Page 21 - Build Your Own Combat Robot

ELCOME to the world of combat robotics. You’ve watched
them on TV. You’ve seen models of them on toy store shelves. You’ve seen them
featured on the covers of magazines. You might also be among the lucky ones who
have actually sat arena-side and watched in person as seemingly sane men and
women guided their creations of destruction toward another machine with the ex-
press goal of mangling, dismembering, and smashing the opponent.
Television has brought this controlled mayhem into the living rooms of Amer-
ica. You cheer wildly as your favorite robot with its spinning hammers rips the
steel skin off its foe. Your robot chases its limping target into a corner, only to
have a series of saw blades arise from the floor and send your hero sailing across
the arena. The TV cameras pan over to the operators of the losing robot; they are
smiling. Even in a moment of havoc, both sides are having fun. Parts and sparks
are flying, and smoke wafts upward from the hapless opponent as hazards and
weapons reach their targets. The crowd cheers and banners are waving. A winner
is announced, and then two new bots start at it.
You can not stop grinning. “This is cool!”
After the program is over, you turn to your friend excitedly and say, “I’m gonna
build one of those robots.”
“Yeah, right,” she says. “You can’t even program the VCR. Good luck build-
ing a robot.”
“Hey, I’ve got a book on how to build ’em. I’ll start small, maybe build one of
those little sumo robots. It’s a kick to watch those little guys try to shove each other
out of a ring. I have some friends who can help me get started. I’m going to do it!”
Robot combat has come a long way from its origins. The founding father of the
sport is Marc Thorpe. He came up with the idea for robotic combat while experi-
menting with attaching a remote-control tank to his vacuum cleaner to make
house cleaning more fun. After a few years spent developing the rules for a game
where two robots would duel in front of a live audience, a new sport was created:
Robot Wars. The first official combat robot event was held at Fort Mason Center
in San Francisco. It was a huge success. Since Robot Wars first came on the scene,
thousands of people have participated in building combat robots, and millions
have watched and cheered on their favorite bots. Many new combat robot con-
tests—such as BattleBots, Robotica, and BotBash, to name a few—have been
spawned from the original Robot Wars competition.

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