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BattleBots on ESPN2? -- Every year or so BattleBots announces some prospective television deal, usually involving Disney/ABC/ESPN. None of these have amounted to anything, so far. With that in mind, read the latest announcement very carefully.
The announcment says that ESPN has offered to broadcast a "Collegiate BattleBots Championship" tournament on ESPN2 and ESPNU. The tournament is supposedly scheduled for November 2008 (rescheduled from May, 2008) and would be limited to a single 160 pound weight class. Participation is to be limited to college teams and students. It does not say anywhere that BattleBots has accepted the offer.
The announcement also indicates that a "professional" heavyweight tournament is planned for the same venue and will be filmed to "leverage" broadcast possibilities, but the current broadcast offer appears to cover only the college tournament.
There is also mention of a possible no-weight-limit, anything-goes class. This makes no sense to me given that current high-energy weapons can breech the arena containment. I know that BattleBots has expressed interest in much larger robots in the past, but I just don't see them pulling this off.
Stay tuned for updates -- but don't set your expections too high...
Update: It's now late September, 2008. There have been no official updates from BattleBots, no rules have been released, and there are no confirmed teams for the November 2008 tournament. It looks like another BattleBots goatscrew. Can't say I didn't warn you. Support your local events and forget these guys.
Update: Still late September, 2008. A reliable source says he has received an email from a BattleBots official stating that the tournament has been rescheduled for April of 2009. This is the 2nd reschedule and it respresents an 11 month delay from the original date. Still no rules. Still no confirmed entries.
New Roaming Robots Website -- The largest robot fighting group in Europe has an exciting new website. In addition to a cool new look, the site feaatures fight videos, robot database, games, puzzles, event schedules, special features and more. Don't miss the 'Battle Zone'.
Robotica on The Science Channel -- Robotica season 3 is currently airing on The Science Channel. Check your local cable listings for times.
Many of the top teams from the first season returned for a shot at a championship in season 3. Take a look thru the Robotica Season 3 gallery for photos and short comments on the robots.
Spinner Spreadsheet -- I get a lot of requests from robot builders for help calculating the spin-up time and effectiveness of their spinning weapon design. I've written an Excel spreadsheet to calculate the Moment of Inertia, spin-up time, and total energy for spinning discs, bars, drums, and combinations of these shapes. Let me know if you find it useful.
If you're interested in the physics of spinning weapons, I recommend reading Paul Hills' Spinner Guide.
Update: thanks to a suggestion and spreadsheet work by Michael Maples, the Spinning Weapon Spreadsheet now provides an estimate of the battery power needed to power your weapon design. Thanks, Michael!
'Ask Aaron' Answers 1100th Question! -- When my son Aaron and I started the Ask Aaron website, I didn't even know there WERE 1100 questions about combat robots. Aaron started the site about seven years ago to discuss robots and learn more about robotics by researching answers he didn't already know. I lend a hand with highly technical questions.
Seven Years Ago... -- March 4th, 2008 marks the seventh anniversary of Team Run Amok's victory at Robotica. The final fight took place at about 2:30 AM and it had been a very long day. Since that time, we've won quite a few championships and have been on the podium at more than half the events we've entered. We've organized three Antbotica competitions, traveled to England twice, and answered more than 900 questions about combat robotics at the Ask Aaron page. We're still filled with ideas and enthusiasm for recreational robotics, so check back with us to see what develops!
The First Self-Righting Robot? -- Early on in the history of combat robots, builders discovered that an overturned robot was toast. The number of robots designed to overturn their opponent began to increase and countermeasures were needed. Invertible robots, able to continue operating when flipped over, are immune to an overturning attack -- but designing for invertability will either limit or complicate weapon and armor choices. A better solution might result from an active mechanical means of returning an incapacitated overturned 'bot to correct 'wheels down' orientation.
So, who was the first immobilized robot to save itself by self-righting? Several claims have been made for assorted robots under differing conditions, often relying on arena walls or intervention by another robot. Here are the best candidates, in my opinion, for first true self-righting:
- US Robot Wars 1996: Carlo Bertocchini's 'Biohazard' had just won a match against rival 'Vlad the Impaler' by pinning Vlad against the wall for 30 seconds. The match was called and Biohazard backed away. Vlad, apparently disappointed at the loss, turned and used its pneumatic lifter on Biohazard to flip and immobilize it. Biohazard was able to self-right by use of its electric lifting arm. This is generally believed to be the first display of self-righting at a tournament, but it took place after the conclusion of a match and had no bearing on the outcome.
- US Robot Wars 1997: Gage Cauchois' 'Vlad the Impaler' had a dedicated pneumatic device that could quickly and repeatedly pop Vlad back upright from an inverted orientation. The device was successfully used to self-right from an immobilized position in an early round match against Biohazard, but Vlad lost the match in a judge’s decision.
- UK Robot Wars 1998: Rex Garrod's 'Cassius' was immobilized when it was turned upside-down by a House Robot during 'The Gauntlet' phase of the competition. Cassius used its pneumatic flipping arm to jump back upright and complete the Gauntlet. Cassius avoided elimination and went on place second overall in the tournament.
Combat Robot Hall of Fame -- A lot of combat robots have fought since the first Robot Wars in 1994. Which do you think were the absolute best? I founded the Combat Robot Hall of Fame in 2003 and polled members of the robot community to select the initial inductees. Robots from both sides of the Atlantic were selected based on:
- Dominating success in combat;
- Pioneering or perfecting influential designs;
- Having great fan or entertainment appeal; or
- Otherwise making a lasting impact on the sport.
The Hall was re-opens for nominations in August of odd-mumbered years, and the 2007 inductions are now complete. There are now 30 full members and 23 robots with Honorable Mention.
Combat Robotics Wiki -- It's back! The Combat Robotics Wiki disappeared about a year ago because of problems the ISP had running the server software. The Wiki now has a new home and is running great! Stop in, browse the articles, and add a little something of your own.
Unpopular -- The 2007 results are in and the number of 'bots entering competitions continues to fall. Public interest in robot combat remains just above nil, and the 2007 Robot Fighting League National Championships were cancelled due to apathy. In spite of this, the 'hard core' robot combat guys won't budge off their paradigm of heavy metal destruction.
The chart tells the big story, but it's even worse that it appears -- more than 3/4 of the 2007 fights were insect-class 'bots. The 'classic' big robot classes of 60 pounds and up now make up only about 1/8 of the matches, down from more than 1/2 in earlier years.
It's time for something new. Some elements of robot combat are just taken for granted -- but maybe they shouldn't be accepted so quickly. Why do robots fight in weight classes? Why are matches timed? Has it always been done that way? Some of the ideas here are really half-baked, but there are some things worth thinking about: Robot Combat Paradigms.
Robot Combat Tournament Trees -- Following a number of requests, I have put together the tournament trees for the Robot Fighting League championship tournaments from 2004 thru 2006. The weight-class winners and links to full match results can be found at:
The listings include trees and rules for: U.S. Robot Wars ('94 thru '97), U.K. Robot Wars (all seven wars plus the world championships), Robot Wars Extreme Warriors (2001 and 2002), Robotica (all three seasons), BattleBots ('99 Long Beach thru season 5.0.), and the RFL Championship Tournaments (2004 thru 2006).
There are also links to archive photos of the 1995 and 1996 Robot Wars robots. Click on any '95 or '96 weightclass 'result' and follow the photo link.
The Robot That Never Was -- Here's the untold story of a mock-up robot that just may have been the key to Team Run Amok's acceptance into the Robotica competition. The robot never had a name and it never was fully operational, but without it our whole robot combat career may never have made it off the ground.
Robotica Ring Tone? -- I've had several Robotica sound clips available for a while in .WAV format, but I just recently converted them to .MP3 to make them a better match for portable applications. The "Robots Ready" clip makes a great ring tone.
Robot Combat on iPod Video -- "It was a hot July afternoon and the finest heavyweight and super-heavyweight combat robots in the NorthWest gathered at an undisclosed location to test their mettle..."
That's the lead in for the Oregon Clandestine Street Fight video CD. This underground video has some of the rawest, unfiltered robot combat action ever recorded. The few copies in circulation have been played again and again on computer screens across the country, but the latest version of the CD also includes MPG4 format files for the video iPod!
SlamBot at the Arcade -- Wanna bash some real 'bots, but all you have is a pocketfull of quarters? MorrowBotics has developed the new SlamBot arcade game system -- real remote controlled robots in an 8 foot square arena. Beat the other 'bot to the flashing targets, or ignore the targets and just beat up the other 'bot. Watch for SlamBot at an arcade near you soon!
The Rise and Fall -- Bill Gurstelle, author of magazine articles and multiple books on fringe technology has an entertaining post on his "Notes From The Technology Underground" blog called The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Robotic Combat. It's an interesting perspective, if not entirely accurate.
What Weapons Win? -- Do spinning weapons win more robot combat matches than wedges? Are active weapons better than passive rammers? I decided to take a look at the actual records from recent tournaments and find out what the results really say. You might be surprised.
Antbotica! -- Growing just a little tired of the usual robot combat scenario? Looking for something a little more challenging? Why just trash a field of robot competitors when you can out-think, out-maneuver, and just plain out run them?
The Antbotica competition has four
different challenges for one-pound robots:
- Dodge and run in the 'Shuttle Race'.
- Chase strategy and your opponent on the 'Scramble' playground.
- Show off your power and control in 'Pushover'.
- Make gravity your friend in the 'Showdown'.
Check the rules and results and start building for the next event.
Gyros! -- Remote control combat robots have stability problems. Two-wheeled 'bots don't want to go straight, and four-wheeled 'bots don't want to turn! We can borrow a little technology from R/C helicopter pilots to make the job of driving them a little easier.
You Be The Judge -- Working as a judge at a combat robot tournament is no picnic! Get the match right and everybody nods, but if the crowd doesn't like your call they let you know. Try scoring the five example matches given here and you can see just how tough it can be.
What counts more, a flip or a bash? How many points for smoke? Rip off a wheel - does that win the match for you? Is it better to do damage early or late in the battle? What counts as 'aggression'?
Battbotica Wars -- Think that robot combat is all guts and glory? You may want to think again after you read this list of things that actually happened to Team Run Amok and our friends on journeys to robot combat tournaments in the U.S. and England.
- Did you know that laundromats are illegal some places?
- Why do my socks smell like spray lube?
- How do you feel about french beer?
Gallery Update -- My collection of pictures and info on the competitors from the inaugural Robotica competition has been a popular part of the website for a while. Lately, I've received requests for pictures and info on the competitors from seasons two and three. I've scrounged info on almost all of the competitors -- take a look, and if you have material for any of the missing competitors, send it my way!
Robotica Journal -- What was it really like to compete at the inaugural Robotica? Right after I got back from Robotica, I wrote down all the behind-the-scenes bits and happenings for my own files. There are a few things in here that have never come to light 'til now. I also put my favorite picture from Robotica in here. Take a look: Robotica Journal
Posters? -- I'm searching for posters from the early (' 94 thru ' 97) Robot Wars. Got one rolled up in your closet? Have one taped to the workshop wall? There are hundreds of these posters out there -- why can't I find any??
Team Run Amok uses a lot of parts from Team Delta. Stop by their website for battle tested parts that work.