Sample Questions

Autonomous Award

• How does your robot perceive its surroundings during autonomous?

• What sensors are you using, and why were they selected?

• How do you account for sensor noise, field variability, or lighting changes?

• How does your robot localize itself on the field?

• How do you ensure mechanisms are positioned accurately before executing a task?

• What happens if your robot starts slightly misaligned?

• How do you ensure consistent and reliable performance over many matches?

• What factors did you identify that could interfere with autonomous success?

• How did you design around traffic or interaction during autonomous periods, including any autonomous actions in teleop?

• What testing process did you use to validate repeatability?

• How did your autonomous routines evolve from concept to competition?

• What metrics did you track to evaluate improvement?

• How did you balance scoring potential with reliability?

Creativity Award

• What is the most creative element of your robot?

• Where did the idea originate?

• Can you trace the evolution of this feature from initial concept to final design?

• How was this feature intentionally designed rather than discovered accidentally?

• What alternatives did you consider before choosing this approach?

• How does this creative feature enhance your game strategy?

• When functioning as designed, how does it improve match performance?

• What risks did this creative solution introduce?

• How did you mitigate those risks during development?

• What testing validated that this idea was competition-ready?

Excellence in Engineering Award

• What specific game problems did you identify as priorities?

• Why did you choose to focus on those challenges?

• How does your robot incorporate solutions to those problems?

• How do your subsystems work together seamlessly?

• What tradeoffs did you accept in your design?

• Can you trace this solution from concept through CAD, prototyping, and final fabrication?

• What iterations significantly improved performance?

• How did you validate that your solution did not introduce new problems?

• How does this engineering solution contribute directly to match success?

Industrial Design Award

• How does your robot balance function, efficiency, and aesthetics?

• What makes your entire machine elegant and practical?

• How does the overall robot architecture support performance?

• How did you ensure the design is simple and executable rather than overly complex?

• What visually or structurally distinguishes your robot from others?

• How does your design language carry consistently across the whole robot?

• How does your design improve driver interaction and clarity?

• How does your layout improve maintenance efficiency?

Innovation in Control Award

• What is innovative about your control system?

• How does it differ from standard implementations?

• How is your control system integrated with mechanical systems and overall strategy?

• How does it support drivers or human players?

• Can you trace the control concept from idea to deployment?

• What testing and tuning did you perform?

• How does your system perform under competition stress?

• What redundancy or safeguards are built in?

• How does your control system directly address this year’s game challenge?

Quality Award

• What was your quality plan heading into build season?

• How did you design for robustness across the entire event?

• What fabrication standards does your team follow?

• How do you ensure consistency in manufacturing and assembly?

• How does your robot withstand defensive play and repeated match cycles?

• What redundancy is built into critical systems?

• What common failure points did you proactively design against?

• How has your robot maintained performance throughout the event?

• How does your build quality contribute directly to on-field success?