[arjvik]

Would love to hear more about your experiences with Vex AI! I heard about it quite recently, and was sad that it was introduced too late for me to experience it.

I founded a private Vex team with my friends in middle school, and though we had absolutely no clue what we were doing we somehow managed to bug local coaches enough to get some good advice and figure out a vauge direction to go in. We had no funding and could not afford to pay for a full field, and so rather than forgo an autonomous routine, I wrote code for what I called "replay autonomous," which allowed us to record an autonomous routine using manual driver control on the practice field the day of the competition, then "replay" it without driver input during the competition. Sadly, our team disbanded because we all ended up in different places for high school, but that year is still one of my fondest memories.

[arjvik]

Also, curious to hear if you enjoyed FTC or Vex more. I actually enjoyed Vex more, even though I went a lot further while on my high school's FTC team.

[ritvikg]

VEX AI was a really interesting experience. We made a reveal video for our AI bots if you want to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAHKPJXJEfQ&ab_channel=Millb...

As for which competition I like more, I would say that VEX competitions are better run, and it is easier to advance to Worlds and be successful. However, I prefer the freedom you get with FTC because there are a lot more parts you can use, and you have more opportunities to take advantage of custom manufacturing processes such as 3D printing, laser-cutting, and CNC machining.