I'll start with robots that inspired me when I was new to FIRST--
47 in 2000-Simply amazing machine. Extremely well engineered.
71 in 2001-Did everything, did it perfectly, and did it quick. Total domination isn't a strong enough descriptor. I wanted to make a robot like that.
60 in 2002-This is still one of my top two or three favorite robots ever. This
robot was so well engineered. It was incredibly simple, clean, and sleek and worked incredibly well.
71 in 2002-As they often have, Beatty came up with a strategy and robot that was as close to unbeatable as humanly possible. Their use of file cards and the walking feet was revolutionary and made them impossible to move once deployed.
Robots that have inspired me since--
111 in 2003- Stang PS, 'nuff said. Watching their robot come out, encounter an obstacle, swerve around it, and then make their way up to the top of the ramp (faster than 90% or more of all the other teams) was amazing. Being able to change autonomous modes simply by clicking anywhere on the field and adding waypoints, and integrating all the sensors and programming to do so is an amazing feat. Combine that with the fact that this robot was perfectly engineered to dominate the competition with it's swerve drive and two wings, and you get one incredible robot.
60/254 in 2004- In and prior to 2004, 60 and 254 were the two premier west coast teams. For them to get together and collaborate on the design of their robots was amazing in and of itself, and has now become commonplace. Beyond that, the robot they designed was one of the best of all time. The only thing that stopped these two teams all year was mechanical failure of their winch cable, and bad luck. These two robots were clearly head and shoulders over all others in 2004, and unless they made a mistake, your chances of winning against them were not very good.
1114 and company in 2006- Watching their robot dominate everyone, and joining the company of the only team to have ever one three regional events in one year was inspiring to me. Like all these other robots, it was very well engineered. It's drivetrain allowed it to actively resist being pushed to keep on target, and the shooter allowed it to curve it's shots, giving it greater flexibility.
233 any year. Particularly 2005-2007. The first time I see a new Pink bot, my jaw always drops. They are consistently the best engineered, sleekest, most beautifully machined robot out there. Every single component has clearly been thought out and CAD'ed from the major systems, all the way down to their battery mount (who noticed their super sweet CNC machined battery retention system this year?
). That kind of attention to detail is simply amazing. You could spend an entire day staring at their robot, and there's no way you would find anything that looked out of place. I'm continually in awe of their craftsmanship.
All these robots, and many others that make you go "wow" have inspired me in many ways. Look at how many aspects of these robots (and many other greats that I've not listed) have been incorporated into current robots by many a team, and I think it's clear they've inspired many.