[Jared Russell]

I was just going to add the same thing...collaboration!

(Chris is dead-on with regards to technical gains - I would add the availability of high level programming languages and software frameworks to facilitate "out of the box" advanced robot functionality)

But collaboration...that's HUGE! First there's the sharing of designs on Chief Delphi - both those that are tried and true (like 45's shifter) and those that are hypothetical (all those myriad chassis models you see every other day). Even if you don't plan on building the mechanism yourself, being a fly-on-the-wall for some of the back-and-forth in the comments section can be incredibly educational. Hopefully something like Behind the Design can be rejuvenated (I'm in, who's with me!) to capture all of it formally.

There's also collaboration in the 254/968/60 and 1114/1503/1680 sense - multiple teams pooling their resources to produce superior robots. Less dramatic, but more common, collaboration sees teams frequently sharing work and practice spaces, machine shop access, or parts.

Why is collaboration so ubiquitous now when 10+ years ago it was much less common? 2 reasons IMO:

1. Alliances. Remember that prior to 1999, you didn't have any teammates. Prior to 2006 (2001 is a special case), you didn't have TWO teammates. If you want to go all the way in contemporary FRC, you better have good partners...so collaboration really does pay off, even for the top teams.

2. Awards. FIRST has been consistent in their praise for teams who raise the bar of collaboration. Andy Baker's WFA. Team 254's CCA. Other CCA teams like 341 and 365 may not build robots collaboratively, but they promote the growth and nurturing of others through an institutional form of collaboration. Teams notice what is said during award speeches, and try to emulate those who have been rewarded.