  The orientational order in vertically agitated granular rod monolayers is
investigated experimentally and compared quantitatively with equilibrium Monte
Carlo simulations and density functional theory. At sufficiently high number
density, short rods form a tetratic state and long rods form a uniaxial nematic
state. The length-to-width ratio at which the order changes from tetratic to
uniaxial is around $7.3$ in both experiments and simulations. This agreement
illustrates the universal aspects of the ordering of rod-shaped particles
across equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems. Moreover, the assembly of
granular rods into ordered states is found to be independent of the agitation
frequency and strength, suggesting that the detailed nature of energy injection
into such a nonequilibrium system does not play a crucial role.
