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Let us know your interest participating in the 2024 Season.
We’ll keep you in the loop on informational sessions, season timeline release, kickoff registration, and more to prepare you for the upcoming season. You’ll also receive access to our guidebooks.
Upcoming Info Sessions
2023 Game Overview
Buccaneer
Teams design a Pirate Ship with their LEGO® Robotics kit. Their ship precisely navigates the ocean, avoiding hidden reefs and rocks. Armed with a cannon, their ship raids other Pirate Ships and their Ports whilst defending your own Home Port. Their ship returns to their Home Port for reloading between trips.
Equipment & Software
LEGO SPIKE Prime
Hardware
Each team is required to have one SPIKE Prime kit and one PC or tablet. To promote fairness between all teams and regions, teams are only allowed to use electronic components included in the kit as advertised.
Programming
SPIKE Prime users have the versatility of programming their robot on Windows, macOS, iPadOS, Android, and Chromebooks. More information on how to download or access the app can be found on LEGO Education.
Using the SPIKE App, teams can choose to use Icon Blocks, Word Blocks, or Python to program their robot. However, Icon Blocks may be limiting to teams in order to program for the requirements for Unified Robotics.
LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3
The LEGO MINDSTORMS platform has been retired. However, Unified Robotics is still supporting the MINDSTORMS platform as many schools still use them.
Hardware
Each team is required to have one MINDSTORMS EV3 Core kit and one PC or tablet. LEGO offers a Home set and an Education set. Unified Robotics requires the Education set as it includes an Ultrasonic Sensor instead of a Infrared Sensor.
To promote fairness between all teams and regions, teams are only allowed to use electronic components included in the kit as advertised. Additionally, the EV3 Infrared Sensor is not allowed for Unified Robotics.
Programming
MINDSTORMS EV3 users require the EV3 Classroom app to program their robots, which is only supported on Windows and macOS. More information on how to download or access the app can be found on LEGO Education.
Using the EV3 Classroom App, teams can use Word Blocks to program their robot. Teams may elect to download Python for EV3 as an advanced alternative to Word Blocks.
Please note that the legacy EV3 Lab Edition software is no longer supported by LEGO Education.
Why LEGO® Robotics Kits?
Unified Robotics is intended to make robotics a place for everyone to get an opportunity to thrive in the world of robotics and it is critical that our choice of robotics platform fit that mission. The decision to run on LEGO Robotics platforms is one that has not been taken lightly.
LEGO makes their platforms easy to use, with a wide depth of technical capability. This allows a very broad range of students access to directly use and work with these platforms. The ease of learning also applies to teachers, Coaches, and volunteers who may not have existing Robotics experience. The LEGO platforms are cost effective, lowering the barrier to entry and allowing more Teams, Schools, and organizations the ability to participate. Finally, LEGO products are tested and trusted. Numerous education, hobbyist, and general public projects use LEGO kits and products, creating many online resources for building and programming, and ensuring that these robots will perform as expected at the competitions.
Note: Unified Robotics is not affiliated with the LEGO Group
