Best Robots of 2006

[987HighRoller]

Hi,

Now that all the comps are over and we aren't gonna see much more of teams' '06 bots (except for some off-season events maybe), I still didn't see that many robots. Therefore, I wanted to know about other bots are out there that I didn't have a chance to see and are completely awsome:
Which teams' bots did you think were simply amazing, almost flawless; bots that were so effective overall that you wish you thought of their design. Please post reasons for your picks and maybe even a special feature on the robot that impressed you. Also, I know that there were tons of great bots, but I meant for this thread to have the best bots. Keep in mind that its almost impossible to see every regional and get to see every bot.
Here are my pics in no particular order...they are all here for different reasons (I'm sure I'm forgetting some):

25:Their robot was a piece of art. Their ball feeder to their shooter was simple and effective. It was one of the best engineering solutions to this years game. Also, they are so strong and fast, I couldn't believe it. Their drive train also is strait forward and very effective, not to mention their handy brakes. Their overall design was so clean and professional looking. They also used the camera really well (as several teams did) in controlling their huge turret, which I thought was a sight to see. Their robot seemed to be teasing how effortlessly it could shoot balls into the 3 point goal.

The triplets: Their robot design was so solid and sturdy, nothing on the frame of their robot seemed to break, not even when they tipped. Having their robots looking so intact and ready to go to me seemed like a miracle, especially because they went through three regionals.
I loved how when they would human load, they would start loading their balls up their ball chute, ready to be shot by their four spinning wheels. When shooting, balls seemed to glide out of their robot--very smooth. Their accuracy and sturdiness was amazing, and they were almost impossible to move. Another feature I fell in love with on their robot is their automatic aiming system, where their camera would take over and aim the robot. Their autonomous modes were devastating to the other teams; in Newton when 1503 used their autonomous mode where they would go straight out and then turn 90 degrees toward the goal, they were never thrown off course, even when hit multiple times.

322:This robot has to be the fastest robot I've seen all season. They were so good at hoarding all the balls from the field and can turn on a dime. Their robot seemed so well built and they can turn on a dime. Also, they can turn on a dime.

254/968: Though they didn't use a turret or a camera to control their robot, they were scoring powerhouses nonetheless. If you let them onto the ramp for a few seconds, the match is over. I loved how fast balls would fly out of their robots into the goal, it was incredible. Not only were they were effective at scoring, but they were also some of the fastest bots on the field. This was demonstrated at Silicon Valley when 254 would fly back to the other side of the field to get on their ramp in the last seconds of a match.

111: Wild Stang's robot this year was very effective. They were fast, and could score very accurately. Their camera-controlled turret was very sensitive and aimed their turret very accurately. Some things of their robot were eerily similar to ours, like how they got the balls to their shooter and their shooter and turret set up. I loved their wheelie bar to support themselves when going up the ramp. This was because their robot is wider than it is long. I'm guessing this is so that more balls can be collected. I've never seen a robot wider than it is long, and I couldn't believe I didn't think about that to collect more balls at a time. Very effective.

195:I loved how effective their robot is when in autonomous mode and using various sensors. Their contraption to release the balls from their robot lowers so smoothly, I thought it was done very nicely.

I know there are so many other great bots.......but I'm not gonna name all of the ones I think were good....I want to see what bots you think were the best!

[Tim Delles]

1901 - Just a rookie team this robot looked very professional, and the mentors and students understand what FIRST is about. And as the days progessed at FLR they looked better and better. Their robot was really simple, and could play some mean defense.

1126 - These guys aren't their division champs for nothing. There turreting shooter, along with there ball collector are amazing. Add in an experienced drive team and you have a great robot on the field.

217 - Once again if you had time to stop by a teams pit the Thunderchickens should have been on that list of teams to stop by. Always willing to show you things on there robot, and always a solid team. This team proved to be a great team again this year, with there turret and loader, it was a great machine. This team kept it simple by loading off the human player, and only going with a few balls instead of 30 or 40 to shoot.

( I know there are more teams i'm missing. I'll think of some of the ones that aren't mentioned soon and post them too)

[Nuttyman54]

1523 "M.A.R.S." - one of the best engineered catapults i've seen in FIRST, it was better than half the shooter wheels I saw

494/70 "Martians" - brilliant use of omnis. Period.

190 "GOMPEI" - forget the turret and tracking, the hopper on this bot was a peice of work. Look at video from BAE to see what I mean

1625 "Winnovation" - I have to mention them just because of the absolutely scary autonomous mode. The accuracy was just downright impressive.

254 "Cheesy Poofs" - Amazing driving at SVR. With the two speeds, they could dodge almost every other bot on the field. I have video of them getting on their ramp at the end, and remaining parallel to the ground the entire way up. Also one of the best alliance partners, they kept 71 from tipping multiple times in the Newton elims. 968 deserves a big shout out also, but I didn't get to see their bot as close, since they weren't at our regional.

EDIT: I just have to say that I've only mentioned robots here that i got to personally see up close. 254 is at our regional every year, and the rest were in Galileo at champs. There are many MANY robots i would like to mention, but these are a cross section of those that impressed me personally.

[Dylan Gramlich]

1126 - These guys aren't their division champs for nothing. There turreting shooter, along with there ball collector are amazing. Add in an experienced drive team and you have a great robot on the field.

actually Tim we only had one returing drive team member, but i learned quick so as we can see it worked out just fine

[ScoutingNerd175]

Alright, here we go. Some robots that I got to see up close and personal (Meaning at regionals or on Curie, I could barely see the Einstein field)

1126- I didn't really get to see this robot until battle cry last weekend. Boy was I impressed! Until the breakdown at the end, 1126 was scoring like crazy every match. Their design seemed solid and the shooter was both accurate and quick to adjust.

176- I think that BAE Regional Finalist, UTC Regional Champion, Newton Division 1st seed and Finalist, and BattleCry champion is a good enough record for one year! This robot was solid and quite accurate. They were also able to dump well in both auto and when driver operated. This made their robot versatile and an excellent partner (especially for 177, it seems)

177- UTC Regional Champion, Philly Regional Champion, Galileo Division Champion, and BattleCry champion, yeah that's good too. They shot really accurately and were even able to hit the toggle switch better than any other robot at WPI (amusing design feature that they couldn't have planned) Great robot, great season.

126- These guys had a wonderful robot this year (as they always do). They, unfortunately, suffered a lot of upset defeats this year. Their auton shooting was great as was their shooting during the driver operation.

1519- A win at their only regional earning them their 1st trip to Championship, performing well enough in Newton qualifications to end up a picking seed, 1st seed at BattleCry, an accurate and hard to disrupt auto mode, great shooting during driver control... I'd say that's pretty impressive for a second year team with no corporate sponsor. Pretty impressive for anyone! This machine was really solid and really accurate.

296- The first time I saw that robot hit 10/10 in auto mode, I knew they would do well. I guess they did! A really excellent robot that scored well even during heavy defense.

1114-What is there to say about 1114 that hasn't already been said. Impressive robot, impressive work as a team, impressive strategizing, impressive job spreading FIRST in Canada.

469- Arguably the best robot I saw this year. What else can I say?

181- Able to shoot from the floor or from the ramp (sometimes) if anyone decided to defend them by pushing them up there. Good dumping. And better at pulling off an unlikely win than probably any other team I saw this year. Every time I thought this team was down for the count, they would push and maneuver themselves to a victory. Although they didn't make it to nations, they had a good season, finalists at both UTC and Chesapeake Bay Regionals along with a win at Beantown Blitz.

1629- Although I don't think that they performed as well at Nationals as they did at Chesapeake (but then neither did we), this team gave a truly excellent performance in Maryland. They had many autonomous modes, they were versatile in that they could shoot well and dump well even in auto mode, and they were a great partner.

20- Great job at the UTC regional. Excellent auton scoring, good scoring during the match even when defended.

549-sticking out in my mind right now as far as truly scary defense goes.

Excellent Robots that I didn't elaborate on-56, 293, 341, 237, 70, 79, 138, 1100

I am clearly far too stingy with praise! My list is not nearly long enough!

[lukevanoort]

Okay, my top 5, in no particular order.

254/968. My reason for choosing this pair isn't necessarily the dominant ramp shooting, or the killer autonomous, but the simplicity and elegance of the shooter/hopper design. It worked so well, had a high capacity, seemed pretty simple, was speedy, not much else you could wish for.

469. This robot was so amazingly, awe-inspiringly, crazily, scary fast and accurate. If you left them alone for just two seconds, bam sixty points. The ball pickup was fast and effective, it looked like it was pretty easy for the human player to throw in balls, and once it was loaded, a quick zip to the goal, unload at insane speed, repeat.

217. The Thunderchickens were kick-butt for many reasons. The hopper just didn't jam, the shooter fired at a decent rate, it was accurate, and the defense was amazing.

Triplets. Loaded from the ground and the human player, did both quite well. They shot quickly and accurately, they were nearly immovable. Being champions of three regionals proves the effectiveness of the design.

25. The human player loaded it pretty quickly. It didn't jam. (As far as I know) The turret mounted shooter was speedy and extremely effective, delivering volleys with amazing accuracy. Just great.

[hoorayforpink]

Quote:
originally posted by Bharat Nain
"233 had an awesome bot this year. I think you guys were underestimated but definitely one of the best working machines this year."

thanks for the compliment 25's robot was insane dont even get me started

[efoote868]

there were many good robots this year, i really liked 1038's design... really potent shooter.

i also liked 393, they had a really powerful drive train (our robot is able to pull up its wheels, and plop on the ground, theres truck bedliner on the bottom for more friction, and at max weight, 393 pushed us like we were nothing...)
anyhow, thats my 2 bits

[Kellen Hill]

Some of the best robots I saw this year
25 amazing shooter and defender as they pushed us across the field at IRI
27 great alliance partner in galileo we almost got there
33 nice shooting from position 3 at IRI
70 saw plenty of them this year and they were amazing
71 best alliance partner and perfect match for our robot
86 great shooter and nice picker upper
111 all around amazing
126 nice auto and manual
217 same as 25
233 amazing shooter and auto
254/968 both amazing robots wish you could've been at IRI
365 Great shooting and ramp camping
469 best shooter and nice and solid D
494 same as 70 haha
547 FEAR Crazy D bot
703 crazy auto
910 the best D out there
1038 amazing shooter
1114 Very amzing all around robot
1126 great shooter
1272 another very solid D-bot
1732 My personal favorite rookie
1816 great D in wisconsin

I'm very sorry if I missed anybody but again these are the ones I saw

[xzvrw2]

1213 was awesome.
They were simple, very effective, and very robust.
They were a solid shooter and could play some excellent D.
Among all of the great teams that were at IRI we were second seed.
Thats showing you something.

[Pirate_Nelly354]

I really liked Team Resistance [[Team 86]] I watched the videos of the matches and they were amazing.

[LordTalps]

Don't remember the number, but the robot that made it to the finals and had the dynamic autonomous... had me quite intriguied(sp?).

[Greg Marra]

Originally Posted by LordTalps

Don't remember the number, but the robot that made it to the finals and had the dynamic autonomous... had me quite intriguied(sp?).

I believe that the team you are thinking of is Team 195, the Cyberknights.

[thegathering]

I loved Team 222's bot (a ramp launcher) that fired to reflect the shot off the top of the goal. It fell on some bad luck, but it made it to championships and I was really hoping it could have gone somewhere during the later matches.

I also liked Team 222 overall because of the hours some of our boys at 1885 (including me and lordtalps) and the guys at 222 spent playing hackie-sack at the VCU regional. Memorable times for sure.

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by LordTalps

Don't remember the number, but the robot that made it to the finals and had the dynamic autonomous... had me quite intriguied(sp?).

195?