📚 References

References & Sources

This site draws on GRSF student-centered policy, official VEX materials, historical RECF resources, peer-reviewed research, and contributions from the wider VRC community. We believe intellectual property matters — and citing sources is part of the engineering process we want to model for students.

✦ Why this page exists
The GRSF Student-Centered Policy requires student ownership and source credit. This page lists the sources behind what you read here so you can trace claims back to primary documents — and so you see what proper attribution looks like when it's your turn to cite sources in your own notebook.

How to read our guidance

SpartanDesignRobotics.org is an independent educational resource created by the Spartan Design robotics program at Mary R. Stauffer Middle School. It is not an official VEX or Global Robotics rules source. The current effective official Game Manual, Official Q&A, and applicable GRSF policies control.

OFFICIAL identifies an official source or a requirement grounded in it. Follow its linked document and effective date. This label does not make this website official.

ENGINEERING ANALYSIS identifies Spartan Design calculations, measurements, or engineering conclusions. Read the assumptions and method; results may change with inputs or testing.

SPARTAN RECOMMENDATION identifies our design, programming, educational, or strategy advice. Another team may reasonably choose differently.

Labels supplement citations; they do not replace them. They appear only where the authority of a section could be unclear. Unlabelled content is not automatically official.

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Policy & Rules References
Current student-centered policy and existing rule references. Historical RECF guidance is not the authority for current GRSF student-centered policy.
V5RC Game Manual · RECF / VEX Robotics
The authoritative game rules for VEX V5 Robotics Competition. Our game-manual pages paraphrase and summarize; the original PDF governs. If there is a conflict, the Game Manual wins.
v5rc-kb.recf.org →
RECF Guide to Judging — historical reference · RECF Library
Historical source behind older site guidance. For current student-centered and AI requirements, use the GRSF policy below.
Guide to Judging — Engineering Notebooks →
GRSF Student-Centered Policy · Global Robotics & Science Foundation
The authority for student ownership, outside assistance, AI use, and notebook authorship.
GRSF Student-Centered Policy →
Drive Team Training Course · RECF
The official drive team training we link to from role-driver. Alliance-station conduct, referee interaction, and game-day rules.
RECF Drive Team Course →
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VEX Community & Official Resources
Hardware documentation, community discussion, and third-party libraries commonly used in V5RC programming.
VEX Robotics — Hardware & Documentation · VEX Robotics
Part numbers, V5 brain and controller specifications, motor data, and official product documentation referenced throughout the hardware guides.
vexrobotics.com →
VEX Forum — Community Discussion · vexforum.com
Where "VEX Forum consensus" comes from. Cited throughout the site when a specific technique or best practice is drawn from community discussion rather than an official RECF document.
vexforum.com →
PROS — VEX V5 C++ Library · Purdue SIGBots
The programming environment and library we document for V5 code development. Open-source, maintained by Purdue University's ACM SIGBots chapter.
pros.cs.purdue.edu →
EZ-Template — Chassis & Auton Framework · EZ-Robotics
Third-party PROS template our programming guides build on. Created and maintained by the EZ-Robotics community.
ez-robotics.github.io/EZ-Template →
LemLib — Odometry & Path Following · LemLib contributors
Odometry and motion control library mentioned in advanced programming references. Used under its original license.
lemlib.readthedocs.io →
Onshape — CAD Platform · PTC / Onshape
CAD platform used throughout the mechanical design guides. Onshape Learning Center and PTC unit-plan materials inform our coach resources.
Onshape Help → Onshape Learning Center →
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External Research & Educational Sources
Peer-reviewed research and published educational frameworks informing the training and notebook guidance.
Deliberate Practice · Anders Ericsson et al.
Research on expert performance and motor learning. Cited in the driver-practice curriculum — the principles of measurable targets, spaced repetition, and practice just beyond current ability come from this body of work.
Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer (1993) →
Engineering Design Process (EDP) · NASA / ITEEA educational framework
The framework underlying the RECF notebook rubric. Identify → Brainstorm → Select → Build → Test → Iterate. Widely used in K-12 engineering education.
NASA STEM — Engineering Design Process →
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Tools & Libraries Used to Build This Site
Open-source and third-party software that runs the site itself. Listed separately from content sources so you can tell the two apart.
Netlify · Static hosting
The site's hosting provider. Free tier, global CDN, automatic HTTPS.
netlify.com →
Anthropic Claude API · AI backend for assistant tools
Powers the Tier 2/3 AI assistants (EZ Template, Onshape, Game Manual, Match Brief, Match Debrief, Guide Recommender). Use assistant output under the student-centered policy guidance below.
anthropic.com →
Google Fonts — Orbitron, Share Tech Mono, Nunito · Open Font License
Typography used throughout. Loaded from fonts.googleapis.com under the SIL Open Font License.
fonts.google.com →
// 05
Acknowledgments
People and teams whose work shaped this site.
Spartan Design — Team 2822 · Mary R. Stauffer Middle School
Students, mentors, and coaches who tested these guides in the field and flagged what needed fixing.
VEX / VRC Community · Teams and forum contributors
Every "VEX Forum consensus" note on this site stands on the shoulders of teams who shared what they learned publicly. Thank you.
✦ For students: citation & attribution
How to cite sources in your own engineering notebook
When you use information from outside your team — an RECF document, a VEX Forum post, a YouTube tutorial, a textbook — note where the information came from. A short inline note is enough: "Gear ratio formulas: VEX PLTW curriculum, Unit 3." or "Technique from VEX Forum thread on cheesy drive, Dec 2024." Citing sources is not plagiarism protection — it's evidence that your team knows what's yours and what you built on, which is exactly what judges look for.

AI assistance and student ownership. AI may teach; students must still do and understand the work. AI-generated ideas or code are outside sources: adapt, test, understand, and credit them. A generated program is not finished team work. Credit outside code where it appears. Libraries may remain unchanged; students must understand and explain their use and credit them.

Students write their own notebook. Adults and AI must not write it for them. Rephrasing output alone does not establish ownership. Read the full GRSF Student-Centered Policy.
Spotted something missing or miscredited? Email the team and we'll fix it in the next update.
📋 Student-Centered & AI Policy 📚 All Guides ← Spartan Hub
Team 2822 · Spartan Design VRC · Informational Reference
This site is an informational reference. Follow the GRSF student-centered and AI guidance above →