[lukevanoort]

I think most grabbers will be the similar since we have such a large gamepiece and such a small operating envelope, which eliminates many unique and creative designs. No matter the year, many robots also share lifter designs, since there are only so many viable options (scissor, forklift, 4-bar, 2 jointed, etc). So, I think many arms will end up looking very similar (but that isn't necessarily a bad thing).

In my opinion, much of the creativity this year will be in the drive systems. Ackerman systems will definitely be out in record numbers. Many folks with swerve designs in their bags of tricks will use them. Lots of mecanum/kiwi/4-wheel omni drives will be made. All this will be in addition to the teams that stick with their tried-and-true treads and 2/4/6/8/14 wheel tank-style drives. Such a wide variety will certainly be interesting to watch, and especially exciting to those of us who really like designing drivetrains.