[miketwalker]

I have to say that I was amazingly impressed by all of the teams on this poll. I know at first I found the way 233 let the tube out to be inefficient (every time I saw a tube touching the pvc then getting pulled back off when the gripper released a little piece of me died inside). I was so glad to see them fix that movement by Atlanta to where it smoothly let go of the tube, and it always did a great job. The same goes with how great it was seeing 79 improve as time went on. Finally, of course 1114 just.. yea, wow. I was amazingly impressed by their consistency as well. Another great mention is 148, I loved the vex model they used in testing as well (watching the 1902 and 148 vex bots chasing the scale model of the 1902 FRC bot in the pits was absolutely adorable)

In the end, and I spent awhile debating this since I usually find it to be rude to vote for your own team, I did place my vote in for 1902. The primary reason (as I ended up being an onlooker in terms of programming this year with my busy schedule) was probably more of the backend. I was amazingly proud to see the way 1902 created a very methodical vex-based system in which every sensor system was thoroughly tested before ever making a decision. Seeing in the end the programmer's making a rational choice over a pride based one as they decided to take a chance with EasyC when all of the programmers were well-versed in C was one amazing thing to see (I definitely was one of those that had trouble with that change at first). Seeing the 7 different vex bots that were designed out of parts that students donated from their own kits they had received as christmas/birthday/etc. presents was very very cool. It provided a set of tools that we were able to exchange with other teams that were trying non-camera methods (i.e. IR/Ultrasonic/etc.). So, in the end, seeing both the inside and the outside of 1902s setup this year made me step back and say "The end result is just the showcase of the amazing backend that was used to develop it as well as a plan for future years." This poll does just ask for the end result, and I feel that the process did in turn make that impression both on and off of the field. I find that as my justification to step out of my comfort bubble and make that vote.

To the teams I didn't specifically point out in this post though, there isn't a single post in this thread I don't agree with so far and all of the people in the poll itself did a great job (I was curious how some teams such as 148 didn't get into this poll, they had issues in Atlanta because of lighting but their program itself was rock-solid). Great job everybody!