Here is what the judges had to say:

The Motivate Award celebrates the Team that exemplifies the essence of the FIRST Tech Challenge competition and embraces the culture of FIRST while making a collective effort to make FIRST known throughout their school, and community and sparks others to embrace the culture of FIRST.

 

Here is what the judges had to say:

The intent of the Design Award is to expand on 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 aspect must serve a function - but they should also differentiate the robot in a unique fashion.

 

Here is what the judges had to say:

This team combined form, function, and aesthetics into their solid design. Their compact robot's reaching arm proved to be effective in battle. The relic is well protected by this group of knights.

Winner: Team 13772, Techno Knights from Philadelphia, PA

2nd Place: Team 6552, N.E.R.D.S.       3rd Place: Team 9570, GearGirls

The Rockwell Collins Innovate Award celebrates a Team that has the ingenuity and inventiveness to make their designs come to life. Elements of this Award include elegant design, robustness and 'out of the box' thinking with regard to design. This Award may address the design of the whole robot or some sub-assembly component of the robot. The creative component needs to work consistently, but a robot does not have to work all of the time during Matches to be considered for this Award.

 

Here is what the judges had to say:

This team's intake system turns heads with their design. Their quick thinking enabled them to catch glyphs left and right. Their innovative turning claw allowed them to sail to victory.

Winner: Team 13771, Lil' Boat from Philadelphia, PA

2nd Place: Team 5488, Robodragons       3rd Place: Team 5320, RoboLancers Gold

The Connect Award is presented to the Team that the Judges' feel most connected with their local community, FIRST and the business world. The best Team is more than the sum of its parts, and recognizes that their schools and communities play an essential part to their success. The recipient of this Award is recognized for helping the community understand FIRST, the FIRST Tech Challenge, and the Team itself. In addition, the Team that wins this Award is aggressively seeking engineers and exploring the opportunities available in the world of engineering, science and technology.

Here is what the judges had to say:

This judged award is given to the Team that best reflects the journey the Team took as they experienced the engineering design process during the build season. The Engineering Notebook is the key reference for judges to help identify the most deserving Team. This Team's Engineering Notebook focused on the design and build stages of the Team's robot and exemplified their journey as a team and engineers.

Here is what the judges had to say:


Winner: Team 9734, Andromeda from Philadelphia, PA

2nd Place: Team 8480, Technobots       3rd Place: Team 9570, GearGirls

The Inspire Award is given to the Team that the Judges felt truly embodied the 'challenge' of the FIRST Tech Challenge program. The Team that receives this award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and works to promote FIRST and make it loud in their community. The Team that receives this Award has performed well in all Judging categories and was chosen by the Judges as a model FIRST Tech Challenge Team on and off the playing field. The Judges used Match performance, observations made during interviews and in the pit area, the Team's Engineering Notebook, and performance on the playing field in determining the winner.

Here is what the judges had to say:

The strong camaraderie of this team is obvious for all to see. The judges were amazed by their perseverance and dedication to FIRST. No amount of camouflaging can hide this "beautiful strong teams" ingenuity.

Winner: Team 8480, Technobots from Philadelphia, PA

2nd Place: Team 13772, Techno Knights     3rd Place: Team 6552, N.E.R.D.S.