Viitanen Reetta
Robotics Education Senior Adviser
European open 2025 Robotics Competition
The international VEX Robotics European Open competition is held in Riihimäki on 25–28 March 2025. Altogether 38 teams from nine different countries have registered for the competition.
The VEX Robotics European Open competition has two categories: 15–16-year-olds and secondary school students compete in the V5 category, and younger pupils in the IQ category.
The V5 competition brings together 15 teams representing Türkiye, Czechia, Andorra, Germany, Luxembourg, and Finland. There are 23 IQ teams representing Türkiye, Poland, Slovenia, Czechia, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and Finland.
The competition is held at Hyria Education’s premises in the B-building at Sakonkatu, Riihimäki.
The competition is open to the public, and it is streamed on Riihimäki’s Youtube channel.
The competition is organised by the City of Riihimäki’s Robotics Campus in cooperation with Hyria Education. The competition is supported by OP Häme, the Union of Professional Engineers, Aaltoes (Aalto Entrepreneurship Society) and Riihimäen Kaukolämpö.
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Tuesday 25 March 2025 VEX V5
8:30 Venue doors open
9:00 Registration and inspection, practice field is open
10:15 Opening ceremonies
11:15 Practice matches
12:15 Lunch
13:30 Qualification matches
17:00 End of competition day 1
Wednesday 26 March 2025
8:45 Venue doors open
9:15 Qualification matches
12:00 Lunch
12:45 Alliance selection
14:00 Elimination matches
Awards (around 15:15)
Thursday 27 March 2025 VEX IQ
8:30 Venue doors open
Registration, Inspection and practice fields open
10:15 Opening ceremonies
11:15 Practice matches
12:15 Lunch
13:00 Qualification matches
16:30 End of the competition day 1
Friday 28 March 2025
8:30 Venue doors open
9:00 Qualification matches
12:15 Lunch
13:15 Finals and awards
15:00 Venue closes
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VEX IQ Rapid Relay 2024–2025
The VEX IQ Rapid Relay competition is played on a rectangular field measuring approx. 185 x 245 cm.
In the teamwork challenge, two teams and a robot compete together in 60-second matches where the teams work together to score points. The robots are controlled by handheld controllers, and are programmed to perform certain actions at a press of a button on the controller.
The scoring objects in the Rapid Relay are soft balls.
The main objectives of the match are to pass balls between robots, score balls through targets, and clear switches. The balls are introduced to the field through the loading station or, during the last 15 seconds of a match, through the rapid load zone. Points are awarded based on how many goals are scored, how many switches have been cleared, and how many times the alliance has successfully passed the ball before scoring it. You can watch the Rapid Relay competition challenge video here.
VEX V5 High Stakes 2024–2025
The VEX V5 High Stakes competition is played on a square field measuring approx. 366 x 366 cm. There are four teams on the field at a time, playing in two alliances: red and blue. Matches consist of a 15 second fully programmed autonomous period followed by a 1 minute and 45 second driver controlled period. The robots are controlled with a handheld controller, and are programmed to perform certain actions at a press of a button on the controller.
The challenge focuses on working together with the alliance partner, and having a skilled match strategy. Teams must score points, but also know how to defend. The objective of the game is to achieve a higher score than the opposing alliance by scoring rings on stakes, placing mobile goals, and climbing at the end of the match.
- There are 48 rings on the High Stakes field.
- There are 9 stakes around the field, 5 of which are on mobile goals and 4 on the wall, 1 alliance stake, 2 neutral stakes, and 1 stake on a ladder.
- For each ring that a team places on a stake, one point is awarded. The top ring on each stake is worth three points.
- Mobile goals can be placed at positive or negative angles, which changes the values of the goal rings.
There is a ladder in the middle of the V5RC High Stakes field. Robots climb the ladder at the end of the match to score extra points. The higher the robot climbs, the more points it scores.
The alliance that scores more points during the autonomous period gets six bonus points. These are added to the final score at the end of the match. The alliance also has the opportunity to earn an autonomous win point for the fully programmed section by completing a defined set of tasks. This additional win point can be earned by both alliances, regardless of which one wins the autonomous bonus. You can watch the High Stakes competition challenge video here.
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On Tuesday 25 March 2025, the European Open is accompanied by a side event primarily aimed at teaching and support staff. The event takes place between 12.00–15.00 and includes presentations on virtual learning environments for teaching.
Programme:
12.00–13.00 XR environment showcase
13.00-14.00 Exploring topical issues
- The mobile school space model
- Accessibility and plain language in VR environments
- Experiences of created XR environments
The XR environment showcase will continue between 14.00–15.00.
Environments showcased include classical art, a VR dairy, customer service at a clothing store, and tree identification.
Venue:
A-building at Hyria Education’s Sakonkatu premises, Riihimäki.
The event is organised by the projects Robo CO. – Robots and AI as future colleagues, and CURIOUS 2.0 – Emerging technologies supporting enthusiastic teaching and learning.
The Robo CO. project is managed by the City of Riihimäki, Häme University of Applied Sciences, and Hyria Education. The CURIOUS 2.0 project is managed by Häme University of Applied Sciences, Tavastia Education Consortium, and Kiipula Foundation. The projects are co-funded by the European Union.
You can find the Robo CO. project website here.
You can find the CURIOUS 2.0 website here.