Here is what the judges had to say:

 

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 forged their way through the competition. With their rotational vision, they kept their eyes on the prize. Their creative use of 3D printing made this award a "steel"!

Winner: Team 8509, STEEL Serpents from Pittsburgh, PA

2nd Place: Team 8393, The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team       3rd Place: Team 7423, Flaming Phoenix

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:

Innovative ideas can come in more than one form. Fiery dual grippers that clasp glyphs tight. And a reliable arm placing relics upright.

Winner: Team 7423, Flaming Phoenix from Kennett Square, PA

2nd Place: Team 12538, eBorg Robotics       3rd Place: Team 11792, BotsBurgh

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 9791, Divide by Zero from Harleysville, PA

2nd Place: Team 8393, The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team       3rd Place: Team 12538, eBorg Robotics

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:

This team exemplifies what a model team in FIRST is all about. Along with their connections in the stem community, they have built a great robot. Using their giant brains, they have ascended to the top of the competition.

Winner: Team 8393, The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team from Baden, PA

2nd Place: Team 7423, Flaming Phoenix     3rd Place: Team 12538, eBorg Robotics