset their Robot to remove a stuck Bean Bag in accordance with <GG10>.
Per <GG10> clause B, any Bean Bag removed from a Robot in this process must be removed from the Field, will not be returned to the Field, and cannot be reintroduced by the Loaders.
3076: Robot reset for non-mechanical issues
Handling the Robot mid-match is allowed under certain circumstances. If a Robot goes completely outside the playing Field, gets stuck, tips over, or otherwise requires assistance, the Drive Team Members may retrieve & reset their Robot. To do so, the Team must do the following: (a) Signal the Referee by placing their VEX IQ Controller on the ground. The Head Referee may ask the Driver to demonstrate the problem using the Robot Controller before approving the Robot reset (e.g., confirming that the Robot is broken, undriveable, or stuck on an obstacle) if the issue with the Robot isn’t obvious.
Could you provide more definition/guidance for "otherwise requires assistance?"
On one hand I could argue that in IQ, this is meant to provide relief any time a team feels their robot is incapacitated in any way. On the other hand, I could argue that it is intended to allow teams to fix a "broken" robot or a robot that becomes mechanically stuck/disabled in an unintended way, and NOT allow relief from design flaws or non-mechanical issues (of course, my wording is a slippery slope since you could argue that a design flaw is what causes a part to break/fall off the robot or causes the robot to get stuck).
The specific example that I’m encountering is with a conveyor-bot – the pin travels up the conveyor and doesn’t fall into the coral thus blocking any other pins from falling as well. The robot is not mechanically incapacitated, but the robot no longer fully works as intended. More generically you could say if a game piece enters the robot causing it not to work or blocking a crucial path.
I’ve been allowing a reset under the generic sense of “otherwise requires assistance,” feeling that the time penalty to do this is significant and being confident that the reset is not strategic, but the e.g. in GG10a only mentions mechanical issues, so I want to ensure I’m calling it in the spirit the GDC intended.
Respondido por committee
I’ve been allowing a reset under the generic sense of “otherwise requires assistance,” feeling that the time penalty to do this is significant
This matches our intent.
3048: Putting down scoring objects before a mid-match repair
One of my teams has a duel sided robot (claws on one side, beam holder on the other). Mid practice match, the claws fell off, making the robot out of spec, while the opposite end was holding the beam. Question: Can the team use the controller to put the beam down before they repair/reposition the robot per rule GG10, or does the beam need to be taken out of the field because the it was in the robot's possession when the failure occurred.
Respondido por committee
If the Robot in your scenario exceeds the horizontal expansion limits of 11"x20" after it breaks during the Match, any points that it scores while oversized will lead to a Major Violation of <SG2> and a Disqualification for that Match.
The Team can use the broken Robot and Controller to drop Scoring Objects that are being controlled by the Robot, provided they don't score points or break other rules in the process. They could then signal the Referee that they want to handle and repair the Robot as outlined in rule <GG10>.
2979: <GG10> red alliance only?
The wording of <GG10> affords the red alliance the right to place both of their robots last. Because of this:
Q1) can blue alliance call this rule?
Q2) beyond <gg3> promptness, are the positions of any robots "locked" once they have confirmed they are positioned?
Also under the repositioning section
If a Team chooses to reposition their Robot after it has already been placed, the opposing Alliance will also be given the opportunity to reposition their Robots promptly.
Q3) if red decides to reposition, does blue get the right to reposition? (because this would seemingly conflict with "Red alliance places last")
Respondido por committee
<GG10> intentionally grants the red Alliance the right to place their Robots last. This is an intended procedural advantage awarded to red. During the Elimination Matches they will always be the higher-seeded Alliance (or the Alliance that advanced by defeating a higher seed), consistent with standard tournament structure.
Q1) <GG10> is a right awarded only to the red Alliance. They can either choose to exercise that right, or defer and both Alliances can place at the same time, in the order they arrive at the Field, or in any other order that still ensures all Robots are ready to play without delaying the start of the Match.
Q2) Once a Team has placed their Robot on the field and has either stepped off/away from the Field and/or removed their hands from the Field, the Robot position should be considered final. Teams should only be permitted to reposition their Robot for a safety concern or as otherwise requested/allowed by the Head Referee.
Q3) There is no circumstance where blue should be allowed to adjust their Robot's starting position to counteract red's Robot position.