Chapter 4: Robot Inspection
Lesson 1: Inspection Foundations
Learning Objectives:
- Explain why a robot must pass inspection before it competes.
- Describe the Head Referee's role in the inspection process.
- Identify the VEX IQ Inspection Checklist as the tool used to confirm a robot is legal, and the range of requirements it covers.
- Distinguish between objective rules and the few rules that require judgment.
- Identify the official resources used to support inspection decisions.
This lesson covers what inspection is, why a robot must pass it, who runs it, and what it checks.
Before continuing, read Section 4 – The Robot in the current Game Manual. This section contains both the robot rules and the inspection rules that inspection is built around.
Why Inspection Matters
Rule <R2> requires every robot to pass inspection before it is cleared to compete. A robot that has not passed inspection may not play in any match. Inspection protects fair competition: it confirms that each robot follows the same construction rules before it ever reaches the Field.
The Head Referee's Role in Inspection
Inspectors carry out inspections by working through the checklist with a team. The Head Referee is the final decision-maker on whether a robot is legal. In practice:
- Inspectors run the checklist, verify each item, and clear robots that pass.
- Head Referees answer rule questions inspectors cannot resolve, make the final call on any disputed item, and retain authority over robot legality throughout the event.
At a smaller event, referees may help with inspection when an extra set of hands is needed, and the Head Referee may perform inspections directly. At a larger event with several inspectors, the Head Referee acts as the backstop for difficult or contested decisions.
What Inspection Covers
Inspection works from a single tool: the VEX IQ Inspection Checklist. Each line maps to a robot rule in the Game Manual, and working through the checklist in order confirms that a robot meets every requirement. The checklist is organized around these categories:
- The robot — One robot per team, License Plates, and no parts that could damage or entangle another robot.
- Size — The robot fits within the legal starting volume, including any expanded configuration.
- Electronics — One Brain, one battery source, one Controller, current firmware, and the motor limit.
- Components and materials — Only legal VEX IQ parts, with allowed exceptions, no illegal modifications, and non-functional decorations only.
- Pneumatics — Limits on air tanks and the air pump, for teams that use them.
- Team verification — The team's confirmation that students did all design, building, and coding, and that they understand the Game Manual, Q&A, and Code of Conduct.
The checklist is the practical tool inspectors work from, and the Game Manual is the authority behind it.
Inspection Is Meant to Be Objective
Most checklist items are pass-or-fail and can be confirmed directly: a robot has one Brain or it does not; it fits the sizing tool or it does not. Inspection should be treated as cut-and-dry wherever possible.
A small number of items call for judgment. For example, <R13> asks whether a mechanism could damage or entangle another robot, and <R15> asks whether a decoration is truly non-functional — a call the Game Manual flags for extra scrutiny. When an item is not clear-cut, the inspector brings it to the Head Referee, who makes the final ruling. Keeping judgment calls with the Head Referee is what keeps inspection consistent across every team at an event.