On behalf of 177 Bobcat Robotics, I would like to thank 190 and 987 for being fantastic partners and knowing what it takes to get the job done. A great mentor in this program once told me, ‘The robot is just a tool for the students to use to play the game.’ Although initially we may not have been the 3 best robots in our division at putting up tubes or lifting bots, we played together and used the tools we had built to execute our strategy.
190, thank you for seeing our potential and picking us. Every year you build something different from everyone else. Sometimes it the right bot for the game, sometimes it is not. When I heard about your robot from BAE and SVR, it sounded like this year you had done it right, very right. It is great to see that your creativity in design has paid off.
987, wow. You guys were downright scary tubes when left alone and quite impressive under defense. Your intelligence in strategy was obvious at the end, but it was the little things throughout the elims that enabled us to win those close matches. 177 has a great appreciation for strong strategic play, and I think you guys are one of the best strategic partners we have had.
I would also like to thank our opponents on Einstein, 71, 233, and 179 for competing with us. Your alliance in any year is downright impressive and your teams always represent the greatest first has (Even while wearing pink wigs;) ).
71, when we won the semifinal and knew we were going to be playing against the Beast we felt both honored and extremely scared. It is strange to be so scared of such a wonderful group of people, but playing against the Beatty in the finals, the odds are generally against you. You are truly the biggest of the big dogs and are the type of team (people and robots), our team aspires to be.
233, although the Bobcats may have had one of the first extension arms back in the day, you guys sure have one of the prettiest. Your machines are work of arts and you always play extremely well with them. Whenever I think of the Industrial Design Award, I think pink.
179, it was great to be competing against another UTC team. Although you guys are way down in Florida, you are still part of the UTC family. UTC actually had outstanding representation this year on Einstein. I am confident that you and the other UTC teams will be back for a great showing next year.
Thanks again to our partners and the finalist alliance. We enjoyed playing with all of you.
Eric O’Brien
Team 177 - Bobcat Robotics
South Windsor High School + UTC Power
2007 World Champions