6022 TBD, Aurora City Schools, Aurora, OH
        4127 BSOD, Hudson STEM Alliance, Peninsula, OH
            6749 Iron Penguins, Southern Local Jr/Sr HS, Salineville, OH

The Motivate Award recognizes outstanding team spirit shown though costumes and outfits, team support, and other methods of standing out and raising attention. Teams that reach out to their schools and community to raise awareness of FIRST and their FTC efforts have done so in a variety of cool and inventive methods - this winner is no exception. Here is what the judges had to say:

This first year team works incredibly well together and has a well designed robot. They are spirited and enthusiastic putting in many extra hours of work. They could be heard cheering on the others in the competition today and you may have even seen them on the news.

Team 6440 The Metallic Controllers, Horizon Science Academy Cleveland High School, Cleveland, OH

The Connect Award is a bit different than the Motivate Award. Winners of the Connect Award have done a great deal of community outreach not only to spread the word about FIRST but specifically to include engineers, scientists, and other technology professionals into their outreach efforts. This creates connections between teams, FIRST, and the professional world that can last years beyond their participation in FTC. Connect Award winners also develop and execute plans to fund their team including clear goals and objectives - including how they can give back to their community in the future. Here is what the judges had to say:

This team doesn't hide it's light behind shades. They spread the message of FIRST broadly throughout their community, from working with FLL teams to the Girl Scouts. Agent J would be very proud of these girls.

Team 6048 Girls in Black, Hudson STEM Alliance / Rockwell Automation, Hudson, OH

The Rockwell Collins Innovate Award is robot specific. It celebrates teams who come up with innovate solutions to the Game Challenge that most others have overlooked. These solutions can't just look good - they've got to work... at least most of the time. Historically, some of the most innovative breakthroughs in science and technology have come when fresh thinking is applied to a known problem. This year's Rockwell Collins Innovate Award winners demonstrated that type of thinking. Here is what the judges had to say:

This team spreads the word of FIRST to corporations big and small, from engineering to entertainment. They designed the robot for simplicity's sake, eliminating excess moving parts and servos. To avoid computer crashes, they engineered a mechanical indicator to avoid the pitfalls of a programming sensor.

Team 4127 BSOD, Hudson STEM Alliance, Peninsula, OH

We are happy that PTC has offered to sponsor the PTC Design Award. The intent of this award is to expand the challenge, inspiring teams to incorporate industrial design into their robots. These elements can be shown in the simplicity of the design as it applies to the tasks, the look and feel of the robot, and how the design allows us to think of robots in new ways. The Design aspects must serve a function - but they should also differentiate the robot in a unique fashion - not an easy task with a limited set of parts and game challenge. Here is what the judges had to say:

This team continuously developed their robot after experiencing bumps in the road at other competitions. Their robot performed well and is structurally sound. As a result, their tread design and unique ramp deployment has clearly stood out among the best.

Every team at this event has had to think - hopefully a lot. The Think Award recognizes the team that has successfully thought, organized, and documented their journey from their starting point to their final design. The engineering notebook is the record of this journey. Just like in real life, teams that can document their process have the best chance at learning from it and improving on it. Here is what the judges had to say:

Through a series of photographs and documentation, the team's notebook demonstrated a collaborative effort in designing a competitive robot. The team effectively utilized a task/reflection format to document and guide the design process. Their engineering notebook included a creative mix of photographs, sketches and caricatures that documented their effort, spirit and teamwork.

Team 5526 Quasics,Gateway High School, Monroeville, PA

The Inspire Award is the highest award given by FTC. The winner of the Inspire Award is automatically eligible for advancement to the next tournament level. The Inspire Award winner is the 'prototype' for what we'd like to see all teams achieve as part of the FIRST Tech Challenge. They do many of the things mentioned in the other awards. The difference is that they've tied these together in a comprehensive manner resulting in success in the competition, outreach to the community, robot design, team spirit, and engineering accomplishment. That's a tall order but we've got some great candidates for this award today. Here is what the judges had to say:

This inspirational team displays excellence in every award category. Their innovative design and creative implementation of sensors has given them a legacy of success in multiple competitions. They'll need to double their storage capacity in order to hold their new bilingual robotics curriculum. Yes this team has gone multinational!

Team 4149 Terabytes, Murrysville, PA

2nd Runner-up: Team 6048 Girls In Black       3rd Runner-up: Team 4127 BSOD

The Judges Award is given at the discretion of the judges to a team they have encountered whose unique efforts, performance or dynamics merit recognition, yet the team does not fit into any of the existing award categories. Here is what the judges had to say:

This rookie team expressed pride in their first competitive robot design. They decided on a simple design based on available supplies,while trying to build a competitive robot. Their involvement has inspired all of the team members to continue their involvement in FTC after graduation and will be back next year mentoring underclassmen in their school.

Team 6442 Cyberzon, Horizon Science Academy Cleveland High School, Cleveland, OH