Top 5 robots in each state

[HolyLandBrand]

Since the season is over, what were the top 5 robots in your state during Recycle Rush?

[AlexC]

I live in Ohio and from what I have seen the ranking is:

1. 379
2. 5413
3. 48
4. 120
5. 4269

Fair warning I am associated with 5413 so there may be some bias

Attached is the ranking data for Ohio based on the Michigan District ranking system.

[Trevor1523]

Not sure about northern Florida teams but I can account for those that attended Orlando and South Florida regionals

I'm not sure about the rankings but I'd probably say the top five in no particular order are:

744
1523
2383
179
Probably 1592 or 2556

(Can't account for 233 because I never saw them actually play, but they're usually stellar.)

[Andrey K.]

Oregon is sadly a little light when it comes to strong teams. (most strong pnw teams are from Washington). But here they are:

4488: An incredibly dominant robot that ended up seeding 1st at every pnw event they went to. They played well to their strengths, and really should have gone to Einstein this year.

2550: A breakout year for 2550. They ended the season playing incredibly well at both their district events (1 district win, 1 district finalist), as well as getting to semi's at district champs. Sadly they could not attend worlds this year, hopefully that changes.

2990: Probably the most successful team from the area to build their stacks in separate parts. They came out in the season swinging, being one of the most impressive robots at the Willamette Valley scrimmage during week 0, and continued to play well throughout the season.

1425: 1425 was one of the best cappers in the northwest. That along with their can grabber at district championships made them a hot commodity for eliminations.

2635: a fast hp stacker that did well at their district events, but seemed to fall short on the big stage.

[MikLast]

based from here: (http://frc-districtrankings.usfirst.org/PNW)

PNW:
1983
4488
955
2250
2471

WA:
1983
2471
1318
1595
2930

OR:
4488
2550
1510
2990
2635

[nikeairmancurry]

Michigans top 2 are both 1s..

1A- 1023
1B- 548
3- 33
4- 3641
5- Fill in any one of 10 different robots here

[John Retkowski]

For NJ I would say:

2590
303
1403
193
2607

It's definitely a tough list to make, and there are many good teams that I could see on this list.

[mastachyra]

Illinois:

2338 - Gear it Forward - Einstein Quarter finalists
2481 - Roboteers - Tesla Quarter finalists (Ranked 1st)
1756 - Argos - Newton Finalists
4143 - MARS/WARS - Curie ranked 10th, but didn't play in playoffs ??? anyone know what happened? I can't find any information
2451 - PWNAGE - Galileo Quarter Finalists

Did I miss anyone?

[z_beeblebrox]

AZ:
3944
60
4183
842
2478

[Kevin Leonard]

New York:
1) 5254- Finalist at both upstate NY events, and the only robot in New York capable of making 3 stacks of 6 in a match.

2) 340- Winner at Tech Valley and Finalist at Finger lakes, the robot consistently made stacks of 5 from the human player station and could cap them to boot. They also had some of the best can grabbers in the state, other than perhaps 329's.

3) 263- The Sachem Aftershock won South Florida, and then did well at both of their New York events making 2-2.5 stacks of 6 in a match

4) 1126- Arguably the best New York team to not make champs, 1126 didn't meet expectations at their first event, but came in strong at Finger Lakes, making 2-2.5 stacks in a match fairly consistently with their unique design.

5) 1511 or 3015-
1511 was a decent robot at their regionals, making shorter stacks and grabbing cans from the middle, but they really picked it up at champs, making 1.5-2 stacks/match from the feeder station throughout qualifications and getting picked as a backup bot in their division.
3015 won the Finger Lakes Regional as 4039's first pick from the 7 seed. At FLR, they were making capped, shorter stacks. In their division at champs, 3015 was selected as a part of the #2 alliance's second pick, and played a few rounds making uncapped stacks from the feeder while their alliance was preparing 4522's can grabbers.

Honorable Mentions:
329 was known for their wicked fast can grabbers, which they brought to both the Long Island Regional and to Waterloo. They earned their way to champs through an EI award, and also got picked and played in their division.

1507- 1507 had the best tote stack auto in the state, hitting it multiple times in qualifications and eliminations at the Finger Lakes Regional. They could make multiple short stacks from either the feeder or landfill, and they were capable of grabbing cans from the step during teleop in a pinch.

New York had a very good year overall.

[Kevin Leonard]

Illinois:

2338 - Gear it Forward - Einstein Quarter finalists
2481 - Roboteers - Tesla Quarter finalists (Ranked 1st)
1756 - Argos - Newton Finalists
4143 - MARS/WARS - Curie ranked 10th, but didn't play in playoffs ??? anyone know what happened? I can't find any information
2451 - PWNAGE - Galileo Quarter Finalists

Did I miss anyone?

They were selected for the 8th alliance, but they played their backup robot instead, as they needed another HP stacker for eliminations and they needed 1318's can grabbers.

[Brian Maher]

My top 5 for NJ:
-303
-316
-1403
-2590
-2607

For Eastern PA/DE:
-225
-365
-1218
-1640
-4954

Picking ten teams was tough. MAR was really competitive this year, great robots all around :D

[tindleroot]

2338 - Gear it Forward - Einstein Quarter finalists


Even better - they were actually semi-finalists!


My personal list for Indiana is:

1. 234 (IN state champions, 3 event wins all as 1st seed, 1 district CA)
2. 1024 (IN state champions, 2 event wins)
3. 135 (IN state CA, 1 event win)
4. 5188 (1 event finalist, IN state championship 3rd seed)
5. 1501 (1 event win, IN state championship finalist)

But it is really debatable, since there were so many strong teams come Indiana state championships! Other notable teams that I saw this year were 71, 1720, 1741, 5402, 1747, and I'm sure I'm missing a few more.

[AGPapa]

My top 5 for NJ:
-303
-316
-1403
-2590
-2607


For NJ I would say:

2590
303
1403
193
2607


While I like 2607, they have the unfortunate fate of being from Pennsylvania, not NJ. :)

[GKrotkov]

My top 5 for NJ:
[snip]
-2607


For NJ I would say:
[snip]
2607


I'm pretty sure 2607 is from PA.
https://www.google.com/maps?q=Warminster,+PA,+USA



EDIT: Oops! Beat me to it.

[Ty Tremblay]

This looks fun, let's collect the data.

Survey Here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1e_ETABwX7IEzF__ZCgkZF5zRJNrk2uQX0O3YLwST0ac/viewform)

Results Here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XksFfiFBBwrkYj79c-vmtW-gFi6efDk24pXpAcUqiqY/edit?usp=sharing)

[bijan311]

For Wisconsin my top five would be:

1) 2826 - Awesome autonomous, able to make 3 full stacks a match, two regional wins and Einstein finalist
2) 2062 - Consistently put up 2 full stacks a match, a simple robot, and also have two regional wins this year
3) 1732 - Solid stacker and were just short of being in the finals of the Wisconsin Regional
4) 3418 - Decent stacker, good at capping stacks, interesting canburglar, and finalist at the Wisconsin Regional.
5) 93 - Lake Superior Regional winner, just shy of the finals in Wisconsin, and in my opinion the best stack capper in the state

Honorable mentions include: 2077, 5148, and 706

[Brian Maher]

My top 5 for NJ:
-303
-316
-1403
-2590
-2607


While I like 2607, they have the unfortunate fate of being from Pennsylvania, not NJ. :)

My bad! My revised NJ list:
-219
-303
-316
-1403
-2590

[jajabinx124]

My top 5 for Minnesota(I submitted my top teams in the survey but wanted to give some reasoning behind it),

1) 2512- With one of the best 3 tote auto's out there, they amazed everyone with their 3 tote auto at their week 1 regional which is impressive in my book. They improved in between competitions and were dominant at the MN state championship. They were capable of scoring 104 points a match at times(3 tote auto + 2 capped and noodled 6 stacks) at state.

2) 3130- Best MN landfill bot this year. These guys put up high scores at Northern Lights and North star this year. They were ranked 4th in newton and ended up as semi-finalists! I'm really happy for their double banner season!

3) 2502- Best HP loader bot from MN this year. These guys dominated at 10,000 lakes. They were even better at champs where they were picked 9th overall by the 8th seeded alliance! I'm glad we got to compete with 2502 twice and I was disappointed that they didn't qualify for state.

3) 2883- FRED had an amazing ability to make stacks in chunks. They were extremely reliable and I was glad that we got to compete with them twice this year! Their tethered ramp addition was a smart idea before the state tournament which made them much quicker.

5) 2169- Another robot that didn't qualify for state which deserved to. They did very well at the Wisconsin regional and champs. 2nd best landfill bot in Minnesota and one of the best can burglar bots from MN at champs(Picked 8th overall in Hopper). I felt like they were really underrated this year and they were one of the best robots coming out of MN.

Honorable mentions: 1816, 4778, 5172

[Rachel Lim]

This is really, really hard...I'm doing just northern CA because it's hard enough as it is:

1. 254 - they won CVR and SVR, and seeded first on Carson with a robot capable of 4 full stacks and 200+ points on its own; that did landfill, HP, and coop; with a 20pt auto; and with a max OPR of 157.

2. 1678 - focusing on the center containers and stacks of 5 from the HP station, they finished a 5 banner season, winning CVR, Sac, SVR, Newton, and Einstein.

3. 971 - despite being eliminated in semis at Sac they made finals at SVR and were the first seed on Carver, grabbing two containers in auto and doing cycles of 6 from the HP station.

4. 1671 - made semis at CVR and Sac as captain of the 4th and 2nd alliances, they somehow made it to 2nd pick of 118/1678 on Newton, where they did 6 stack cycles from the HP.

5. 701 - capping their HP stacks with center containers picked off in teleop, they were finalists at CVR, Sac, and Lone Star.

Other teams: 2085, finalists at Sac and SVR with another HP stacker, and 846, who made semis at SVR and is one the best teams from northern CA to not make it to champs. I'm not entirely sure if 973 is considered northern or southern CA, since they're basically halfway between San Jose and LA, so I didn't include them (the list was also hard enough as it is...)

I just realized that out of these 7 teams, 6 stacked only from the HP station as far as I know.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Texas
1. 118 - World Champs, 5 Banners, fast can grab, clears the landfill, reliable auto stack
2. 148 - The best of Team Tether, reliable auto, 3+ stacks a match, consistent
3. 624 - Texas' best robot at the chute door that didn't use a tether. Had an awesome season and should do very well at a number of their off-season events including IRI.
4/5. 4587/1296 - Consistency issues plagued both these robots at championships but when they are on it's hard to beat their stack output. Not getting consistent tote stacks in auto and the inability of tether bots to grab cans moves them down the list.

2468, 3310, 1817, and many others had great robots this year as well.

[Anupam Goli]

let me take a stab at Georgia.
1. 2974. Very simple robot that could do 2 fully capped stacks of 5 from the HP. Won Orlando
2. 4188. Reliable 5 stacks fully capped from the feeder station, but sometimes were only able to do 1. Won Peachtree.
3. 1746. Did 2 reliable 5 stacks with cans from the HP station, but not as versatile as 4188 or 2974. Semifinalists at both regional competitions they attended
4. 4468. Decent landfill machine that specialized in landfill stacking. They could only stack totes, but paired with a good capping robot, their strategies were deadly. Finalists at peachtree

5.1648. Similar robot to 4468, made mad stacks out of the landfill and could clear it of totes. Didn't add RC abilities until it was too late, and they couldn't refine their can stacking. Their tote stacking was unparalleled though.

[BariSaxGuy]

From Missouri, based on State Championship Results:

1: 1730: 3 capped 6 stacks from HP, auto stack
2: 1986: Stacks of 3 from landfill, then 3 more totes and RC, caps with this stack for 6.
3: 4522: Stacks of 5 with RC from HP, Unique belt clamp mechanism to hold stacks
4: 1806: Stacks of 6 with RC from HP, auto stack, competitive with 1730
5: 1987: Conveyor system, ~ 5 stacks of 3-6 without RC. Works best with a partner who can cap stacks.

[Ryan_Todd]

Since "best" is a fairly subjective term, Imma go ahead and present my results for Michigan using a few different sets of criteria.

Commence the research! ::rtm::


First, here's the rankings based on FIRST in Michigan's own proprietary system:
1023
548
2137
33
68Next, here they are by "score" just at the Michigan State Championship, as defined by FIM:
548
1023
573
27
1711And by average qualification score at MSC:
1023
3641
548
70
33And by cross-referencing all teams' qual averages from the World Championship against a list of Michigan teams that attended CMP:
85
1023
107
548
2137And by doing the same for each team's playoff averages at CMP:
2137
548
33
85
1023And finally, a ranking based on each team's highest playoff average across any of the events they attended (2nd picks excluded):
1023
548
2137
33
85Do with this what you will.
...or don't.
Whatever.

[Citrus Dad]

This is really, really hard...I'm doing just northern CA because it's hard enough as it is:

1. 254 - they won CVR and SVR, and seeded first on Carson with a robot capable of 4 full stacks and 200+ points on its own; that did landfill, HP, and coop; with a 20pt auto; and with a max OPR of 157.

2. 1678 - focusing on the center containers and stacks of 5 from the HP station, they finished a 5 banner season, winning CVR, Sac, SVR, Newton, and Einstein.

3. 971 - despite being eliminated in semis at Sac they made finals at SVR and were the first seed on Carver, grabbing two containers in auto and doing cycles of 6 from the HP station.

4. 1671 - made semis at CVR and Sac as captain of the 4th and 2nd alliances, they somehow made it to 2nd pick of 118/1678 on Newton, where they did 6 stack cycles from the HP.

5. 701 - capping their HP stacks with center containers picked off in teleop, they were finalists at CVR, Sac, and Lone Star.

Other teams: 2085, finalists at Sac and SVR with another HP stacker, and 846, who made semis at SVR and is one the best teams from northern CA to not make it to champs. I'm not entirely sure if 973 is considered northern or southern CA, since they're basically halfway between San Jose and LA, so I didn't include them (the list was also hard enough as it is...)

I just realized that out of these 7 teams, 6 stacked only from the HP station as far as I know.

For California as a whole this year, I would put 1671 above 971 because they were better at Sacramento, and they returned to that level in eliminations at Champs. I also would put 2085 above 701, but barely, again because of their Sacramento and SVR performances.

Interestingly, the only Southern California team that I would slot into this group is 330 as they made Einstein. 973 looked to be just below this group this year. This seemed to be a down year for Southern California, especially compared to the standout year they had in 2014.

[Samps]

Definitely 955 should be in the top 5 in Oregon. Amazingly compact, well built, and a PNW district champs winner.

[Kevin Sheridan]

For California as a whole this year, I would put 1671 above 971 because they were better at Sacramento, and they returned to that level in eliminations at Champs. I also would put 2085 above 701, but barely, again because of their Sacramento and SVR performances.

Interestingly, the only Southern California team that I would slot into this group is 330 as they made Einstein. 973 looked to be just below this group this year. This seemed to be a down year for Southern California, especially compared to the standout year they had in 2014.

3476 is another great Southern California bot that made Einstein. They could make 3 capped 6-stacks with noodles and another uncapped.

[XaulZan11]

For Wisconsin my top five would be:

1) 2826 - Awesome autonomous, able to make 3 full stacks a match, two regional wins and Einstein finalist
2) 2062 - Consistently put up 2 full stacks a match, a simple robot, and also have two regional wins this year
3) 1732 - Solid stacker and were just short of being in the finals of the Wisconsin Regional
4) 3418 - Decent stacker, good at capping stacks, interesting canburglar, and finalist at the Wisconsin Regional.
5) 93 - Lake Superior Regional winner, just shy of the finals in Wisconsin, and in my opinion the best stack capper in the state

Honorable mentions include: 2077, 5148, and 706

The only change I would make would be to include 2194 (the ramp they added between Wisconsin and Midwest helped them significantly) in the top 5 and maybe elevate 2077.

[RoboChair]

2. 1678 - focusing on the center containers and stacks of 5 from the HP station, they finished a 5 banner season, winning CVR, Sac, SVR, Newton, and Einstein.


TBA says these scrubs only managed 4 banners this year.

Joking aside I would agree with most of the rankings I have seen in here so far, recognize many many numbers from this year.

[fargus111111111]

IMO these are the best from SC.
1. 283, the Generals: after being dormant for many years they came out strong this year and deserved to go to St. Louis but unfortunately did not.
2. 4451, Robotz Garage: one of the fastest week one hp stackers
3. 343, Metal in Motion: one of the few SE week one 3 tote autos and by peachtree it was a decent hp stacker
4. 1319, Flash: a slight adjustment of weight distribution would have made this a fantastic robot
5.This last one is hard, not that there are not other good teams, but no other standouts for me.

(I am a part of 343 so some bias there and to the upstate, all these teams are upstate teams)

[The other Gabe]

I gotta make my own PNW lists

WA- there are many a deserving team from washington, with many solid stackers all at the same level, more or less:
1)1983- edges out other robots of similar ability due to their consistency and relatively fast canburglar (in later events)
2)3663- The second most successful Washington this year (along with us :D), CPR's breakout year featured them stacking very well from the feeder station since week 1. should have won many events, but had the fortune that is also a misfortune of having 1983 at every event in district that they attended
3)1318- continuously improving, going from stacking 4's to stacking 6's by the end of the season, as well as canburglaring from week 1, 1318 was the best Landfill bot in the PNW, and would have ranked first on this list had it not been for the times when their lift couldn't seem to lift more than 2 totes without the RC falling off
4)948- the only team with a consistent 3 tote auto in the PNW due to my team deciding to change collector designs, NRG was also a very capable feeder station robot, also capable of going from the landfill if it was absolutely necessary.
T-5)4061- with the most entertaining collector in all of FRC, the SciBorgs dealt with downed containers and had a canburglar by St. Louis, also getting 2 stacks of 6 from the feeder
T-5)2471- I'm sorry, I just couldn't keep this great robot off the list. A good canburglaring robot that worked well from the landfill, this Swerve driven robot could also cap capably.

OR- the field isn't quite as deep from this state, but their good robots are very good
1)4488- Consistent stacking from week 1, getting up to 3 stacks of 6 from the feeder with a canburglar by DCMP. Should have been on einstein this year.
2)955- Adding a ramp did wonders for this team, allowing them to stack 2+ stacks of 6 from the feeder station. also their lift was really cool
3)2550- It is extremely unfortunate that this great team did not have the funds to make it to St. Louis. Another team to benefit from a ramp
4)1425- the best PNW robot built to cap stacks, 1425 also created a good 2 canburglar by DCMP, and were decent stackers from the landfill
5)2635- their robot, while inconsistent, was able to create at least a stack of 6 from the feeder station most matches

PNW:
1)4488
2)955
3)1983
4)3663
T-5)1318
T-5)2550

[jspatz1]

From Missouri, based on State Championship Results:

1: 1730: 3 capped 6 stacks from HP, auto stack
2: 1986: Stacks of 3 from landfill, then 3 more totes and RC, caps with this stack for 6.
3: 4522: Stacks of 5 with RC from HP, Unique belt clamp mechanism to hold stacks
4: 1806: Stacks of 6 with RC from HP, auto stack, competitive with 1730
5: 1987: Conveyor system, ~ 5 stacks of 3-6 without RC. Works best with a partner who can cap stacks.

If I remember right 1986 does an auto tote stack also, but instead stole 2 cans in auto at the state champs.

[Billfred]

IMO these are the best from SC.
1. 283, the Generals: after being dormant for many years they came out strong this year and deserved to go to St. Louis but unfortunately did not.
2. 4451, Robotz Garage: one of the fastest week one hp stackers
3. 343, Metal in Motion: one of the few SE week one 3 tote autos and by peachtree it was a decent hp stacker
4. 1319, Flash: a slight adjustment of weight distribution would have made this a fantastic robot
5.This last one is hard, not that there are not other good teams, but no other standouts for me.

(I am a part of 343 so some bias there and to the upstate, all these teams are upstate teams)

Anyone that doesn't put 4451 at the top of the list this year isn't paying attention. Gold at Palmetto, silver at Orlando, semifinals in their subdivision? Undisputed.

1319 probably gets the #2 slot--they figured out the chute game early, won Georgia Southern Classic and were running pretty decently on Curie.

Several teams built strong cases for 3-5--283 (which is a new veteran team, never dormant), 343, 1102, 1876, 4073. All were good in their own domains, though only 4073 left with a banner.

(I'd note that this was an up year for many more teams--of the Columbia-area teams, I'd posit that only 4901 really backslid. 1293 and 2815 definitely ran better, and with some tuning 3976 could have their best machine ever at SCRIW.)

[jajabinx124]

If I remember right 1986 does an auto tote stack also, but instead stole 2 cans in auto at the state champs.

Cause 1986 was paired up with 1730. They did the 3 tote stack for them. 1986 had a good can burglar.

[BJT]

NORTH DAKOTA

1) 876 - 2 capped and noodled stacks in most matches. averaged 74 points per elimination match in Galelio. ranked 6th, Quarterfinalist

2) 4818 - Won first regional, inconsistent in regionals but running good at worlds ranked 19th in Carson, Quarterfinalist

3) 877 - They try hard:)

4)

5)


2 out of the 3 robots in the state were really solid and made eliminations in their division at worlds, not too bad:)

[Electronica1]

I'm not from this area, but what the heck, why not.

Netherlands
1. 4481
2. 5412
3. 4. (and possibly 5.) 4481's other robots

[The other Gabe]

I'm not from this area, but what the heck, why not.

Netherlands
1. 4481
2. 5412
3. 4. (and possibly 5.) 4481's other robots

that looks like it was a very tough list to assemble ;)

[Electronica1]

that looks like it was a very tough list to assemble ;)

Here is another tough one

Nebraska
1..... did anyone travel with their robot through Nebraska this year?

[Munchskull]

Here is another tough one

Nebraska
1..... did anyone travel with their robot through Nebraska this year?

Ohhhhh, Shots fired. In all seriousness Nebraska needs to step up there game. WHY NO FRC? It makes me sad.

[Edxu]

Gonna throw out the Ontario list here:

1114- Undisputed king of landfill. 3, sometimes 4 stacks of 6 capped noodled, super-fast 2bin grabber and harpoons. Just harpoons.

865- Incredibly fast HP stacker, builds a stack of 6 almost as fast as 254 at the HP station.

2056- Not quite as strong as 1114 in the landfill, but had their cangrabber ready for action much earlier. Another extremely flexible robot, doing HP and landfill equally.

1325- In my opinion, Oskar showed the greatest improvement I've ever seen over a season without major robot component changes. They went from a mid-tier robot at GTC to beasting their way through Waterloo and Carson.

188- One of the most adaptive robots that I've seen, they started as the original HP load specialist, eventually going through several iterations of their cangrabber and arriving at a great result just in time for St. Louis.

[Dunngeon]

based from here: (http://frc-districtrankings.usfirst.org/PNW)

PNW:
1983
4488
955
2250
2471

WA:
1983
2471
1318
1595
2930

OR:
4488
2550
1510
2990
2635

Hey,

Just wanted to let you know that, contrary to popular opnion, we do exist in a state (OR)! Not just the PNW :D

[Joseph DeRoest]

Hey,

Just wanted to let you know that, contrary to popular opnion, we do exist in a state (OR)! Not just the PNW :D

Yeah, that was bugging me, too! You guys totally deserve to be on that list!

[Doug Frisk]

My top 5 for Minnesota(I submitted my top teams in the survey but wanted to give some reasoning behind it),

1) 2512- With one of the best 3 tote auto's out there, they amazed everyone with their 3 tote auto at their week 1 regional which is impressive in my book. They improved in between competitions and were dominant at the MN state championship. They were capable of scoring 104 points a match at times(3 tote auto + 2 capped and noodled 6 stacks) at state.

2) 3130- Best MN landfill bot this year. These guys put up high scores at Northern Lights and North star this year. They were ranked 4th in newton and ended up as semi-finalists! I'm really happy for their double banner season!

3) 2502- Best HP loader bot from MN this year. These guys dominated at 10,000 lakes. They were even better at champs where they were picked 9th overall by the 8th seeded alliance! I'm glad we got to compete with 2502 twice and I was disappointed that they didn't qualify for state.

3) 2883- FRED had an amazing ability to make stacks in chunks. They were extremely reliable and I was glad that we got to compete with them twice this year! Their tethered ramp addition was a smart idea before the state tournament which made them much quicker.

5) 2169- Another robot that didn't qualify for state which deserved to. They did very well at the Wisconsin regional and champs. 2nd best landfill bot in Minnesota and one of the best can burglar bots from MN at champs(Picked 8th overall in Hopper). I felt like they were really underrated this year and they were one of the best robots coming out of MN.

Honorable mentions: 1816, 4778, 5172

I know why you didn't include 2052 in that list, it being a Minnesota thing and all, but 2052 does belong in that top 5.

[MikLast]

Hey,

Just wanted to let you know that, contrary to popular opnion, we do exist in a state (OR)! Not just the PNW :D

I blame band. It will be fixed, my bad!

EDIT:
Or... not, as i have seemed to lost the privilege to do so on that post...
You should be second, i just cant change it. Do i need to be on the computer i posted it on?

[EricH]

I blame band. It will be fixed, my bad!

EDIT:
Or... not, as i have seemed to lost the privilege to do so on that post...
You should be second, i just cant change it. Do i need to be on the computer i posted it on?

Nope, you just need to be faster to get to the edit button. There's something like a 24-hour limit on edits.

[MikLast]

Nope, you just need to be faster to get to the edit button. There's something like a 24-hour limit on edits.

missed it a while ago, heh. didnt know that, thanks for telling me.

[Bob Steele]

Oregon is sadly a little light when it comes to strong teams. (most strong pnw teams are from Washington). But here they are:

4488: An incredibly dominant robot that ended up seeding 1st at every pnw event they went to. They played well to their strengths, and really should have gone to Einstein this year.

2550: A breakout year for 2550. They ended the season playing incredibly well at both their district events (1 district win, 1 district finalist), as well as getting to semi's at district champs. Sadly they could not attend worlds this year, hopefully that changes.

2990: Probably the most successful team from the area to build their stacks in separate parts. They came out in the season swinging, being one of the most impressive robots at the Willamette Valley scrimmage during week 0, and continued to play well throughout the season.

1425: 1425 was one of the best cappers in the northwest. That along with their can grabber at district championships made them a hot commodity for eliminations.

2635: a fast hp stacker that did well at their district events, but seemed to fall short on the big stage.

I will go ahead and put your team in there (955). You were a solid performer and a great team to play with. We had a great time playing with you in Philomath and at District Champs. Consistent and quick to make 2 capped stacks of six with the option of a third stack when the wind blew in the right way. You could be counted on every time.

You are also a great team to work with off the field and we were very happy that we got the chance to have you as an alliance member twice.

[cjl2625]

From Ty's survey, I've constructed a Top 5 for Connecticut.
This is the combined result based on the 12 submissions.

#1 -- 195: 55 points
#2 -- 2067: 39 points
#3 -- 2836: 26 points
#4 -- 230: 17 points
#5 -- 2170: 14 points

Other teams receiving votes:
228: 12 points
2168: 8 points
175: 5 points
999: 2 points
236: 1 point

[orangemoore]

Illinois List
Team # Pts
1- 2481 61
2- 2338 48
3- 1756 37
4- 2451 28
5- 1625 12
Honorable Mentions
4143 6
111 2
4655 1

[jajabinx124]

Minnesota List based of pts from survey(from 12 submissions so far),

1) 3130, 55 pts
2) 2512, 48 pts
3) 2502, 36 pts
4) 2052, 25 pts
5) 2883, 10 pts

Other mentions:

2169, 5 pts

2175, 1 pt

[Lij2015]

I'll take a stab at Virginia:

1. 2363/384 (2 capped 6 stacks from HP and some change)
3. 623 (2 capped 5 stacks from HP)
4. 1731 (Only bot I saw pull off 3 tote at the Va regional, landfill 6 stacks)
5. 1086 (Probably the second best landfill bot in our state, most consistent)

Not exactly our state but Maryland:
1. 836
2. 1629
3. 2534
4. 2377
5. 888

[carpedav000]

Indiana (IMO)

1.) 1024
2.) 5188
3.) 1501
4.) 234
5.) 1741

Anyone care to challenge this?

[tindleroot]

Anyone care to challenge this?

Let's hear your reasoning first.

[MichaelBick]

For California as a whole this year, I would put 1671 above 971 because they were better at Sacramento, and they returned to that level in eliminations at Champs. I also would put 2085 above 701, but barely, again because of their Sacramento and SVR performances.

Interestingly, the only Southern California team that I would slot into this group is 330 as they made Einstein. 973 looked to be just below this group this year. This seemed to be a down year for Southern California, especially compared to the standout year they had in 2014.

1717 and 973 were both comparatively pretty good from the landfill by champs. 973 also had fast can burglars on for champs.

[DWCEagles228]

From Ty's survey, I've constructed a Top 5 for Connecticut.
This is the combined result based on the 12 submissions.

#1 -- 195: 55 points
#2 -- 2067: 39 points
#3 -- 2836: 26 points
#4 -- 230: 17 points
#5 -- 2170: 14 points

Other teams receiving votes:
228: 12 points
2168: 8 points
175: 5 points
999: 2 points
236: 1 point

The list is very nice. Now the the season is over my list would be...
#1 195
#2 2067
#3 2168
#4 228
#5 999

[IndySam]

Indiana (IMO)

1.) 1024
2.) 5188
3.) 1501
4.) 234
5.) 1741

Anyone care to challenge this?

234 has to be at the top of the list for Indiana and I love 1741 but there is no way you can put them above 135, 1720, 71 or 447.

[John Weissman]

Top in southeast Pa.
You can flip #1 and 2
1. Sab-bot-age 1640
2. Tech Fire 225
3. Vulcan 1218

[evanperryg]

My personal top 5 for Illinois. This isn't entirely based on season achievements or scoring abilities, but has some bearing on the history of the team and the design itself.
1. 2481: Their landfill is among the best in the world. They wipe out the landfill with ease, and their swerve is (as always) gorgeous. They're consistently one of the best teams in the Midwest, and they're getting better and better every year. Although they were taken out early by a bad quarters match, their robot is astounding.
2. 1756: No matter if they're mining the landfill or using their long ramp, 1756 is one of the most versatile bots in the Midwest. They can take on any role and excel at it. They have a strong 20pt auto, and a set of quick can pullers. Whether they are making their consistent 3 capped stacks from the feeder, or wiping out the landfill with the craziest collector I have seen all season, 1756 puts up big points anywhere on the field.
3. 4143: No team has ever deserved more creativity points than 4143. Every year, they manage to make the wackiest design on the field incredibly effective. This year, they did just that, making a robot with four individually-controlled elevators all on the same rail. They were one of the only, if not the only effective landfill robot that did not use a wheeled collector.
4. 2451: Coming off their best season ever, 2451 put together a very strong feeder bot. Their impressive machining and wild can grabber (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik4Oiol5A5U) are creative and very effective. After struggling with a networking problem that forced them to withdraw from Midwest eliminations, 2451 came back for a strong performance at championships.
5. 1625: I've never seen a team get this much better between 2 events. 1625 went from hardly moving to being a viable landfill bot in the 4 weeks between their regionals. Yet another Illinois team to have some really bad luck in quarterfinals, they were taken out early in Carver, but they proved that they won't go down easily.

Some honorable mentions:
111: After a rough 2014 season, 111 is making a comeback in a big way. They have gotten better and better with every match, and I expect them to progress even further at IRI. They are an excellent tote handler who just hasn't had the luck of being paired with a strong capper... yet. They could complete a very powerful collaborative alliance under the right conditions.
4655: A little-known team that deserves a whole lot more recognition than they get. In pre-event driver practice, it was exciting to watch them outclass many top feeder bots from more recognized teams. Their design is refined, simple, and can put up impressive points. Although elimination rounds just never worked out well for them, they are easily one of the best robots in Illinois; I believe 4655 will become a force to contend with in the coming years.

[mrnoble]

Colorado

#5: 2996, Cougars Gone Wired. They know how to adjust on the fly, and they build quality machines. This year was no exception.

#4: 662 Rocky Mountain Robotics. Again, a quality team that can make the most of their machine.

#3: 1410, George Washington. They followed the right design ideas this year, though technical problems kept them from performing at their best. Still, a strong team and an impressive bot.

#2: 4499, the Highlanders. An excellent landfill robot, and a spectacular team.

#1: 1619, Up A Creek. It was clear from the first moment that they unveiled in Utah that this was the team to beat, and they produced results in Utah and Colorado. Their years of hard work and terrific design really paid off this time.

[carpedav000]

234 has to be at the top of the list for Indiana and I love 1741 but there is no way you can put them above 135, 1720, 71 or 447.

Reasoning for putting them above another REALLY good HP bot is I feel like they were the best landfill bot from IN. If it were a top 10 list, 1741 would be #7

[EmmaKay1019]

I'm not from this area, but what the heck, why not.

Netherlands
1. 4481
2. 5412
3. 4. (and possibly 5.) 4481's other robots
Is 5412 the team from Groningen?

[logank013]

Indiana (IMO)

1.) 1024
2.) 5188
3.) 1501
4.) 234
5.) 1741

Anyone care to challenge this?

I care to challenge it. 234 should be number 1 or 2. Consistent at 2+ full stacks and 135 was just right up there with us. 135 isn't even on your list but they were doing 2+ stacks as well (with 5 as max height). 5188 was almost there but they weren't as consistent. 1501 was only doing 1 and 1/2 stack so they should be around 5. 1024 was good because they were the only indiana team with good can burglars but weren't near as good as 234, 135, or 5188 at stacking. 1741 could only do 1 5 stack usually but they were good cappers. 1720 should also be mentioned on here somewhere. Best landfill bot in IN I think. My top 5 is
1/2 234 and 135
3 5188
4 1024
5 1720
6 1501
7 1741
8 5402
9. 829
10. 71

Hopefully missed no powerhouse in IN. Thanks for reading.

[Kevin Leonard]

I care to challenge it. 234 should be number 1 or 2. Consistent at 2+ full stacks and 135 was just right up there with us. 135 isn't even on your list but they were doing 2+ stacks as well (with 5 as max height). 5188 was almost there but they weren't as consistent. 1501 was only doing 1 and 1/2 stack so they should be around 5. 1024 was good because they were the only indiana team with good can burglars but weren't near as good as 234, 135, or 5188 at stacking. 1741 could only do 1 5 stack usually but they were good cappers. 1720 should also be mentioned on here somewhere. Best landfill bot in IN I think. My top 5 is
1/2 234 and 135
3 5188
4 1024
5 1720
6 1501
7 1741
8 5402
9. 829
10. 71

Hopefully missed no powerhouse in IN. Thanks for reading.

1501 was hitting 2+ stacks throughout Carson.

[logank013]

1501 was hitting 2+ stacks throughout Carson.

That's great. My analysis was based off state. I can scout state competition but not 8 divisions at worlds. Lol

[Noudvanbrunscho]

Is 5412 the team from Groningen?

Yep they are indeed.

[RKazmer]

I'll take a stab at Virginia:

1. 2363/384 (2 capped 6 stacks from HP and some change)
3. 623 (2 capped 5 stacks from HP)
4. 1731 (Only bot I saw pull off 3 tote at the Va regional, landfill 6 stacks)
5. 1086 (Probably the second best landfill bot in our state, most consistent)


I would put 384 slightly above 2363 for consistency in play not to mention that they made Galileo Finals. While 2363 has the 2 capped six stacks, 384 seems a bit faster and more consistent. The thing that 2363 has over 384 is landfill capability.

[The other Gabe]

I would put 384 slightly above 2363 for consistency in play not to mention that they made Galileo Finals. While 2363 has the 2 capped six stacks, 384 seems a bit faster and more consistent. The thing that 2363 has over 384 is landfill capability.

2 6 stacks from landfill> 2 6 stacks from feeder: landfill is usually much harder. for example, my team could consistently get a capped 6 from the landfill. we ramped from the feeder 1 time and got a capped 6 & uncapped 4, with nearly no practice from that position

[RKazmer]

2 6 stacks from landfill> 2 6 stacks from feeder: landfill is usually much harder. for example, my team could consistently get a capped 6 from the landfill. we ramped from the feeder 1 time and got a capped 6 & uncapped 4, with nearly no practice from that position

I do agree. The landfill is one of the harder areas to build for in the game this year. However, the better bot still seemed to be Sparky 384. Triple Helix may have had the more all-around bot, but Sparky seemed to be more consistent and could clear the feeder station during a normal match. So for this year, I would give Sparky #1 and a very very close second to 2363.

[TAlholm]

From Ty's survey, I've constructed a Top 5 for Connecticut.
This is the combined result based on the 12 submissions.

#1 -- 195: 55 points
#2 -- 2067: 39 points
#3 -- 2836: 26 points
#4 -- 230: 17 points
#5 -- 2170: 14 points

Other teams receiving votes:
228: 12 points
2168: 8 points
175: 5 points
999: 2 points
236: 1 point
All of these teams deserve recognition after the amazing year they've all had.
*Shameless self plug*
After being a part of the 8 point QF4 at Waterbury, 1991 went on to be the #1 pick at Pioneer Valley. May not be good enough for this list, but something worth mentioning.:o

[Ginger Bread]

Top 5 teams in no particular order from GA

4188 - Columbus
1648 - G3
1311 - Kell
2974 - Walton
4189 - Chargers

This is just my opinion from what I saw at the Xbots off season competition and at the Georgia Southern Classic Regional.

[TDav540]

I do agree. The landfill is one of the harder areas to build for in the game this year. However, the better bot still seemed to be Sparky 384. Triple Helix may have had the more all-around bot, but Sparky seemed to be more consistent and could clear the feeder station during a normal match. So for this year, I would give Sparky #1 and a very very close second to 2363.

2363 also didn't focus on landfill most of the time. They were mostly a feeder bot. I did see them venture out into the landfill a few times however.

I think they were both quality teams that are basically interchangeable with each other and together form an alliance that is difficult to beat with solely Virginia/Chesapeake teams.

[asid61]

The survey results for CA sometimes don't mention 254. 0.0 I agree with the other usual teams (1678, 1671, 971, 973) but holy cow 254 was amazing this year. Far more dominant than usual, with an OPR of 160 at SVR (and they earned it).

[evanperryg]

Indiana (IMO)
Anyone care to challenge this?

Yep.
1) 234
2) 135
3) 1720
4) 5188
5) 1501

Far more dominant than usual, with an OPR of 160 at SVR (and they earned it).

"Far more dominant" you mean they singlehandedly outscored every other robot in the world on a regular basis? :D

1) 254
2) 1678
3) 973
4) 971
5) 1671

Here's a couple others:
Minnesota
1) 3130
2) 2512
3) 2502
4) 2052
5) 2169

Idaho
1)2122
2)2122
3)2122
4)2122
5)...is there another team in idaho...

Missouri:
1)1730
2)1806
3)1986
4)3284
5)1723

[Kevin Leonard]

Yep.
1) 234
2) 135
3) 1720
4) 5188
5) 1501



"Far more dominant" you mean they singlehandedly outscored every other robot in the world on a regular basis? :D

1) 254
2) 1678
3) 973
4) 971
5) 1671

Here's a couple others:
Minnesota
1) 3130
2) 2512
3) 2502
4) 2052
5) 2169

Idaho
1)2122
2)2122
3)2122
4)2122
5)...is there another team in idaho...

Missouri:
1)1730
2)1806
3)1986
4)3284
5)1723

I think you need to include 1717 in your CA list. All of the robots below were either the #1 pick or #1 seed in their division, and while 1671 was obviously incredible, they were a much later pick and didn't have the upsides of some of the other machines on this list. (3476 would also go above 1671 due to their higher point ceiling).
1) 254 (Carson #1 seed)
2) 1678 (Newton #1 pick)
3) 1717 (Carver #1 pick)
4) 973 (Carson #1 pick)
5) 971 (Carver #1 seed)

[MikLast]

Idaho
1)2122
2)2122
3)2122
4)2122
5)...is there another team in idaho...


yes, about 15...

[Nathan Streeter]

The list is very nice. Now the the season is over my list would be...
#1 195
#2 2067
#3 2168
#4 228
#5 999

CT is in some ways the hardest New England state, because the field is just so deep, but I think my list would be:

#1 195
#2 2067
#3 2168
#4 230
#5 228

But it's really tough to leave 2170, 999, 236, 2836, and 175 off! They all get Honorable Mentions for sure!

I'll take a whack at the rest of New England too...

Maine:
#1 - 4564
#2 - 133
#3 - 58
#4 - 5122
#5 - 172
Honorable Mentions: 5687, 2648 (both are tough to leave off!)
Note: #2-#5 really aren't sorted... it's very tough to rank them!

New Hampshire:
#1 - 1519
#2a - 3467
#2b - 319
#4 - 2342
#5 - 501
Honorable Mentions: 1058 (could be swapped for 501), 95, 138, 166
Note: 3467 and 319 were both very strong, really just filling different roles

Massachusetts:
#1 - 125
#2 - 1768
#3a - 2877
#3b - 246
#5 - 1100
Note: 246 and 2877 would be very strong compliments; which one you'd prefer would depend on the rest of your alliance composition. Although there were other strong teams in MA, I feel like this top tier of 5 teams is pretty decisive (or at least, much clearer than CT, NH, or ME)

Rhode Island:
#1 - 78
#2 - 5112
#3 - 5738
#4 - 121
#5 - 1350
Note: With only 6 teams in RI, 3780 was unfortunately the odd-man-out.

Vermont:
#1 - 885
#2 - 2523
#3 - 2370
Note: Vermont, with only 3 teams, was pretty easy!

[evanperryg]

yes, about 15...

!!! No video for most of them, but based on their event performances:
1) 2122
2) 2130
3) 3562
4) 3513
5) 2594

Interesting that a lot of the teams listed on FIRST team search are defunct, even when you filter it for 2015 teams only. I put 1671 on my top 5 primarily for the fact that they won the championship, I tried to rank teams not only by their individual performances but by what they achieved with their alliances.

[Citrus Dad]

I think you need to include 1717 in your CA list. All of the robots below were either the #1 pick or #1 seed in their division, and while 1671 was obviously incredible, they were a much later pick and didn't have the upsides of some of the other machines on this list. (3476 would also go above 1671 due to their higher point ceiling).
1) 254 (Carson #1 seed)
2) 1678 (Newton #1 pick)
3) 1717 (Carver #1 pick)
4) 973 (Carson #1 pick)
5) 971 (Carver #1 seed)

1671 underperformed during Newton qualifications relative to what they did in their two regionals. They seeded 2nd at Sac ahead of us. This year CA was dominated by NorCal teams (adding 973 to that group for convenience). 2085 and 701 may have been better than any of the SoCal teams as well given what I saw on the webcasts. 1717 wasn't the best of the SoCal teams this year. It's hard to measure how they did because their division was relatively weak.

[Kevin Leonard]

1671 underperformed during Newton qualifications relative to what they did in their two regionals. They seeded 2nd at Sac ahead of us. This year CA was dominated by NorCal teams (adding 973 to that group for convenience). 2085 and 701 may have been better than any of the SoCal teams as well given what I saw on the webcasts. 1717 wasn't the best of the SoCal teams this year. It's hard to measure how they did because their division was relatively weak.

I mean they were making 3 stacks out of the landfill in their best matches. That to me seems objectively better than 3 stacks out of the feeder, like 971, and definitely better than the 2 from 2085 and the 2? from 701. You could put 973 above them, sure. Maybe even put 971 above them due to the wicked fast can grabbers. But they definitely go above the other California teams.

And Carver wasn't that weak. 971, 1986, 368 were some of the best there was.

That being said, a ton of CA teams were incredible this year, and I don't mean to put 1671 down at all, they were seriously good. Hell, they won a world championship. 701, 2085, 3476, 1538, 399, 696, 1323- all incredible. I can't even name all the incredible CA teams. The list of CA teams outside my top 5 includes a World Champion, an Einstein Quarterfinalist, a Division Finalist, and multiple robots picked in their division at worlds.

[Jay O'Donnell]

NH: (My opinion changes all the time)
1: 1519-it's not even a question. Can't doubt all those wins this year. Also the nicest team in New England.
2: 319-if you include the offseason they have been ridiculously good. HP stacking, Landfill stacking, can get cans off the step, has a stacking autonomous, and is an awesome group of people.
3: 501-consistently put up multiple stacks and won their first event (I think). A nice breakout year for the Powerknights.
4: 3467-great robot, unique as always, but couldn't put it together in the playoffs. Still a great machine.
5: 1058-hard to rank my own team but I feel like we belong in 5th. Large potential, but had consistency issues. Including offseason we definitely deserve top 5, without it I would push us to 6.

Honorable Mentions (in order): 2342, 138, 95

[gcgeobuff]

Idaho
1)2122
2)2122
3)2122
4)2122
5)...is there another team in Idaho...


For Idaho:
1. 2122
2. 3562
3. 2130
4. 2594
5. 5489

Honorable mentions: 3513, 1569

[Navid Shafa]

!!! No video for most of them, but based on their event performances:
1) 2122
2) 2130
3) 3562
4) 3513
5) 2594


Glad to see Alpha+ up there. 2130 consistently pumps out competitive robots. They know what it takes to win at the regional level and have been successful for as long as I can remember.

[Rachel Lim]

1671 underperformed during Newton qualifications relative to what they did in their two regionals. They seeded 2nd at Sac ahead of us. This year CA was dominated by NorCal teams (adding 973 to that group for convenience). 2085 and 701 may have been better than any of the SoCal teams as well given what I saw on the webcasts. 1717 wasn't the best of the SoCal teams this year. It's hard to measure how they did because their division was relatively weak.

I mean they were making 3 stacks out of the landfill in their best matches. That to me seems objectively better than 3 stacks out of the feeder, like 971, and definitely better than the 2 from 2085 and the 2? from 701. You could put 973 above them, sure. Maybe even put 971 above them due to the wicked fast can grabbers. But they definitely go above the other California teams.

And Carver wasn't that weak. 971, 1986, 368 were some of the best there was.

My data from a while back, from the other thread:

Team Stacks Number Height Auto Notes

254 LF + HP 1 + 2-3 6T+C+N 3T Both LF+HP (total stacks 3-4)
1678 HP 3 5T+C+N 3T/2C
1671 HP 3 6T+C+N
971 HP 2-3 6T+C+N 2C
2085 HP 2 6T+C
701 HP 2 6T+C

3476 HP 3 6T+C+N
973 LF/HP 2-3 6T+C/+N 2C Either LF or HP, 6T+C for LF, 6T+C+N for HP
1717 LF 2-3 6T+C 3T
3309 LF 2-3 6T+C 3T
330 HP 2-3 6T+C


If I had to norcal / socal together, I'd get something like:
1. 254
2. 1678
3.5. 971/973 (could be higher because of cangrabbers)
3.5. 1671/3476 (could be higher because of stacking power)
5. 1717/3309

What I found interesting was that norcal seemed to focus way more on HP loading than socal (at least from what I've seen). Of the first 4 alliances' captains and first picks (254/1678, 2085/971, 368/846, 670/1280) the only team to focus on the landfill was 368, who isn't from CA.

I agree that Carver wasn't weak. 971/1717 were both really strong but their alliance seemed to suffer in playoffs from connection issues or something (they had a few matches where one of them wasn't moving). The winning/finalist alliances were also great (368/359/337/144 and 233/1718/4039/1425--it was particularly fun to watch the second because they all did stacks in parts, so they worked together to make 6 stacks), and if I remember correctly, 1986's alliance was also doing very well but couldn't make up for a dropped stack in the quarters.

*Disclaimer: Carver was the only division where I saw any qualification matches, since that was where we were competing, and one of two (Curie was the other) where I saw playoffs.

[The other Gabe]

My data from a while back, from the other thread:

Team Stacks Number Height Auto Notes

254 LF + HP 1 + 2-3 6T+C+N 3T Both LF+HP (total stacks 3-4)
1678 HP 3 5T+C+N 3T/2C
1671 HP 3 6T+C+N
971 HP 2-3 6T+C+N 2C
2085 HP 2 6T+C
701 HP 2 6T+C

3476 HP 3 6T+C+N
973 LF/HP 2-3 6T+C/+N 2C Either LF or HP, 6T+C for LF, 6T+C+N for HP
1717 LF 2-3 6T+C 3T
3309 LF 2-3 6T+C 3T
330 HP 2-3 6T+C


If I had to norcal / socal together, I'd get something like:
1. 254
2. 1678
3.5. 971/973 (could be higher because of cangrabbers)
3.5. 1671/3476 (could be higher because of stacking power)
5. 1717/3309

What I found interesting was that norcal seemed to focus way more on HP loading than socal (at least from what I've seen). Of the first 4 alliances' captains and first picks (254/1678, 2085/971, 368/846, 670/1280) the only team to focus on the landfill was 368, who isn't from CA.

I agree that Carver wasn't weak. 971/1717 were both really strong but their alliance seemed to suffer in playoffs from connection issues or something (they had a few matches where one of them wasn't moving). The winning/finalist alliances were also great (368/359/337/144 and 233/1718/4039/1425--it was particularly fun to watch the second because they all did stacks in parts, so they worked together to make 6 stacks), and if I remember correctly, 1986's alliance was also doing very well but couldn't make up for a dropped stack in the quarters.

*Disclaimer: Carver was the only division where I saw any qualification matches, since that was where we were competing, and one of two (Curie was the other) where I saw playoffs.

being on curie, I had a similar, if opposite viewing experience, and I loved watching Pink team's alliance. 1717's alliance should have been on Einstein, though. I love the way 971 places stacks, and both of them are just so good. Carver was a strong field for sure, and also home to a lot of unique robot designs and strategies

[Nathan Streeter]

NH: (My opinion changes all the time)
1: 1519-it's not even a question. Can't doubt all those wins this year. Also the nicest team in New England.
2: 319-if you include the offseason they have been ridiculously good. HP stacking, Landfill stacking, can get cans off the step, has a stacking autonomous, and is an awesome group of people.
3: 501-consistently put up multiple stacks and won their first event (I think). A nice breakout year for the Powerknights.
4: 3467-great robot, unique as always, but couldn't put it together in the playoffs. Still a great machine.
5: 1058-hard to rank my own team but I feel like we belong in 5th. Large potential, but had consistency issues. Including offseason we definitely deserve top 5, without it I would push us to 6.

Honorable Mentions (in order): 2342, 138, 95

I'd definitely agree with your list from a more off-season-oriented perspective. I'd say even #5 might be low for 1058 if looking more from a "as of right now" perspective.

Thanks for the kind comments regarding our team! I think there are some nicer teams in New England (1058 and 2648 being the very first two to come to mind), but we do try. :-)

[Jay O'Donnell]

I'd definitely agree with your list from a more off-season-oriented perspective. I'd say even #5 might be low for 1058 if looking more from a "as of right now" perspective.

Thanks for the kind comments regarding our team! I think there are some nicer teams in New England (1058 and 2648 being the very first two to come to mind), but we do try. :-)

It's difficult to include off seasons into rankings since 1058 has played at 4 off seasons already, while 3467, 501 and 2342 have only played at one.

[mipo0707]

Ontario top 5 of 2015

1. 1114. 3-4 6CL stacks landfill and HP. 3 regional wins and Einstein semi-finalists(3rd best in world)(also 2nd seed and 1st pick). 3 regional technical awards. They caught a great a Simbot from the waters! Their robot blew me out of the waters and hooked me instantly more than my robot

2. 2056. 3 6CL stacks landfill or HP. 3 regional wins and Einstein quarter-finalists(5th best in world)(also 2nd alliance captains). 1 regional chairmans award, 2 regional technical awards, 1 WC technical award. IRI winners. 22 regional win streak, 3 division wins, 2 chairmans, 27 official banners 3 IRI win streak(won 5 out of 9), 32 unofficial banners. I HOPE THEIR 10TH SEASON IS SPECIAL!!!!!!! cough cough World Champions

3. 5406. (ROOKIE!!!!!!!) 3 6CL stacks HP. Regional finalists and Carson Quater-finalists (also 7th alliance captains). waterloo rookie all-star and highest rookie seed, WC highest rookie seed. JUST $@#$@#$@#$@#!!!!! following the steps of veterans and fellow mentors 4039 and 2056.

4. 4039. 3 6CL stacks HP. 1 regional win and carver finalists. 1 chairmans award, 1 regional technical award. made extensive improvements from event to event. i saw them make 3.5 stacks at IRI(like $@#$@#$@#$@#)

5. 1325. 3 6CL stacks HP. 2 regional finalists and einstein quarter-finalists(8th best in world)(also 2nd alliance captains). 1 regional chairmans award, 2 regional non-technical awards. this team improved massively over the season from quarter-finalists to division winners

[Brandon Holley]

It's difficult to include off seasons into rankings since 1058 has played at 4 off seasons already, while 3467, 501 and 2342 have only played at one.

1058 should have brought that off-season fire power into the regular season. Would've shaken some of the district events up a bit :)

Brando

[Citrus Dad]

I mean they were making 3 stacks out of the landfill in their best matches. That to me seems objectively better than 3 stacks out of the feeder, like 971, and definitely better than the 2 from 2085 and the 2? from 701. You could put 973 above them, sure. Maybe even put 971 above them due to the wicked fast can grabbers. But they definitely go above the other California teams.

And Carver wasn't that weak. 971, 1986, 368 were some of the best there was.

That being said, a ton of CA teams were incredible this year, and I don't mean to put 1671 down at all, they were seriously good. Hell, they won a world championship. 701, 2085, 3476, 1538, 399, 696, 1323- all incredible. I can't even name all the incredible CA teams. The list of CA teams outside my top 5 includes a World Champion, an Einstein Quarterfinalist, a Division Finalist, and multiple robots picked in their division at worlds.

What comes into my consideration is consistency. 971 has some problems this season. They ironed out most of them, but they were still plagued on at Champs. 1671 was very consistent at both CVR and Sac, and returned to that level in elims at Newton after they returned their mechanism to it original config. (Remember that 1671 was picked to qualify 2nd in Newton and that was every bit legit when we analyzed it.) On that basis of that kind of direct personal observation they outperformed both 971 and 973. That puts them above 1717 which is below 971.

I brought in 2085 and 701 because they had outperformed 971 at regionals, but it's probably true that 971 lifted their game more at Champs. On the other hand 701 ranked 6th in Curie while 1717 was 5th in Carver. That's pretty much a toss up.

[Jay O'Donnell]

1058 should have brought that off-season fire power into the regular season. Would've shaken some of the district events up a bit :)

Brando

Unfortunately we didn't have the can arm or the intake wheels until the end of our second district. We played pretty well at NE CMP and I was honestly a little surprised when we didn't get picked (despite a few failures we put up a ton of stacks). And then champs we just had issue after issue. Now that we got time with the robot out of the bag and some time to get new drivers some practice...the offseasons been good to us.

[The other Gabe]

Ontario top 5 of 2015

1. 1114. 3-4 6CL stacks landfill and HP. 3 regional wins and Einstein semi-finalists(3rd best in world)(also 1st seed and 1st alliance captains). 3 regional technical awards. They caught a great a Simbot from the waters! Their robot blew me out of the waters and hooked me instantly more than my robot



1114 was neither first seed nor an alliance captain on Curie. that honor was 148's. they were, however the second ranked team and first pick.

[cjl2625]

CT is in some ways the hardest New England state, because the field is just so deep, but I think my list would be:

#1 195
#2 2067
#3 2168
#4 230
#5 228

But it's really tough to leave 2170, 999, 236, 2836, and 175 off! They all get Honorable Mentions for sure!

I'll take a whack at the rest of New England too...

Maine:
#1 - 4564
#2 - 133
#3 - 58
#4 - 5122
#5 - 172
Honorable Mentions: 5687, 2648 (both are tough to leave off!)
Note: #2-#5 really aren't sorted... it's very tough to rank them!

New Hampshire:
#1 - 1519
#2a - 3467
#2b - 319
#4 - 2342
#5 - 501
Honorable Mentions: 1058 (could be swapped for 501), 95, 138, 166
Note: 3467 and 319 were both very strong, really just filling different roles

Massachusetts:
#1 - 125
#2 - 1768
#3a - 2877
#3b - 246
#5 - 1100
Note: 246 and 2877 would be very strong compliments; which one you'd prefer would depend on the rest of your alliance composition. Although there were other strong teams in MA, I feel like this top tier of 5 teams is pretty decisive (or at least, much clearer than CT, NH, or ME)

Rhode Island:
#1 - 78
#2 - 5112
#3 - 5738
#4 - 121
#5 - 1350
Note: With only 6 teams in RI, 3780 was unfortunately the odd-man-out.

Vermont:
#1 - 885
#2 - 2523
#3 - 2370
Note: Vermont, with only 3 teams, was pretty easy!

Nice set of lists.
How about NE top 5 or top 10 as a whole? I'll think about that one, but it'll sure be tough. So many to choose from! Especially as my memory is already fading from this season.

So far, I can at least provide the top 1 from New England :P
#1 - 195

[CJ_Elliott]

I was on was on drive team and didn't watch most of the matches from IRI... Could anyone give an unbiased ranking of Minnesota???

[jajabinx124]

I was on was on drive team and didn't watch most of the matches from IRI... Could anyone give an unbiased ranking of Minnesota???

If your asking rankings based on the teams from MN that went to IRI(based on their performances on IRI), it would be

1. 2502
2. 3130/2512(I'm not sure who would top the other)

I don't know how well these rankings actually ranks these teams, because 3130 and 2512 got unlucky, due to their schedule. They had to play roles in recycle rush that they weren't suited to strategically(such as 3130 using the ramp to get totes from the HP station or 2512 creating stacks from the landfill). Unfortunately, both 2512 and 3130 couldn't show off their max capabilities during qualification rounds.

[CJ_Elliott]

That's dissappointing because both of those teams are good teams when they play in the position that they normally did at other competitions

[Kevin Leonard]

If your asking rankings based on the teams from MN that went to IRI(based on their performances on IRI), it would be

1. 2502
2. 3130/2512(I'm not sure who would top the other)

I don't know how well these rankings actually ranks these teams, because 3130 and 2512 got unlucky, due to their schedule. They had to play roles in recycle rush that they weren't suited to strategically(such as 3130 using the ramp to get totes from the HP station or 2512 creating stacks from the landfill). Unfortunately, both 2512 and 3130 couldn't show off their max capabilities during qualification rounds.

I was surprised that 3130 didn't get picked. But I think part of it came down to a number of other teams showing up with a ton of landfill improvement done (179, 503, 5254, etc.), and them not having any really useful autonomous modes (because their two-can grabber was unusable due to IRI rules).

2502 was just consistent all day from that feeder station, and I think 2512 would have been similar if they had the schedule 2502 did. I remember 2512 doing co-op and landfill a ton of times, which was unfortunate for showing off capabilities.

Minnesota was pretty good all around this year, despite a few traditional powerhouses underperforming.

Minnesota:
1) 3130
2) 2502
3) 2512
4) 2169
5) 2526
(2052/5172 could all feasibly fill that #4 and #5 slot as well)

All the top Minnesota teams were fairly closely matched this year, so really that's just a top 5-7.

[fargus111111111]

Anyone that doesn't put 4451 at the top of the list this year isn't paying attention. Gold at Palmetto, silver at Orlando, semifinals in their subdivision? Undisputed.

1319 probably gets the #2 slot--they figured out the chute game early, won Georgia Southern Classic and were running pretty decently on Curie.

Several teams built strong cases for 3-5--283 (which is a new veteran team, never dormant), 343, 1102, 1876, 4073. All were good in their own domains, though only 4073 left with a banner.

(I'd note that this was an up year for many more teams--of the Columbia-area teams, I'd posit that only 4901 really backslid. 1293 and 2815 definitely ran better, and with some tuning 3976 could have their best machine ever at SCRIW.)

1319 got my #4 spot because of stability, in short, they weren't. Their robot functionality was great, as usual, but when they tried to lift 6 stacks they would tip, at least at Peachtree, this instability caused them to drop stacks. From what I understand they had added intake wheels that were not on at GSC, which affected their balance. Also, they broke during eliminations at Peachtree and that cost them.

283 was the most stable and innovative one-sided lift I saw. Their lift was stable enough to hold a can on top of the top tote with out supporting the can at all. They earned the innovation in design award presented to them at Peachtree. If they had gone to St. Louis they would have been picked, may have been picking and with all that space on the back of their bot, if they didn't add can robbers, they probably would have been cheesecaked. Also, not to be picky but, according to some of our mentors, they did compete the first year with 281 and just this past year, (off season 2014), restarted, this is what I meant by dormant.

4451 another extremely good bot, but I did see them drop a stack, this is the only reason they are below 283 on my list, who I NEVER saw drop a stack. Not many teams can say that I don't think. Also, based on where teams finished the season, 343 leads the pack with a Finalist division trophy.

4901, that was the bot with the "elephant ears" for grabbing cans right? While they didn't work as well as they had hoped they were interesting.

Overall this was a good year for South Carolina and I look forward to an even better year next year. Who knows, maybe we can get a SC team onto Einstein next year.

PS: SCRIW is going to be fun! With so many robots in the area that only needed one or two things to make them great, it is going to be a very competitive field.

[Zflash]

1319 got my #4 spot because of stability, in short, they weren't. Their robot functionality was great, as usual, but when they tried to lift 6 stacks they would tip, at least at Peachtree, this instability caused them to drop stacks. From what I understand they had added intake wheels that were not on at GSC, which affected their balance. Also, they broke during eliminations at Peachtree and that cost them.
.

Harsh... we dropped a 6 stack in one practice match and now our entire robot is unstable. We did 5s with cans and noodles fast by utilizing our intakes and ramp. Fast enough and consistent enough to take the number one seed without tipping over again. While we did break in elims it was fixed in between matches. You must be referring to us dropping a stack in the last match. Our drivers were going faster than usual to make up for the fact that our partner 283 broke the arm they used to cap their stacks. We knew we had to move faster to close the point gap to advance and it didn't work.

Based on individual robot performance and not what they did as part of an alliance I believe Billfred has the rankings right.

[The other Gabe]

Harsh... we dropped a 6 stack in one practice match and now our entire robot is unstable. We did 5s with cans and noodles fast by utilizing our intakes and ramp. Fast enough and consistent enough to take the number one seed without tipping over again. While we did break in elims it was fixed in between matches. You must be referring to us dropping a stack in the last match. Our drivers were going faster than usual to make up for the fact that our partner 283 broke the arm they used to cap their stacks. We knew we had to move faster to close the point gap to advance and it didn't work.

Based on individual robot performance and not what they did as part of an alliance I believe Billfred has the rankings right.

having scouted 1319 on curie, I can definitely confirm that they did not have stack tipping issues (as if a member of the team pointing it out isn't enough :P)

[ice.berg]

2502 was just consistent all day from that feeder station, and I think 2512 would have been similar if they had the schedule 2502 did. I remember 2512 doing co-op and landfill a ton of times, which was unfortunate for showing off capabilities.



Unfortunately at IRI we got the short end of the stick for some of our matches and ended up being responsible for the landfill. This obviously isn't our strong suit for recycle rush, and we weren't able to put up our usual points. But we still had a blast competing for our first time at IRI.

When we did have a feeder station spot it just seemed like small/weird things would happen. In our last match for the competition we had a few times where packet drop was tremendous, not letting us do auto, co-op, or efficiently stack from the feeder.

Still looking forward to the next time the team is able to attend IRI again!

[RonnieS]

Michigans top 2 are both 1s..

1A- 1023
1B- 548
3- 33
4- 3641
5- Fill in any one of 10 different robots here

I agree with the top two....but 3 and 4 are questionable. I see it more as this as long as we are looking at this from a season over view standpoint. The top two were just good throughout, 314 had struggles but was fairly consistent with 3 stacks for a large part of the season...you can't deny 3 wins as number 1 seed. 33 was seen at its best doing 3 stacks, it seemed to be more of a 20 point auto and then 2. The 5th bots are hard, we had 68 doing 3 at its best plus starting to throw out more totes but had some consistency issues when their ramp was not perfectly aligned. 3641 started along the same lines with picking up in stack count as the season went on. 107 was for sure a dark horse for many people. Their 20pt auto and 2 stacks was pretty killer. If I recall correctly they started their 3rd often? Maybe I am thinking wrong on that one, someone correct me if so. I don't think that any of these teams are bad and are better than a majority of FRC.

1-1023
2-548
3-314
4-33
5-68/3641/107

-Ronnie

[Kevin Leonard]

I agree with the top two....but 3 and 4 are questionable. I see it more as this as long as we are looking at this from a season over view standpoint. The top two were just good throughout, 314 had struggles but was fairly consistent with 3 stacks for a large part of the season...you can't deny 3 wins as number 1 seed. 33 was seen at its best doing 3 stacks, it seemed to be more of a 20 point auto and then 2. The 5th bots are hard, we had 68 doing 3 at its best plus starting to throw out more totes but had some consistency issues when their ramp was not perfectly aligned. 3641 started along the same lines with picking up in stack count as the season went on. 107 was for sure a dark horse for many people. Their 20pt auto and 2 stacks was pretty killer. If I recall correctly they started their 3rd often? Maybe I am thinking wrong on that one, someone correct me if so. I don't think that any of these teams are bad and are better than a majority of FRC.

1-1023
2-548
3-314
4-33
5-68/3641/107

-Ronnie

Michigan had a ton of absolutely killer machines.
67 was two feeder stacks, a tote stack auto, and some of the fastest can grabbers. 1918 and 2137 were similarly good, but without the tote stack auto. 2054 was killer early on, and their autonomous routine was insane. 70 and 494 were unique machines that could pull two stacks from anywhere and hit a tote stack auto. 217 and 1718 were interesting niche picks with good can grabbers that each made division finals. 85 at their best was making three capped stacks of 5 in Carson qualifications, and they also had a one can grab. 27 had a crazy year, making it to both MSC and Galileo finals. 2959 and 4967 were two other great landfill machines from Michigan, who generally made about 2 stacks in a match. You also can't forget 503, who had some of the other fastest can grabbers out there.

I think the only two machines you could for-sure put in the MI top 5 are 1023 and 548. 3rd has to be 33, because they were byfar the best landfill robot in Michigan, and one of the best in the world, as well as the 4th overall pick at IRI.
Next could be any of 27/67/68/70/107/314/503/1918/2054/2137/2959/3641/4967 depending on what attributes you value more and what competitions you look at.

By performance at worlds:
27- Division Finalist
67- Division Finalist
68- Division Quarterfinalist
70- Division Semifinalist
107- Division Quarterfinalist
314- Division Semifinalist
503- Division Semifinalist
1918- Division Semifinalist
2054- Division Quarterfinalist
2137- Division Finalist
2959- Division Quarterfinalist
3641- Division Quarterfinalist
4967- Division Quarterfinalist

Basically beyond your top 3 teams, there's extreme parity among the rest of Michigan's elite.

[RonnieS]

Michigan had a ton of absolutely killer machines.
67 was two feeder stacks, a tote stack auto, and some of the fastest can grabbers. 1918 and 2137 were similarly good, but without the tote stack auto. 2054 was killer early on, and their autonomous routine was insane. 70 and 494 were unique machines that could pull two stacks from anywhere and hit a tote stack auto. 217 and 1718 were interesting niche picks with good can grabbers that each made division finals. 85 at their best was making three capped stacks of 5 in Carson qualifications, and they also had a one can grab. 27 had a crazy year, making it to both MSC and Galileo finals. 2959 and 4967 were two other great landfill machines from Michigan, who generally made about 2 stacks in a match. You also can't forget 503, who had some of the other fastest can grabbers out there.

I think the only two machines you could for-sure put in the MI top 5 are 1023 and 548. 3rd has to be 33, because they were byfar the best landfill robot in Michigan, and one of the best in the world, as well as the 4th overall pick at IRI.
Next could be any of 27/67/68/70/107/314/503/1918/2054/2137/2959/3641/4967 depending on what attributes you value more and what competitions you look at.

By performance at worlds:
27- Division Finalist
67- Division Finalist
68- Division Quarterfinalist
70- Division Semifinalist
107- Division Quarterfinalist
314- Division Semifinalist
503- Division Semifinalist
1918- Division Semifinalist
2054- Division Quarterfinalist
2137- Division Finalist
2959- Division Quarterfinalist
3641- Division Quarterfinalist
4967- Division Quarterfinalist

Basically beyond your top 3 teams, there's extreme parity among the rest of Michigan's elite.

You do not receive any extra points for using the landfill that I am aware of? so please explain how 33 can be better than teams that could stack more from human player station just because they were the best Michigan LF bot(which I am not arguing)? Yes they had a 20pt auto, but without noodling a majority of their stacks(they had alliance partner noodle one at champs and they did the first one) I don't see the same and we can agree to disagree. Now 67 as a two stack machine...I don't think it happened as much as the season wen't on but yes they had fast grabbers. This is all opinion and we can go on for days going on about it. I just would not go as far as "extreme parity" when comparing a team that does 126 points versus a team that does 84/104 with auto.

-Ronnie

[Brian Maher]

I took a look at the FIM District Rankings:

1) 1023 384
2) 548 380
3) 2197 307.5
4) 33 287.5
5) 68 286.5

[asid61]

You do not receive any extra points for using the landfill that I am aware of? so please explain how 33 can be better than teams that could stack more from human player station just because they were the best Michigan LF bot(which I am not arguing)? Yes they had a 20pt auto, but without noodling a majority of their stacks(they had alliance partner noodle one at champs and they did the first one) I don't see the same and we can agree to disagree. Now 67 as a two stack machine...I don't think it happened as much as the season wen't on but yes they had fast grabbers. This is all opinion and we can go on for days going on about it. I just would not go as far as "extreme parity" when comparing a team that does 126 points versus a team that does 84/104 with auto.

-Ronnie

There were many more effective HP stackers than landfill stackers, so running out of HP totes is a real issue. A good landfill stacker mitigates that issue, and so is valued more in my eyes, at least.
If you have 2 3-stack HP stackers on your alliance, you will run out of totes. And the third robot becomes useless (apart from grabbing/flipping cans) if they can't landfill.

[Jim Schaddelee]

107 was for sure a dark horse for many people. Their 20pt auto and 2 stacks was pretty killer. If I recall correctly they started their 3rd often? Maybe I am thinking wrong on that one, someone correct me if so. I don't think that any of these teams are bad and are better than a majority of FRC.

1-1023
2-548
3-314
4-33
5-68/3641/107

-Ronnie

107 was putting three capped and noodled stacks at IRI and with time for unintentional wheelie . In qualifying we put up four stacks of six two capped.
It is great to mentioned with the great teams being considered as top 5 teams.

[RonnieS]

107 was putting three capped and noodled stacks at IRI and with time for unintentional wheelie . In qualifying we put up four stacks of six two capped.
It is great to mentioned with the great teams being considered as top 5 teams.

Definitely deserved and not unnoticed, you guys had a great robot! Thanks for correct info, I knew it was getting better as the season moved along!

-Ronnie

[BenGuy]

Michigans top 2 are both 1s..

1A- 1023
1B- 548
3- 33
4- 3641
5- Fill in any one of 10 different robots here

We appreciate being noticed in the community in this way, I kept myself from posting Michigan's best because I knew that I couldn't be exactly impartial :D :D but I agree with this analysis.

[Gregor]

We appreciate being noticed in the community in this way, I kept myself from posting Michigan's best because I knew that I couldn't be exactly impartial :D :D but I agree with this analysis.

3641 absolutly blew me away at IRI, you were on fire. The first alliance was very smart to pick you up. Any talk of best Michigan robots that doesn't involve 3641 is incorrect.

[BenGuy]

3641 absolutly blew me away at IRI, you were on fire. The first alliance was very smart to pick you up. Any talk of best Michigan robots that doesn't involve 3641 is incorrect.

Thanks, I would say it's due to me :D :cool: :D but it's a team effort, thanks for the compliment. :yikes: :D

[thatprogrammer]

Florida now that I've seen most robots in the off-season:
1. 179
2. 2383
3. 233
4. 1592
5. 744

[The other Gabe]

107 was putting three capped and noodled stacks at IRI and with time for unintentional wheelie . In qualifying we put up four stacks of six two capped.
It is great to mentioned with the great teams being considered as top 5 teams.

They were also one of the top 5 Curie robots, ending competition ranked 3rd

[Abhishek R]

They were also one of the top 5 Curie robots, ending competition ranked 3rd

I remember glancing at the standings while walking through the pits several times and it seemed like they were leading the pack for quite some time. Great robot and great team.

[mgutherie88]

107 was putting three capped and noodled stacks at IRI and with time for unintentional wheelie . In qualifying we put up four stacks of six two capped.
It is great to mentioned with the great teams being considered as top 5 teams.

Saw you guys practicing and competing at MSC and you were going a great job there too.

[Kevin Leonard]

You do not receive any extra points for using the landfill that I am aware of? so please explain how 33 can be better than teams that could stack more from human player station just because they were the best Michigan LF bot(which I am not arguing)? Yes they had a 20pt auto, but without noodling a majority of their stacks(they had alliance partner noodle one at champs and they did the first one) I don't see the same and we can agree to disagree. Now 67 as a two stack machine...I don't think it happened as much as the season wen't on but yes they had fast grabbers. This is all opinion and we can go on for days going on about it. I just would not go as far as "extreme parity" when comparing a team that does 126 points versus a team that does 84/104 with auto.

-Ronnie

Tell that to all the landfill teams at worlds and IRI that were picked far before robots that could make more stacks from the feeder.
In general, 2-3 landfill stacks was more valuable than 3 feeder stacks, because there were significantly more robots capable of making 2-3 feeder stacks.
In the same vein, 3 stacks from the landfill was a much more difficult feat to accomplish (especially with limited visibility from stacks being placed and noodle throwing), so difficult that even your IRI championship alliance captains rarely cleared the landfill during eliminations.

Anyway, they're all very, very good teams. 126 points from the feeder vs. 84 from the landfill is extreme parity, and other attributes (can grabbers, capping ability, ability to use rightside-up and step can for stacks) would also factor in. There were a ton of good teams, though, and I think in any given match, many of them could outscore each other.

[tindleroot]

Tell that to all the landfill teams at worlds and IRI that were picked far before robots that could make more stacks from the feeder.

Careful, I don't think Picking order = robot skill in most cases. Sometimes (2009), maybe, but especially with the necessity of certain robot functions (canburglars, landfill/feeder station) in Recycle Rush sometimes the better robot would be passed up by a team since they aren't compatible. A better way to rate robots IMO would be by qualifying rank at events. This shows a more accurate rank of robot ability.

[EricH]

A better way to rate robots IMO would be by qualifying rank at events. This shows a more accurate rank of robot ability.

FRC ranking systems are generally regarded as the least accurate rank of robot ability. 2015 is the exception rather than the rule... unless you happen to have had the great fortune to have been paired with an awful lot of good teams, when it's still highly inaccurate. I'd use OPR first, and I am not a fan of OPR in general. I'll save the gory details for "if you're still interested" on this one.



To add another item to Kevin's list: A landfill robot can, in a pinch, load from the feeder station (some caveats apply about totes landing properly, or using a long enough ramp). A feeder robot cannot load from the landfill if there's some sort of problem with the feeder station, in general. (I think 1197 could have made the attempt, but we never ran out of feeder station totes.)

[jajabinx124]

Minnesota:
1) 3130
2) 2502
3) 2512
4) 2169
5) 2526
(2052/5172 could all feasibly fill that #4 and #5 slot as well)

All the top Minnesota teams were fairly closely matched this year, so really that's just a top 5-7.

When talking about MN powerhouses this year, many people miss 2883 FRED. They were a powerhouse up at Lake superior and they were a powerhouse that captained our Finalist alliance at the MN state championship this year.

FRED's improvements for state included adding a tethered ramp for state. With the tethered ramp, it allowed them to be capable of creating 2 capped/noodled 6 stacks. Unfortunately, there seems to be no video evidence of this(for some reason only a couple matches of the MN state championship were recorded). They also had a can grabber that they could take out of needed.

Here are some more robots that deserve to be mentioned/considered when talking about the top 5-10 for MN: 1816 and 4778.

1816 was picked 5th overall in curie, which is very impressive, and their can burgulars were always consistent. 4778 also made some improvements before MN state, they were a tote bot that put 15+ totes on the scoring platform almost every match at state.

[jajabinx124]

FRC ranking systems are generally regarded as the least accurate rank of robot ability. 2015 is the exception rather than the rule... unless you happen to have had the great fortune to have been paired with an awful lot of good teams, when it's still highly inaccurate.



There were a ton of co-op specialists that found their way into the top 8 this year(or at least at MN regionals). Co-op inflated ranks this year, and put some teams in the top 8 that shouldn't of been there this year.

I understand that co-op specialists have other roles they can adapt to during eliminations as well, that may possibly make them an ideal teammate, but teams who do nothing but co-op during an entire regional, and end up in the top 8 usually end up unprepared to adapt to other roles during eliminations, which makes them an undesirable partner for eliminations.

Co-op sort of made this year's ranking system a little unreliable for some cases.

[MARS_James]

Florida now that I've seen most robots in the off-season:
1. 179
2. 2383
3. 233
4. 1592
5. 744

Disregarding my team due to my own internal bias. I would put 233 above 2383 I would actually put 1592 above them as well.

I would go:
233
1592
2383
744/1523 depending on how you are judging.

233 was consistently making atleast 2 stacks so was 1592. 2383 when last I saw them was limited to 2 stacks max a match.

[thatprogrammer]

Disregarding my team due to my own internal bias. I would put 233 above 2383 I would actually put 1592 above them as well.

I would go:
233
1592
2383
744/1523 depending on how you are judging.

233 was consistently making atleast 2 stacks so was 1592. 2383 when last I saw them was limited to 2 stacks max a match.

Ok, I hadn't seen too much of 233, and they weren't as big in iri as I thought they would be. I put 2383 above 1592 because I felt their auto was a bit more consistent.

[Caleb Sykes]

When talking about MN powerhouses this year, many people miss 2883 FRED. They were a powerhouse up at Lake superior and they were a powerhouse that captained our Finalist alliance at the MN state championship this year.

FRED's improvements for state included adding a tethered ramp for state. With the tethered ramp, it allowed them to be capable of creating 2 capped/noodled 6 stacks. Unfortunately, there seems to be no video evidence of this(for some reason only a couple matches of the MN state championship were recorded). They also had a can grabber that they could take out of needed.

Here are some more robots that deserve to be mentioned/considered when talking about the top 5-10 for MN: 1816 and 4778.

1816 was picked 5th overall in curie, which is very impressive, and their can burgulars were always consistent. 4778 also made some improvements before MN state, they were a tote bot that put 15+ totes on the scoring platform almost every match at state.

2883 in a match at MSHSL (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gfJS1nPrtc&index=2&list=PLw7amu-g1KtMMKxOKa0fd3HDowaEYWoDL). They would have easily had 2 full stacks if that pesky 4536 team hadn't needlessly knocked over an RC.

[jajabinx124]

2883 in a match at MSHSL (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gfJS1nPrtc&index=2&list=PLw7amu-g1KtMMKxOKa0fd3HDowaEYWoDL). They would have easily had 2 full stacks if that pesky 4536 team hadn't needlessly knocked over an RC.

Thanks for finding a match of them.

Yeah.. 2883 has trouble righting sideways cans. Our robot has trouble with that as well.

[Abhishek R]

Thanks for finding a match of them.

Yeah.. 2883 has trouble righting sideways cans. Our robot has trouble with that as well.

Definitely not a unique problem. As part of our offseason modifications we just gave up the ability to right a can altogether.

[jajabinx124]

Definitely not a unique problem. As part of our offseason modifications we just gave up the ability to right a can altogether.

Yeah, a very common problem this year.

Did you guys give up on the ability to right a RC because you guys thought it would be too time consuming and too annoying to align the robot in position to up right the RC?

[Abhishek R]

Yeah, a very common problem this year.

Did you guys give up on the ability to right a RC because you guys thought it would be too time consuming and too annoying to align the robot in position to up right the RC?

The changes we wanted to make to our intake subsystem required those extra flaps on our elevator to get out of the way. We looked into alternate ways of righting cans (the 2056 and the 1114 methods), but couldn't make either one quite work with our machine. We figured we weren't missing out on much for the reasons you said - if we had to take the time to line up and right the can, chances are we weren't gonna be able to put that on top of a stack as well in the same match.

The IRI rule changes also convinced us there were enough cans upright out there that it would be fine, so we made sure to work on our autonomous to minimize the chances of a can falling over at the beginning of a match.

[GeeTwo]

Nobody has posted for Louisiana yet. The clear top LA robot was our alliance partner, 3039, Wildcat of Destrehan. Leaving out teams with which I have an association, either through personal or family involvement, it's not too difficult to pick four more. Their relative ranks are close enough that I'll sort them by team number rather than by rank:
1912, Team Combustion, across town in Slidell.
3606, Bear Metal, Baton Rouge
3616, Team Phenomenon, Lafayette.
4085, Team Borg, New Orleans

And for those who may not know how to pronounce city names in Louisiana:
Destrehan: all short vowels. Primary emphasis on first syllable, secondary on last. DES tru Han.
Slidell: long i, short e. Emphasis on first syllable. SLAI dehl.
Baton Rouge: It's French. Bah - toh(n) Roozh
Lafayette: Lafay rhymes with "taffy". Primary emphasis on first syllable, secondary emphasis on last: LAHF - ee - Et
New Orleans: Emphasis on the middle syllable, no long "e"s anywhere. A city this big accepts a bit of variation. Acceptable pronunciations can be found in the songs "New Orleans ladies", or "Walking to New Orleans", or the first mention in House of the Rising Sun (There is a house in New Orleans), but definitely NOT the later lyric in House of the Rising Sun that rhymes with "SEWED my NEW blue JEANS." New Orleanians are generally accepting of people from out of town, but "NEW orLEENS" may rank you below (Atlanta) Falcons or (Chicago) Bears fans!

[The other Gabe]

3606, Bear Metal, Baton Rouge


no, it's BearMetal. 2046 is Bear Metal :P

[fargus111111111]

Harsh... we dropped a 6 stack in one practice match and now our entire robot is unstable. We did 5s with cans and noodles fast by utilizing our intakes and ramp. Fast enough and consistent enough to take the number one seed without tipping over again. While we did break in elims it was fixed in between matches. You must be referring to us dropping a stack in the last match. Our drivers were going faster than usual to make up for the fact that our partner 283 broke the arm they used to cap their stacks. We knew we had to move faster to close the point gap to advance and it didn't work.

Based on individual robot performance and not what they did as part of an alliance I believe Billfred has the rankings right.

Your 5s were incredibly good, that is why I said that your mechanism was good, as it always is and you had matches where, while you did not drop any stacks you did tip up off your back wheels for a second. I am a huge fan of y'all's, always have been. Personally, I would have loved to have seen you in the finals of Peachtree, it would have been a much harder match to win. On the flip side of the stability coin, at least you never fell over. To be fair, I would have ranked you #1 if not for the few stability issues I saw. This game relied so much on being fast and stable that just a few wobbles knocks down the rankings. One other thing that would have boosted any robot in my rankings is auto, can robbers or 3 tote stack. You had the mechanical ability to do a 3 tote auto easily, but I never saw it.

Quick Edit: Perhaps it was nervousness or trying to go too fast and the drivers got calmed down by champs. I would have gone to watch some of the other SC teams but some little demon got into our robot while it was in the shipping crate and we had to fix multiple things at champs. (which was a surprise because we did not have to fix anything during both regionals)

[fargus111111111]

Several teams built strong cases for 3-5--283 (which is a new veteran team, never dormant), 343, 1102, 1876, 4073. All were good in their own domains, though only 4073 left with a banner.


Ummmm, 343 has 2 banners from this year and 283 has 1.

[evanperryg]

Disregarding my team due to my own internal bias. I would put 233 above 2383 I would actually put 1592 above them as well.

I would go:
233
1592
2383
744/1523 depending on how you are judging.

233 was consistently making atleast 2 stacks so was 1592. 2383 when last I saw them was limited to 2 stacks max a match.

You guys were AMAZING at IRI. If I recall, you were the first to get 3 stacks out of the landfill, putting to shame many of the elite landfill bots who underperformed for most of the event. My personal ranking for Florida would go like this:

1. 179
2. 1592, for their impressive landfill abilities. Those claw shooter can pullers were pretty cool too, too bad they didn't get to use them much :D
3. 233, a strong team as always with consistency out of the feeder and some potential at the landfill.
4. 2383, for a pretty good robot overall. Their consistency was questionable, but they generally performed very well.
5. 744, they were pretty good at IRI. I didn't really believe in that whole 2-tote-at-a-time thing but they showed it was doable, and could be productive to an alliance.

I don't know anything about 1523, but I've heard good stuff about them.

[Citrus Dad]

A better way to rate robots IMO would be by qualifying rank at events. This shows a more accurate rank of robot ability.

This year in particular, qualifying rank was NOT a good measure because coop points were so important. The better initial ranking is OPR net of coop OPR. But then you still need to look at the components of the OPR. In addition, can grabbing as the only true defensive act comes into play as well.

[Kpchem]

Colorado
...
#2: 4499, the Highlanders. An excellent landfill robot, and a spectacular team.
...


I just wanted to take a moment to add onto this. I've worked the Colorado Regional for the past four years and ever since 4499 joined the region they've been one of my favorite teams. They build solid robots that fill roles that other teams didn't focus on, and they execute it well. At a regional dominated by two feeder station robots (1619 and 1730), it was fun to see a solid landfill bot (and I would have loved to see the three of them play together).

And then on top of all of that, they're a fantastic team as evidenced by 2 RAS awards in 2013, Engineering Inspiration from Inland Empire in 2014, and then the Chairman's Award from Colorado in 2015.

They may be young, but this is definitely a team to watch out for in the future.

[NelaM]

I just wanted to take a moment to add onto this. I've worked the Colorado Regional for the past four years and ever since 4499 joined the region they've been one of my favorite teams. They build solid robots that fill roles that other teams didn't focus on, and they execute it well. At a regional dominated by two feeder station robots (1619 and 1730), it was fun to see a solid landfill bot (and I would have loved to see the three of them play together).

And then on top of all of that, they're a fantastic team as evidenced by 2 RAS awards in 2013, Engineering Inspiration from Inland Empire in 2014, and then the Chairman's Award from Colorado in 2015.

They may be young, but this is definitely a team to watch out for in the future.
Thanks Kevin for the in depth post. It means a lot to us that someone has been keeping up with us; we're glad our efforts to be different haven't gone unnoticed. Thank you so much for volunteering. Your kind words have an impact on our team.

[niklas674]

If I had to take a shot at California, it would go something like this...
1. 254 " The Cheesy Poofs"
2. 1678 "Citrus Circuits"
3. 3476 "Code Orange"
4. 971 "Spartan Robotics"
5. 1671 "Buchanan Bird Brains"
Some honorable mentions...
701" The Robovikes"
2085 " The Robodogs"
973 " The Greybots"
330 " The Beach Bots"

[Tharioth Pillow]

Michigan had a ton of absolutely killer machines.
67 was two feeder stacks, a tote stack auto, and some of the fastest can grabbers. 1918 and 2137 were similarly good, but without the tote stack auto. 2054 was killer early on, and their autonomous routine was insane. 70 and 494 were unique machines that could pull two stacks from anywhere and hit a tote stack auto. 217 and 1718 were interesting niche picks with good can grabbers that each made division finals. 85 at their best was making three capped stacks of 5 in Carson qualifications, and they also had a one can grab. 27 had a crazy year, making it to both MSC and Galileo finals. 2959 and 4967 were two other great landfill machines from Michigan, who generally made about 2 stacks in a match. You also can't forget 503, who had some of the other fastest can grabbers out there.

I think the only two machines you could for-sure put in the MI top 5 are 1023 and 548. 3rd has to be 33, because they were byfar the best landfill robot in Michigan, and one of the best in the world, as well as the 4th overall pick at IRI.
Next could be any of 27/67/68/70/107/314/503/1918/2054/2137/2959/3641/4967 depending on what attributes you value more and what competitions you look at.

By performance at worlds:
27- Division Finalist
67- Division Finalist
68- Division Quarterfinalist
70- Division Semifinalist
107- Division Quarterfinalist
314- Division Semifinalist
503- Division Semifinalist
1918- Division Semifinalist
2054- Division Quarterfinalist
2137- Division Finalist
2959- Division Quarterfinalist
3641- Division Quarterfinalist
4967- Division Quarterfinalist

Basically beyond your top 3 teams, there's extreme parity among the rest of Michigan's elite.


Why thank you! I wasn't on the team last year, I'm hoping we make it to worlds again this year... I don't do much with the bot though. Scout, Chairman's, and other business stuffs.