Page 23 - Build Your Own Combat Robot

Build Your Own Combat Robot
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many of its opponents in a matter of seconds. It had such destructive force that it
was once banned from continuing to compete in a contest and was automatically
declared co-champion for that event.
Today, most combat robots are remote-controlled; but in the early years of Ro-
bot Wars, there were several fully autonomous combat robots. These robots ran
completely on their own, using internal microcontrollers and computers for
brains, and sensors to find and attack their opponents. Many people think auton-
omous combat robots would be too slow to compete because they would require
too much time to locate and attack an opponent. This isn’t always the case, how-
ever. The 1997 Robot Wars Autonomous Class champion, Thumper (built by
Bob Gross), won a match in 10 seconds flat. That’s Thumper in Figure 1-2.
Today, most autonomous combat robots are found in robot sumo events,
where two bots try to find and push each other out of a sumo ring. In this event,
bots are not allowed to destroy each other. Sumo builders face a unique challenge,
as they design their bots to “see” their opponent and push them out of the ring be-
fore getting pushed out themselves. This contest has become increasingly popular
in recent years, and new sumo events are popping up all over the world.
In the past, competition divisions consisted of man versus man, or team of men
versus team of men (let’s face it—it began as a male-dominated sport). Strength,
speed, agility, endurance, and strategy were the only factors that determined the
winner or loser. Thanks to robot combat, this isn’t the case anymore. At robot
competitions, ingenuity, creativity, and intelligence now rule the game. No lon-
ger are 6-foot 5-inch, 240-pound male “athletes” dominating the game. A
10-year-old girl with excellent engineering skills can now defeat a 250-pound former

FIGURE 1-2
Thumper, an
autonomous robot
built by
Bob Gross, won
big-time at
Robot Wars
in 1997.
(courtesy of
Bob Gross)