Practicing Using V5RC Virtual Driving Skills – VEX Library

VEX V5 Robotics Competition (V5RC) Virtual Driving Skills allows you to connect a VEX V5 Controller to your computer and complete practice Driving Skills matches. This article walks through the options available to you when practicing Virtual Driving Skills.

Note: Virtual Driving Skills is available only when using a Chrome browser.

Playing a Virtual Driving Skills Practice Match

Virtual Driving Skills for V5RC can be accessed using this link.

Before beginning, ensure that you have your VEX V5 Controller connected to Virtual Driving Skills and your Virtual Skills Key.

The Virtual Skills Practice window showing the Connection status in the upper left corner as green and Connected. In the upper right corner, the Drive Mode shows four options, Tank Drive is selected, and Left Arcade, Right Arcade, and Split Arcade, are pictured alongside. The Driving Skills Practice field is shown at the start of the match.

Once you have logged in using your Virtual Skills Key and connected your VEX V5 Controller, the Virtual Driving Skills Practice Match is ready to play. The Controller Status will show green and 'Connected,' in the upper left corner, and the Hero Bot is in the starting position.

A close up view of the lower left hand corner of the Driving Skills Practice window, with the Play button, a white rightfacing triangle, highlighted in a red box. The play button is located vertically between the settings icon and the reset button.

To start the match, press the Play button in the bottom lefthand corner.

The Driving Skills Practice window with a large 3 in the center showing the countdown to the start of the match.

A countdown will appear in the center of the screen, allowing you to prepare to start driving using your Controller.

A close up view of the upper right hand corner of the Driving Skills Practice window showing the remaining time in the match. The time reads 9 seconds.

During the match, the time remaining is shown in the upper right corner.

A close up view of the upper left hand corner of the Driving Skills Window showoing the score updating in real time as the match is played. The score reads 5 points.

During the match, your score will update in the upper left corner.

A close up view of the lower left hand corner of the Driving Skills window showing the Stop button, a white hexagon, that appears in place of the Play button during a match. The Stop button is located vertically between the settings icon and the reset button.

To end the match before time runs out, select the Stop button on the bottom left corner.

The end of match screen showing the Practice Results for the Team Number and Registered Team Name. The Score reads 5 points. The Retry button at the bottom of the screen is highlighted in a red box, indicating what to select to play again.

At the end of the match, your team name and final score will be displayed. Select Retry to close this window and reset the Field.

A close up view of the lower left hand corner of the Driving Skills window showing the Reset button, a white circular arrow. The Reset button is located beneath the settings icon and the Play button.

The Reset button in the bottom left corner can also be used to reset the Field layout.

Selecting a Drive Mode

The upper right side of the Driving Skills Practice Window showing the Drive Mode selection area in a red box. Tank Drive is currently selected, and the Left Arcade, Right Arcade, and Split arcade options are shown in a row.

Above the Virtual Driving Skills Practice Window, you will see options for selecting the Drive Mode.

A close up view of the Drive Mode options, showing Tank Drive selected. The other three options are to the right and read Left Arcade, Right Arcade, and Split Arcade.

The selected Drive Mode will show the name in dark blue and have a blue line around the icon.

Select the name of the Drive Mode to change your configuration.

Each Drive Mode sets the configuration of your Controller joysticks and how the joysticks control the movement of the Drivetrain.

Tank Drive: Drives the left motor of the robot using the left joystick, and the right motor of the robot using the right joystick.
Left Arcade: Drives the robot forward, reverse, left, and right all using the left joystick.
Right Arcade: Drives the robot forward, reverse, left, and right all using the right joystick
Split Arcade: Drives the robot forward and reverse using the left joystick, and turns the robot right and left using the right joystick.

Additional Settings

Camera Options

View options for the Field are located in the lower righthand corner of the Virtual Driving Skills Practice Window.

Driver Station Icon: changes the camera to the view from the Driver Station
Orbit Camera Icon: changes the camera so you can see an overview of the Field
Top Down Icon: changes the camera to be positioned above the Field
Chase Icon: changes the camera to be positioned behind the robot

Robot Configuration

The Drive Motors section of the Robot Configuration area on the bottom of the Driving Skills page. It reads Drive Motors at the top and shows options for Maximum velocity with a slider from 0 to 100%.

The Drive Motors section enables you to set the Max Velocity. Select the slider to change the velocity or type the desired maximum velocity in the text box.

The Arm Motor section of the Robot Configuration area on the bottom of the Driving Skills page. It reads Arm Motor at the top and shows options for Maximum velocity with a slider from 0 to 100%, as well as Controller Mapping options for which buttons control the up and down

The Arm Motor section enables you to set the Max Velocity for the Arm Motor, as well as set the Controller buttons that control the Arm.

To adjust the velocity, select and drag the slider, or type the desired velocity limit in the text box.

To change the Controller buttons, select the dropdown beside Arm Up and Arm Down to set your desired buttons.

The Pusher Motor section of the Robot Configuration area on the bottom of the Driving Skills page. It reads Pusher Motor at the top and shows options for Maximum velocity with a slider from 0 to 100%, as well as Controller Mapping options for which buttons control the raise and lower

The Pusher Motor section enables you to set the Max Velocity for the Pusher Motor, as well as set the Controller buttons that control the Intake.

To adjust the velocity, select and drag the slider, or type the desired velocity limit in the text box.

To change the Controller buttons, select the dropdown beside Pusher Lower and Pusher Raise to set your desired buttons.