Combat Robot Hall of Fame -- Literally thousands of combat robots have fought since the first Robot Wars in 1994. Which do you think were the absolute best? Team Run Amok founded the Combat Robot Hall of Fame in 2003. We polled members of the robot community to select the initial 25 inductees. Robots from both sides of the Atlantic gained membership 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.

New Robot Combat Tournament Trees -- The recent interest in the RoboGames has led me to piece together the tournament trees for their combat tournaments. Trees for 2004 thru 2011 are up. The weight-class winners and links to full match results for RoboGames and other major tournaments can be found at:

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.

Killer Robots: why did the Science Channel lie to us? -- I was as happy as any robot combat fan to see Science Channel produce and broadcast 'Killer Robots: RoboGames 2011' on Memorial Day. It's a nice production, filled with great robot combat action from the heavyweight combat division at the 2011 RoboGames event. But the tournament tree they repeatedly showed on screen was a complete fabrication.

The narration claimed that they would follow the 16 robots that survived the preliminary round thru the remainder of the tournament. What we actually saw were scattered matches from the preliminary round, the main bracket, and the losers bracket of a double-elimination tournament stitched together into a fictional single-elimination tournament that never actually took place. We never even got to see 'Breaker Box' that fought its way to third place in the tournament -- they led us to believe that 'Breaker Box' lost to 'Last Rites' early in the tournament when the exact opposite is true.

I don't mind a robot show that picks out the best matches and skips over the poor ones, as BattleBots did - but 'Killer Robots' went out of its way to lie to the viewers about what they were seeing. I resent that. If you're interested in how the tournament actually went, I have reconstructed the true RoboGames 2011 heavyweight double-elimination tournament tree.

Buffalo Grove High School Combat Robotics Program -- When Team Run Amok received an email from an instructor at Buffalo Grove High School in Illinois we didn't realize just how big a deal combat robots are at this school. They were preparing a team of six(!) robots for a competition at a nearby school: an undercutter, a verical spinner, a full-body spinner, a pneumatic flipper, and two wedges. They needed a little gyro help which we were happy to provide.

Here's video from the 2011 competition held March 11th and 12th at district rival John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Update: The Bison did it! They took top honors and swept four of the top five places in a 26 robot field. Details here.

'Ask Aaron' Website Answers 3000th Question! -- When my son Aaron and I started the Ask Aaron website, I didn't even know there WERE 3000 questions about combat robots. Aaron started the site about nine 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.

Ten Years Ago... -- March 4th, 2011 marks the tenth 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 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 3000 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!

Team Store Back Up -- The Team Run Amok Store has been down for some time because of changes at our store server. I wish I had noticed this sooner! It's back up and running again, so drop in for a look. To celebrate, I'll toss in a copy of 'Robot Riots' - a 208 page book full of photos, interviews, and robot combat history - with every order ('til I run out).

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: we've been getting a lot of questions about electric powered overhead hammer/axe weapons. To analyze their performance I have been using a customized version of the Spinning Weapon Spreadsheet re-focused to look at the first revolution a spinner weapon makes when spinning up to speed. I took some time to make this custom version 'friendlier' and more accurate, and I added a graphic output. I don't generally recommend electric hammer weapons because their energy output is very small compared to a full spinner weapon of the same mass and power source, but if you want to explore their design this spreadsheet can help.

Call them 'AmpFlow' now! -- The well-known line of high-output, high-efficiency combat robot motors marketed by Carlo Bertocchini has a new name: 'AmpFlow'. These are the same motors that have powered so many successful robots, so don't be confused by the name change.

Combat Robot Matches Continue Decline -- Fewer than 300 RFL sanctioned fights reported in 2009.

The number of combat robot matches continues to fall -- RFL matches down more than 40% from 2008 to 2009. Only the antweight class held their own in 2009, while lightweight, heavyweight, and superheavyweight disappeared completely from the Robot Fighting League events.

Note: 2010 data incomplete due to major events not reporting - not shown.

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.

BattleBots Telecast Cancelled -- Every year or so BattleBots announces some prospective television deal, usually involving Disney/ABC/ESPN. None of the previous announcements have amounted to anything and I'd stopped paying any attention to them.

The latest series of high-hype low-content announcements originally set May of 2008 as the date for a tournament to be aired on ESPN2. The tournament date slipped to November 2008, was delayed again, then eventually came off in April, 2009 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

The tournaments for 120 and 220 pound robots were "taped for television", but the touted broadcast deal with ESPN2 fell thru. Following the tournament, BattleBots announced that the 120-pound college tournament would be seen on the little-known CBS College Sports Network. Four episodes were scheduled to air in August, 2009. This date slipped to December 10, 2009 and has now been cancelled just three days before the scheduled airing.

This is the last BattleBots article I will write for this webpage. I've had enough of their hype, misinformation, and disregard for fans and competitors. BattleBots claims they have another broadcast 'deal' lined up, but you won't read about it here.

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'.

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!

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.