[brennonbrimhall]

My favorite robots for this year have to be 195, 254, 469, 971, and 1114.

195 build the best robot in NE. Period. They were money during districts and at the district championship. It was a blast reuniting with them for Archimedes quarters. My only regret was that we only played together for one match this season.

254's unique design allowed them to successfully pull off their dominant autonomous. If I were to build a robot again to play Aerial Assist, I'd build another Barrage. They got so many details right about this game -- from the backspin helping 2056 catch the ball at Waterloo to the double intakes to the easy human player inbound.

469 had the catch, a high release catapult, a goalie stick, and could shoot with varying velocities. In hindsight, I wish we had gone with a similar, high release 'pult design. That's critical for making shots under defense.

971 had an awesome robot: not only did they build that crazy claw that could shoot from either side, but they used it to improve their robot's functionality. Not many teams who build something as complex as their arm can have it be so reliable or use it as effectively.

1114's season at the regional was not what I think they were expecting or had hoped for. But their robot was absolutely amazing -- their goalie autonomous mode was absolutely epic during Einstein finals, and they played some killer defense on Einstein during semis. Evolution definitely lived up to its namesake.