[Rachel Lim]

There are countless teams that have inspired me over the past 3 years, but I will always remember these 3 robots as the reason I got so involved:

2122 in 2013: I attended Calgames just a few weeks after joining, and 2122 just blew me away. I didn't know what swerve was at the time, but I told myself that someday I'd figure out how a robot could move like that. That began a journey not only into swerve and drivetrains, but CAD and design in general.

254 in 2014: This is undeniably the robot that'd have the most influence on how I'd see strategy and design. Looking back, it's kind of weird to think that it took a webcast for me to really notice them. But something definitely hit me that day while watching. It's 2 years too late, but to whoever said that day that "they're so good it's sad to watch"--it's wasn't sad. It was amazing. I wish you could have seen that.

2056 in 2014: Another Waterloo influence, although arguably the lasting impact on me wouldn't be the robot design as much as the introduction to statistical analysis and event predictions. Reading the Waterloo thread was the first time I'd heard of OPR, BBQ, or 2056's streak, and looking more into each of those would be the beginning of my own attempts at predictions and analysis. Either way, watching them play then was amazing.


I could go on, and definitely their inspiration goes deeper than watching them at those two events, but I suppose there's something about that initial inspiration and captivation that makes these special.