Manufacturer price is listed at $199.99. This is why I like Woot (except when it has Woot-Offs during finals week causing me to loose study time and giving me “Server Too Busy” pages at such opportune times during the Woot-Offs). Over fifty percent off manufacturers “suggested” retail price.
Server Too Busy
this reminds me of the erector sets
Apparently this is different from the full blown Vex robotic system according to what I found on amazon reviews, I almost bought it thinking I could do some programming on it, but apparently it’s just a fancy RC kit.
From Amazon:
Regardless, where the kit is really lacking is the inability to do any programming. Without being able to program, this isn’t a robot; it is a remote-controlled car. The kit is overly basic to make it a very effective teaching tool in high-school or middle-school. It may be good for elementary.
A real “garage engineer” would find a workaround for this. 
I saw a video of a Lego Mindstorms solving a rubix cube.
I went to the Lego store and thought that the price of it was a bit too steep to see if I would be that intrigued.
Then this wOOt…
Basic design yeah, but it is the perfect entry kit for those who may be interested in delving further into this little hobby.
In for one.
Thx woot. 
looks sweet… but as far as I can tell it’s not Mac compatible if you want to reprogram it. although the slightly stilted grammar on http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex-robotics-downloads.shtml leaves room for interpretation: “All Kits are Not Mac compatible”.
looking for photo sensors on their site I ran into the “line following kit”. where’s the fun in that?
Seems cheaper than lego mindstrom, but I think that in lego mindstrong you program instead to control by control remote
The camera and receiver alone sells for the same price on the manufacturers website as Woot is selling it for here tonight. This is an easy and basic kit and parts of it appear to be compatible with VEX’s other more advanced kits for future expansion and creativity. It is a good start, especially at this price, so don’t badmouth it by stating that it is too simple or basic as that is the point. It is a beginners device.
looks fun and i home school my 9 year old daughter so im in for 2 just to help make learning fun.
Install a virtual machine (QEMU), install windows and wa la! Maybe works.
I’m got the VEX starter kit and really like the flexibility and robustness of the parts. I extended mine with an Erector set from eBay. The Vexplorer looks way cool, but pricey. Now at $79, I’m getting two.
In for one! Nice woot, $20.00 cheaper than Amazon.
Requires one “9V” and 10 “AA” batteries
yikes
I also got the Vex Starter Kit off Woot a couple years back:
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=1008
Anyone have any experience using the two together? I assume all the parts are compatible, but what about the RF controllers? This one looks a little shoddy. Will the heavyweight one from the Starter Kit work with this?
This kit was designed as a simpler version of the original VEX Robotics Design System because the original didn’t sell well to the general public (though it is quite popular in it’s niche market). Everything should be compatible with all the old VEX stuff which is still available on their site.
You can’t program this one because it comes with the simpler RC unit, unfortunately. The original kit is $300 and the programming software is an extra $100 though so even if this RC could be programmed it would have been quite a bit extra to do it anyway.
This is a more creative RC car as is, and if you get other stuff from the VEX website it’s a very cheap way to get extra parts.
nice product today, esp. loved the podcast about the guy from clearwater, haven’t stopped laughing yet, if only you knew, made my day, keep up the great work
I’d rather have the monkeys…
Yeah, yeah. Shoulder of Orion blah blah blah Tannhäuser gate yack yack yack…
We’ve heard it before, Roy!
What age is this recommended for? My boys are 8 and 10. They love lego’s and remote control toys. My youngest loves robots and takes apart things and puts them back together in different ways and makes them work with batteries etc. Are they too young or will this work for them.