Powerful new VEXnet control system enhances capabilities and fuels growth of robotics competition

Auburn, Alabama – June 30, 2010 – BEST (”Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology”) Robotics, Inc., a non-profit robotics competition with national headquarters at Auburn University, has announced a multi-year partnership with VEX Robotics, Inc. BEST will adopt the company’s powerful new wireless VEXnet control system, which includes the VEX Cortex microcontroller, VEXnet joystick and compatible programming software. BEST will continue to utilize the company sponsored RobotEvents.com web portal to promote competition events and handle online team registration.

“Integrating the state-of-the-art VEXnet control system into our competition will allow BEST students across the U.S. to expand their technological skills, which will increase their interest in pursuing high-tech, well-paying careers in engineering, science, and technology,” said Dr. George Blanks, Executive Director of BEST and Director of K-12 Outreach in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University. “The VEX control system and event registration portal lift a burden off of our all-volunteer organization. The partnership allows us to focus our resources on growing the competition across the U.S. to better serve the needs of students, schools, and industry.”

VEX Robotics also brings its robot programming software partners into the agreement. Intelitek, developer of easyC, and The Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University, developer of ROBOTC, will donate licenses of their software to every BEST team.

BEST is an equal opportunity program in which any public, private, or home school may participate with no entry fees or kit costs. Schools are only required to fund their travel costs, team tee shirts, and other team enhancements. The partnership with VEX Robotics, Inc. a subsidiary of Innovation First International, allows BEST teams and hubs to sell the parent company’s popular HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures for fundraising at a profit to offset these incidental expenses.

“VEX Robotics is very proud to support the growth of the BEST Robotics Competition. This is in line with our objectives and clearly establishes VEX as the dominant platform supplier for educational robotics in both the classroom and after-school competitions across multiple academic disciplines,” said Paul Copioli, president of VEX Robotics, Inc. “VEX allows BEST to continually offer the latest in educational robotics technology while encouraging the current installed base of VEX schools to begin participating in the unique BEST competition.”

About BEST Robotics, Inc.

BEST Robotics is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization whose mission is to engage, excite, and inspire middle and high school students to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers through participation in a sports-like robotics competition. Started in 1993 as a competition for 14 area schools in rural Sherman, Texas, BEST has become the largest school-based robotics competition in the U.S.—and the only one free to schools—with with over 850 schools, 12,000 students, and 4000 volunteers participating at 41 licensed competition sites in 15 states. BEST licenses its program to organizations, colleges and universities, or groups of individuals.

The program recently held its first ever national championship in conjunction with the VEX Robotics World Championship held at the Dallas Convention Center in April 2010. For more information about BEST Robotics, visit http://best.eng.auburn.edu or RobotEvents.com.

About VEX Robotics, Inc. and Innovation First International:

VEX Robotics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Innovation First International, a privately held corporation, which was founded on the belief that innovation very early in the design process is necessary to produce simple and elegant product designs. Innovation First International began producing electronics for unmanned mobile ground robots and is now an industry leader in the hobby, competition, education and toy markets.

The company’s three major subsidiaries, VEX Robotics, Inc., Innovation First Labs, Inc. (makers of HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures), and RackSolutions, Inc. span the education, consumer and business-to-business markets. The company has over 250 man years of experience supporting educational robotics programs and extensive engineering resources on two continents dedicated to the VEX Robotics platform.

Leveraging the company’s core competency in electrical and mechanical engineering, the RackSolutions division works closely with all major computer OEMs to provide custom mounting solutions and industry-wide rack compatibility for data installations of all sizes.

In the 2009 the company added offices in Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom to better serve the global marketplace. With an advanced in-house metal fabrication plant, distribution center and corporate office located together in a 13-acre complex in Greenville, Texas, the company is poised to continue on a rapid growth path. Please visit www.innovationfirst.com for additional information.

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China and New Zealand High School Teams Reign Supreme at the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship

MythBusters’ Grant Imahara Inspires Students at Global Robotics Competition

Dallas, Texas – April 26, 2010 – Winners of the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship were crowned this weekend by Grant Imahara, host of the Discovery Channel’s hit show MythBusters. Shanghai’s Luwan high school team and New Zealand’s Free Range Robotics and Kristin Doves teams triumphed as the winning alliance after defeating nearly 400 teams through multiple rounds of intense competition. Elite VEX teams from middle schools, high schools and universities representing 14 countries competed at the Dallas Convention Center on April 22-24 with innovative robots they designed and built using the VEX Robotics Design System.

The VEX robots were engineered to play the game “Clean Sweep” with students applying their programming skills and strategic thinking to defeat the opposition. Participants of the VEX program compete throughout the year and learn critical life skills including leadership, teamwork and technical problem solving. Richard Paul, captain of the Free Range Robotics team from the winning alliance said, “VEX Robotics has taught us how to work together in high pressure situations. We’re now better prepared to handle challenges because we’ve learned how to approach problems with different solutions.”

The VEX Robotics Competition World Championship included qualifying teams from 14 countries including Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States for three days of non-stop, high-energy robotics challenges. The VEX Robotics program is the largest and fastest growing middle and high school robotics competition in the world, featuring 200 events with 2,600 teams representing 20 countries.

“At the VEX Robotics World Championship, students get to be the stars and are celebrated for applying what they learn in the classroom,” said Paul Copioli, president of VEX Robotics. “Our commitment is to engage students in science, technology, engineering and math education to get them excited about pursuing technology careers.”

In addition to the middle and high school championship, China’s Mianyang Normal University earned the College Championship title. Several teams also received prestigious awards for Robotic Skills, Programming Skills, and Excellence Awards. In the High School Division, Green Egg Robotics team #44 from Oakham, Massachusetts received the Robot Skills Award and Currahee team #1103 from Orwell, Ohio garnered the Programming Skills Award. In the Middle School Division, the Design Award went to Singapore team #8059A, while the esteemed overall Design Award went to Whitney High School Robotics #542 from Cerritos, California. Excellence Awards were presented for the top overall robotics programs and were awarded to high school team #1509 from Ridley College in Ontario, Canada; Pearl City Hawaii Highlands Intermediate Middle School team #394; and a college team made up of students from Drexel and Temple Universities out of Exton, PA.

BEST Robotics, a middle and high school robotics program established in 1993, hosted its national championship in conjunction with the VEX Robotics World Championship, where Metro Homeschool team 229 from Blue Springs, Missouri won the first place BEST Award. The BEST Award is the highest honor that any team can receive, and goes to the team that best embodies the spirit of the BEST program. Meanwhile, Conway High School team 185 from Conway, Missouri earned first place in the Robotics Award, for having scored the most points in the game, including preliminary, semi-final, and championship matches.

Partnering with Innovation First International as presenting co-sponsors are Autodesk, NASA, EMC Corporation and the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation. Additional supporting partners include Technology Students Association (TSA), Intelitek, Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University, FUTURE Foundation, ST Micro, MathWorks, ID Tech Camps, and Hyatt Regency Dallas.

The 2010/2011 game VEX Round Up was also unveiled at the VEX Robotics World Championship. The game is played on a 12’x12’ square field and two alliances – one “red” and one “blue” – composed of two teams. Each alliance competes in matches consisting of a twenty-second autonomous period followed by two minutes of driver controlled play. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than your opponent alliance by placing tubes upon goalposts, owning goalposts, and by low hanging or high hanging from the ladder.

For more information about the VEX Robotics World Championship and all other award winners, please visit RobotEvents.com.

About VEX Robotics, Inc. and Innovation First International:
VEX Robotics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Innovation First International, a privately held corporation, which was founded on the belief that innovation very early in the design process is necessary to produce simple and elegant product designs. Innovation First International began producing electronics for unmanned mobile ground robots and is now an industry leader in the hobby, competition, education and toy markets.

The company’s three subsidiaries, VEX Robotics, Inc., Innovation First Labs, Inc. (makers of HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures), and RackSolutions, Inc. span the education, consumer and business-to-business markets. The VEX Robotics Competition was launched in 2007, designed to give a diverse group of students the chance to celebrate their accomplishments and share their passion for robotics with each other.

Leveraging the company’s core competency in electrical and mechanical engineering, the RackSolutions division works closely with all major computer OEMs to provide custom mounting solutions and industry-wide rack compatibility for data installations of all sizes.

In the 2009 the company added offices in Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom to better serve the global marketplace. With an advanced in-house metal fabrication plant, distribution center and corporate office located together in a 13-acre complex in Greenville, Texas, the company is poised to continue on a rapid growth path. Please visit www.innvationfirst.com for additional information.

Click here to download a PDF version of this release.

Leading Young Innovators Aim to Measure Up at VEX Robotics Competition World Championship on April 22-24, 2010

Mythbusters Engineering Savant Grant Imahara Set to Emcee Final Day of International Robotics Competition

Greenville, Texas- April 20, 2010- More than 3,000 leading middle school, high school and university VEX robotics students and mentors representing 14 countries from around the world will unite at the Dallas Convention Center and Arena on April 22-24, 2010 for the highly anticipated VEX Robotics Competition World Championship. To match the growing popularity of the VEX Robotics Competition, having tripled in size since its inception in 2008, Grant Imahara, from The Discovery Channel’s hit series Mythbusters, is scheduled to kick-off the final day of competition as emcee on Saturday, April 24th.

The tournament was designed as a vehicle for students to develop critical life skills such as teamwork, leadership and project management, honed through building robots and competing with like-minded students from around the world in a fun, non-traditional environment. “The technological economy of the future depends on equipping today’s youth with the tools necessary to become tomorrow’s leading innovators,” said Paul Copioli, president of VEX Robotics. “The World Championship provides a global arena for us to support and celebrate the accomplishments of these young, diverse and enthusiastic minds.”

The VEX Robotics Competition World Championship is the pinnacle event for 400 of the most elite teams that qualified for a spot at the Dallas competition by excelling in one of the more than 200 VEX Robotics tournaments that took place from May 2009 to April 2010. Teams from around the world are tasked with programming and designing robots, using the industry’s leading VEX Robotics Design System, and forming strategic alliances as they challenge their toughest competitors playing the game Clean Sweep.

Clean Sweep is played on a 12’x12’ square field where two alliances composed of two teams compete against one another. Each match consists of a twenty-second autonomous operation where robots are controlled by onboard software, followed by two minutes of human-operated play. VEX Robotics offers students an exciting platform for learning about areas rich with career opportunities spanning science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and encourages teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups.

The VEX Robotics Competition is being co-hosted by Innovation First International and the non-profit Robotics Education & Competition Foundation whose mission is to work with a variety of successful, technology-based programs that promote STEM education for students, including VEX, TSA and BEST Robotics Competitions. In total there are more than 2,600 VEX Robotics teams, making it the largest middle and high school robotics program in the world.

Presenting co-sponsors of the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship include Autodesk Inc., NASA, EMC Corporation and the FUTURE Foundation. Additional supporting partners include Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation, Technology Students Association (TSA), Intelitek, Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University, ST Micro, MathWorks, ID Tech Camps, and Hyatt Regency Dallas. In conjunction with the middle and high school VEX robotics challenges, more than 30 university teams will be vying for world champion title in the VEX Robotics College Challenge. Meanwhile, VEX Robotics is also hosting 12 of the top BEST Robotics teams to compete at the Dallas Convention Center in its National Championship Competition. BEST Robotics Inc. is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization headquartered at Auburn University (AL).

About VEX Robotics, Inc. and Innovation First International:

VEX Robotics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Innovation First International, a privately held corporation, which was founded on the belief that innovation very early in the design process is necessary to produce simple and elegant product designs. Innovation First began producing electronics for unmanned mobile ground robots and is now an industry leader in the hobby, competition, education and toy markets.  The company’s three subsidiaries, VEX Robotics, Inc., Innovation First Labs, Inc. (makers of HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures), and RackSolutions, Inc. span the education, consumer and business-to- business markets. The VEX Robotics Competition was launched in 2007, designed to give a diverse group of students the chance to celebrate their accomplishments and share their passion for robotics with each other.

Leveraging the company’s core competency in electrical and mechanical engineering, the RackSolutions division works closely with all major computer OEMs to provide custom mounting solutions and industry- wide rack compatibility for data installations of all sizes.

In 2009 the company added offices in Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom to better serve the global marketplace. With an advanced in-house metal fabrication plant, distribution center and corporate office located together in a 13-acre complex in Greenville, Texas, the company is poised to continue on a rapid growth path. Please visit www.innovationfirst.com for additional information.

Click here to download release in PDF.

Innovation First International Names Executive to Lead Global Expansion of the VEX Robotics Design System
New Corporate Structure and Management to Facilitate Continued Rapid Growth

Greenville, Texas – January 6, 2010 – Innovation First International announced today that Paul Copioli has been named president of VEX Robotics, Inc.   This newly formed and wholly owned subsidiary of Innovation First International and the position of president have been created to accelerate and manage the global expansion of the VEX Robotics Design System and related programs.

Mr. Copioli has more than 16 years experience in robotics, engineering and management and a strong background in competition robotics for education.  After receiving his undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering from the US Air Force Academy, he received a Masters degree in engineering from the University of Michigan.  He joined Innovation First after working for Lockheed Martin and subsequently heading the mechanical product development group at FANUC Robotics America.  A long time mentor to school robotics teams, Mr. Copioli was recognized in 2005 by FIRST as the national Woodie Flowers Award winner.  The highest honor among mentors in the FIRST robotics community, the award celebrates effective communication in the art and science of engineering and design.

“Paul is a tremendous talent and is well respected as a leader among the professional and educational robotics communities,” said Tony Norman, president and CEO of Innovation First International.   “He is well suited to lead the further global expansion of VEX Robotics and the new corporate structure will allow us to focus our resources toward this end.”

“There is a pressing need to involve more students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs,” said Paul Copioli, president of VEX Robotics.  “VEX has proven to be a powerful catalyst to engage and motivate students and educators alike.  I look forward to serving the wide range of students, classroom teachers and organizers of co-curricular and extracurricular robotics competition programs currently using the VEX platform.  I’m also excited to lead the expansion of our global distribution network to reach even more students.”

The VEX Robotics Design System was launched in 2005 and has expanded rapidly in the United States and beyond.  VEX is the platform of choice for many middle and high schools that have adopted robotics in the classroom and for extracurricular competitions.   Intelitek, Carnegie Mellon and Autodesk have each developed extensive classroom curriculum based on VEX and are authorized resellers of the product line.  To meet growing global demand, the company is currently setting up additional sales and distribution partnerships in Europe and Asia.

The VEX Robotics Competition is the largest and fastest growing middle and high school robotics program globally with more than 2,000 teams from 20 countries playing in over 170 tournaments worldwide. The VEX Robotics Design System is affordable, robust and offers an assortment of over 200 of the most advanced educational robotics products available today.  See www.vexrobotics.com for more information on the VEX Robotics Design System and the VEX Robotics Competition.

About Innovation First International

Innovation First International, a privately held corporation, was founded on the belief that innovation very early in the design process is necessary to produce simple and elegant product designs. Innovation First began producing electronics for unmanned mobile ground robots and is now an industry leader in the hobby, competition, education and toy markets. The company’s award winning VEX Robotics Design System, HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures and RackSolutions span the education, consumer and business-to-business markets. In 2007, the company launched www.RobotEvents.com, an online portal dedicated to the advancement of educational and competitive robotics, which provides comprehensive information on the latest robotics competitions, educational workshops and information for teachers and mentors. The company also created the VEX Robotics Competition in 2007, designed to give a diverse group of students the chance to celebrate their accomplishments and share their passion for robotics with each other. Leveraging the company’s core competency in electrical and mechanical engineering, the RackSolutions division works closely with all major computer OEMs to provide custom mounting solutions and industry-wide rack compatibility for data installations of all sizes. In 2009 the company added offices in Hong Kong, China, and the United Kingdom to better serve the global marketplace. With an advanced in-house metal fabrication plant, distribution center, and corporate office located together in a 13 acre complex in Greenville, Texas, the company is poised to continue on a rapid growth path. Please visit www.innovationfirst.com for additional information.

Download PDF of press release.