[Ken Streeter]

Originally Posted by Joe Johnson

Since I have been on teams that have named their robots and chassis, it is so much better. ...

3 questions...

First, what do you think about the whole naming robots thing?

We on 1519 have always named our robots, usually shortly before our first event, when the robot is mostly completed, once the robot's character has evidenced itself.

Well, except for 2007, when we never came up with a robot name. Our 2007 robot was also the least successful robot we've ever had. We set our objectives too high, and never finished either of the major capabilities that we intended. (See Second-System Effect.) At the one and only regional we went to that year, we nearly exclusive played defense. Ironically, it was the highest seeding position (#3) we would ever have at a regular season tournament until our sixth year in 2010.

(To this day, I don't know if we didn't name the robot because it wasn't deserving of a name, or if it was because we didn't name the robot that it didn't perform as intended.)

In any case, since then, we've always named our robot!

Originally Posted by Joe Johnson

Second, can you share names that you especially like/dislike?

Team 1519's robot names are as follows:

• 2005 - Elvis, the King of Rack and Rail (our tetra-placing mechanism used a rack traveling on a rail)
• 2006 - Sergeant York (after the famous sharpshooter from World War I)
• 2007 -
• 2008 - Fezzik and Speed Racer (our dual-configuration robot)
• 2009 - Colonel York (our fictitious name if Sergeant York were promoted)
• 2010 - Vortex (used a vacuum to hold the soccer ball, making all the noise of a vacuum cleaner)
• 2011 - Kanga and Roo (Roo was the minibot)
• 2012 - General Vesuvius (general in the sergeant-> colonel theme for our "shooting" robots; Vesuvius for the way the partially completed robot had spouted basketballs out the top of the harvester like a volcano spewing lava bombs)
• 2013 - Discobolus Rex (after the Greek discus thrower)
• 2014 - Kaizen ("continuous improvement" and partly in remembrance of Team #1276, Kaizen Blitz, the alliance captain that picked us in our first ever regional win back in 2006.)
• 2015 - King Tote-n-Can-um (stacks totes and cans...)
• 2016 - Lady Launch-a-Lot (our medieval boulder launcher)

Originally Posted by Joe Johnson

Third, am I just getting old** or are more teams this year giving their robots real names this year?

No idea. In general, I don't know the names of other teams' robots and wouldn't anticipate they'd know our team's robot names, either.

However, we are getting old, Joe!