Year 9 Digital TechnologiesUnits 1 and 2
COURSE HUB

Term 2 – Robotics Systems & Physical Computing 🤖

This term, you are moving from code on a screen to code in the real world. You will use VEX IQ to build, test, code, and improve robots that move, repeat actions, sense, and respond to what is happening around them.

You are not starting coding again from zero. You already know how to write, test, debug, and improve Python programs. This term, you will apply those same habits to physical systems, where the code matters, the build matters, and the testing matters.

START HERE

📍 Where to next?

Use this page as your main Term 2 information hub:

1. Open this week’s lesson page
Follow the lesson sequence in order. That is your main pathway through the term.
2. Record evidence in your engineering notebook
Write during the lesson as you test, fix, and improve. Do not leave it until the end of the lesson or later.
3. Use support or challenge sections when needed
If you are stuck, troubleshoot properly. If you finish early, push your work further instead of waiting.
📘 ENGINEERING NOTEBOOK

This term, you will keep an individual engineering notebook alongside your robotics work.

Your notebook should include:

  • build notes and diagrams
  • path plans and ideas
  • test results
  • problems noticed
  • changes made
  • evidence of improvement
Important: Your notebook is checked during class and used later as part of your assessment evidence.
Open the Engineering Notebook guide
💻 VEXcode resources

Use these pages if you need help opening VEXcode, choosing the correct mode, connecting your robot, configuring devices, or checking Python-style function calls.

Open the VEXcode setup and help page
Use this if you need help with installation, opening VEXcode, connecting the Brain, configuring devices, or downloading code.
Open setup help
Open the VEX IQ Python API reference
Use this if you want to check Python-style function calls, arguments, and what commands are available for the robot.
Open Python API reference
When should I use these?
Use the setup help page when VEXcode or the robot is not working properly.

Use the API reference page when you are building your Python command notes or checking what a function does.
🧭 Code modes this term
Driver Control
Useful for learning what the robot can physically do before trying to code it autonomously.
Blocks
Useful for quick prototyping, visual structure, and seeing robot behaviour clearly.
Python
Useful for clearer text-based structure, stronger code habits, and representing the same logic more directly.
The main idea: this term is about control, testing, and problem solving, not just dragging blocks around.
ASSESSMENT

Assessment Item 2: VEX IQ Gen 2 Space Rover Engineering Challenge

Your assessment is an engineering design challenge. You will design, build, test and improve a VEX IQ Gen 2 space rover prototype, then use your individual Engineering Portfolio Folder to show the planning, testing, changes and evidence behind your work.

Due date
11:30pm Tuesday 16 June 2026
Group size
Maximum two students
Assignment lessons
10 lessons
Engineering entries
At least 8 completed entries
What you must produce:
  • a functioning VEX IQ Gen 2 rover prototype demonstrated in class
  • an individual handwritten Engineering Portfolio Folder stored in a clear plastic folder
  • at least 8 completed engineering entries unless sick/away with prior permission
  • final rover photos uploaded through QLearn
  • a reference list if external sources were used
Assessment launch page

Start here for the task overview and submission requirements.

Open assessment page
Rover prototype support

Use this for rover inspiration, object interaction and required tests.

Open rover support
Starter Pack support

Use this for the scaffold pages in your Engineering Portfolio Folder.

Open Starter Pack support
Engineering entries support

Use this when writing your lesson-by-lesson engineering entries.

Open entry support

📘 Main lesson sequence

Each week builds on the one before it. Open the current week first, then use the support and challenge sections below when needed.

Systems, parts, build, and manual control. Learn how the robot works before you try to control it with code.
Program purposeful movement, test for accuracy, and debug both code and robot behaviour.
Use the Optical Sensor, [If then], and [Repeat] blocks so the robot can check cube colour and collect only the red Treasure Cube.
Build or finish the Cube Collector Clawbot, test Driver Control, start Stack and Score, attempt Speed Stack, and observe the arm/claw stability problem.
Catch up if needed, complete Stack and Score, engineer a better solution for tipping or dropping cubes, then begin autonomous Coding for Cubes.
Week 6 – Assessment planning and early build
Start the assessment pathway: plan, build the rover base, and begin movement testing.
Week 7 – Mechanism, criteria and prototype checkpoint
Develop the object mechanism, improve the design, and prepare the portfolio for formal testing.
Week 8 – Required testing and final design evidence
Complete required testing, refine using evidence, and prepare the final design summary and photo evidence.
Week 9 – Finish, reflect and submit
Finish the final evaluation, individual reflection, final checklist, photo upload and folder submission.
🧠 How this term connects to Term 1

Term 2 will teach you to transfer the programming skills you learnt last term into real-world systems. You are applying familiar coding ideas in a less predictable environment.

Sequence
becomes robot movement in order
Decisions
become reactions to sensor input, robot state, and conditions
Loops
become repeated checks, repeated actions, and more efficient robot programs
Debugging
now includes code problems, robot setup problems, and physical design problems
Important: Python thinking still matters here. Whether you use Driver Control, blocks, Python, or a mix, the goal is to build a system that is logical, testable, and reliable.
🛠️ Support centre

Robot or build problem?

  • Check the build carefully
  • Check ports, battery, and connection setup
  • Make sure the robot is assembled the right way around
  • Look for loose parts, wiring issues, or jammed movement

Code problem?

  • Read your blocks or code from top to bottom
  • Watch what the robot actually does
  • Test movement, arm, and claw actions separately
  • Change one thing at a time

Still stuck?

  • Use the lesson page troubleshooting section
  • Check your notebook for your last successful version
  • Be specific when asking for help
  • Explain what happened, not just that it failed
Remember: “It didn’t work” is not the end of the story. Your job is to work out what didn’t work and why.
🚀 Challenge pathway

If you finish the main task in a lesson, do not switch off. Push your work further.

Make it more reliable
Can it succeed several times in a row, not just once?
Improve precision
Can you reduce drift, overshoot, messy turning, or dropped cubes?
Test a different strategy
Can the same goal be solved in a better way?
Represent it in Python
Can you show the same behaviour in text-based code?

🤝 Expectations and norms

  • Handle robot parts carefully and pack them away properly.
  • Read your code or blocks carefully before running the robot again.
  • Test often instead of guessing.
  • Try to identify the problem before asking for help.
  • Help your group solve problems instead of waiting passively.
  • Be respectful when giving feedback or sharing equipment.
Page last updated 26 May 2026