Facteon is proud to once again sponsor the New Zealand STEAM-ED Robotics team to compete in the 2023 VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas from April 25 – May 4.

The VEX Robotics World Championship is a prestigious global competition held annually that brings together the brightest and most innovative minds from around the world to push the limits of what is possible with robotic technology.

We were blown away by the exceptional level of talent and unwavering dedication the students exhibited last year. Witnessing the positive impact that our sponsorship had on both the students and the industry, we were determined to not only continue our support this year but to further enhance it.

About STEAM-ED

Based in Tauranga, New Zealand, STEAM-ED offers a range of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education programs for children of different age groups. Their robotics program, which is part of the VEX Robotics Competition, has gained recognition in New Zealand and internationally for producing highly skilled and accomplished student teams. STEAM-ED’s association with the VEX Robotics World Championships is significant, as their teams have consistently qualified and performed well in this prestigious global competition.

STEAM-ED are partnered with Kiwibots - a robotics company that specializes in designing and building autonomous robots for use in educational environments. Kiwibots provides the robotics and coding expertise and other important skills needed in today's tech-driven world, while STEAM-ED provides the educational programs and resources to support the learning experience. The partnership allows for a more holistic approach to STEAM education as both organizations are dedicated to fostering innovation and creativity in young people to help prepare them for future careers in fields such as robotics and engineering.

STEAM-ED’s Robotics Teams:

At the heart of STEAM-ED are two VEX Robotics teams – one for middle school students and another for high school students.

Each year, a new VEX game is released in April for the students to design, build, program, and drive a robot in. This year's game involved picking up round foam discs off the floor and shooting them into goals like in Frisbee golf. Robots must start within the dimensions of an 18-inch cube and are allowed eight motors and pneumatics, using only VEX parts and specific SMC pneumatics.

The high school team has been the recipient of the Excellence Award for the past three years. This award is the highest honor presented in the VEX Robotics competition, given to a team that exemplifies overall excellence in building a high-quality robotics program. The team is a strong contender in numerous award categories, with key criteria that include the quality of the team's interview with the judges, the ranking for design award, qualification matches, robot skills, and other judged awards, as well as the quality of their engineering notebook and overall conduct.

The high school team also competed in the 2022 World Championships and won the Judges Award, which recognizes a team's unique approach to the VEX Robotics competition, as well as their efforts to promote STEM and robotics in their community. However, due to other school and personal commitments, the team won't be able to compete in the USA this year.

Meanwhile, the middle school team has been making waves of its own, winning the 2022 Nationals and representing New Zealand at the World Championships. The team has been invited back to compete again in the 2023 World Championships, and will be leaving for the event on April 20th, 2023.

Not to be forgotten is the 9-13year old Primary School and Middle School team using the VEX IQ equipment.  Their National Championships in Wellington were in December 2022, and the STEAM-ED youngsters went home with both the Think Award and Innovate Award

All of these team’s achievements demonstrate the quality of education and training that STEAM-ED provides to its students, as well as the dedication and commitment of its mentors and team members.

The teams are mentored by Paul de Rijk, who learned about VEX Robotics with his own sons when they competed from 2010 until 2018. In 2012, one of his son’s was part of the Otumoetai College team that won and came runner up in the World Championships. Both of his sons are now mechatronics design engineers (and one competes in Battlebots, as part of the champion NZ team, End Game).

VEX Robotics World Championship

The VEX Robotics World Championships is a highly competitive event that brings together teams from around the world to showcase their skills and creativity in building and programming robots to compete in a designated game challenge. Winning this prestigious competition requires not only technical expertise, problem-solving skills, teamwork, communication, and strategic thinking.

Teams from around the world participate in the VEX Robotics World Championship, with each team consisting of students and mentors. The students are typically in middle school, high school, or university, and they work together to design, build, and program their robots to compete in a variety of challenges.

The VEX Robotics World Championship presents a series of challenges that are carefully designed to evaluate the robots' capabilities to maneuver through complex obstacles, manipulate objects, and execute intricate tasks. These challenges are dynamic, and their difficulty level varies from year to year, aimed at pushing the boundaries of robotic technology

Participating in the VEX Robotics World Championship is a great opportunity for students to showcase their skills and learn from teams from around the world. The competition encourages collaboration, innovation, and creativity, while providing a platform to showcase their ideas and talents.

Investing in our future generation of STEAM experts

At Facteon, we are dedicated to fostering innovation, education, and diversity. By sponsoring this team to compete at the VEX Robotics World Championships, we are making a significant investment in the future of robotics and education

As a leading provider of automation solutions, we recognize the importance of encouraging students to explore robotics and STEM fields. We firmly believe that supporting programs like STEAM-ED’s robotics program is an investment in the future of our industry and our economy.

Congratulations to STEAM-ED’s robotics program and the teams for their impressive achievements so far. We look forward to seeing the creative and innovative solutions that these talented students develop and to the positive impact they will have on the field of robotics for years to come.