The Story of VEX Robotics
VEX Robotics is the brainchild of two men, Bob Mimlitch and Tony Norman who went to high school together in Greenville, Texas and then later worked together at a defense contractor in the same town. Bob was a mechanical engineer and Tony was an electrical engineer. They also worked together volunteering for local FIRST Robotics teams. Out of that experience as mentors, they developed a unique ability to provide tech support to teams, which led them to improving to the design and contributing components to the FIRST kit. Bob said that the two of them learned everything from FIRST, “not just as mentors, but how to become better engineers, just as the kids do.” They eventually decided to go on their own, starting a company and launching a robotics competition of their own, based on what they learned from FIRST. |
The company they started, Innovation First, produced VEX Robotics as a more affordable and accessible alternative for participants in educational robotics programs. In addition to VEX Robotics, they also developed the popular HexBug toys, which are sold worldwide through retail stores. The Robotics Education and Competition is a non-profit that organizes the competitions and holds events like the World Championships.
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