CSUN’s VEX Robotics Club Scores Fifth Place at Robotics World Championship

  • This year's annual VEX Robotics World Championship took place in the Louisville Convention Center, Kentucky on April 20-23. Photo courtesy of Steven Paqueo.

  • CSUN's VEX Robotics team finalized last details on their robots before entering the tournament. Photo courtesy of Steven Paqueo.

  • CSUN's Vex Robotics team compete against the NAR (North American Robotics) team in the quarter finals match. Photo courtesy of Steven Paqueo.

  • CSUN's VEX Robotics team scored fifth place at this year's VEX Robotics World Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo courtesy of Steven Paqueo.

California State University, Northridge’s VEX Robotics club scored fifth place at the VEX Robotics World Championship recently in Louisville, Ky.

From more than 200 VEX Robotics teams worldwide, only 60 teams qualify each year to participate in the world championships, which took place April 20-23 this year. With competitors separated into two divisions of 30 teams each, CSUN’s fifth-place score put the team in the top 10 of VEX Robotics teams across the globe.

“Fifth place in this year’s competition is their best showing yet,” said Robert Conner, professor of manufacturing systems engineering and management. “Their performance improves with each competition, and next year, if they don’t win, they will be close. Their confidence level is soaring.”

After winning all rounds of the qualifying tournament at the University of Southern California, CSUN’s VEX Robotics team worked around the clock to optimize the design of their robots.

“We rose to the occasion and pushed ourselves further than we ever had before,” said team member Steven Paqueo, a junior in mechanical engineering. “Going into next year, we know what’s expected of us and what it takes to win.”

In addition to a vision-tracking feature, the team designed and built its own sensors and 3-D printed parts to use on their robots.

“They have developed confidence in themselves that will help see them through any challenges they face,” Conner said. “That they did this so successfully speaks volumes to both their engineering skills and their maturity.”

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