For those who haven't seen the VEX Forum thread, some renders and important information about the V5 System have been released. Check it out below.
Here are the highlights so far (quotes from Paul Copioli):
"The motors, controller, vision sensor, robot radio, and battery will not be backwards compatible with the Cortex system."
"Every current sensor, except the flashlight, will be compatible with V5."
"The 393 (and 269) motor and the servo will work for limited power applications in the classroom, but will not be recommended for competition use."
"[VEX is] also "performance" leveling the V5, similar to what they do in the VEX IQ brain to help give them consistent behavior at different charge levels. You will get more usable power per robot per match with one V5 battery than you do with two 3000 mAh NiMH batteries.
"The VRC Game Design Committee will limit the amount of V5 Smart Motors teams with the V5 system can use. That limit is expected to be 8. By rule, the amount of 393 motors V5 teams will be able to use is exactly 0. The limit will be in place for the 2018-19 season and probably the 2019-2020 season."
"The connectors for the motor are RJ11 connectors."
"[VEX] will have standard cable lengths like VEX IQ AND a bulk cable option with connectors and a crimper sold directly by VEX so you can make your cables the exact length you want."
"The battery connections are custom 1 x 4 Molex connectors based on their industrial 2x2 design. the battery has the charging circuit inside and does not have an integrated cable. So the battery and the brain have the same connector."
"As far as software, there will be a full blown (well not ALL of the libraries) C++ inside VEX Coding studio in addition to the blocks and code safe text. The blocks and code safe text will be back and forth compatible to assist in the transition from block to text programming. So there will be three languages inside VEX Coding Studio to start. I suspect we will add more as the community requests it. Also, RobotMesh and PROS will be supported by those organizations right at launch."
"The motors (see image below) have a 2 stage planetary gearbox that is fully assembled. There will be three cartridges: 100 RPM, 200 RPM, and 600 RPM. The 100 RPM will be in the stock motors. The 200 and 600 will be add-on cartridges that you can purchase. They are color coded: 100 RPM = red; 200 RPM = green; 600 RPM = blue. No more grease on your hands from changing gears. The encoder and motor controller are completely isolated from the planetary gearbox on the back side of the motor. Cables are separate so motors don't have an integrated cable to go bad. Since these are smart motors, we are using the V5 firmware to monitor everything. We even have a motor life monitor that tells you when you are getting near the motor life based on mean current draw and motor rotations. Our goal for this motor was it would fail when the brushes fail, which is the end of life for motors. We expect teams will have to buy significantly less motors than in the past so your total spend on motors should go down over the long haul. [V5 motors will have] more than 2.5 times the power of the 393 motor. There are no PTCs in this design as we are protecting everything with firmware like we do in VEX IQ."
Pricing
V5 Motor - not to exceed $35
V5 Vision Sensor - not to exceed $70
V5 Brain - not to exceed $200
V5 Controller - not to exceed $100 (no need for batteries or radio as they are built in)
V5 battery - not to exceed $50 (LiFe design at 13.2V)
Trade in Program:
It will consist of turning in a Cortex, Joystick, and two radios for a discount on the V5 System Bundle. Right now the Retail on the V5 system Bundle is going to be around $400 and consist of a V5 Brain, V5 Controller, V5 Robot Radio, USB A to Micro cable, V5 Battery (with cable), & Charger. The trade-in discount will be somewhere between $150 and $200 off. With each trade-in you will get a one time use (read: one order only) 30% discount on the V5 motors (unlimited amount in that one order) to help offset the costs of transition. The coupon code for the motors is per system trade-in. If you trade in 3 systems, then you will get three orders worth of coupon codes for the motor discount.