Combat robot

Combat robots, also called "fighting robots" or "Battlebots", are machines designed to fight and destroy one another in formal tournaments. Battlebots tournaments, run by Battlebots Inc., are one type of event.

Teams consisting of one or more competitors design and build their robots from scratch. The builders range from high-school students to retirees. Some competitors have engineering or machining experience, but many do not.

The robots themselves are not "real robots" because they are remote-controlled by the driver, instead of having an onboard computer brain. Self-controlled, or autonomous combat robots, are allowed under the rules, but are very difficult to make competitive in the complicated combat environment.

Table of contents

1 Weight Classes
2 Robot Design
3 External Links

Weight Classes

The small weight classes: Antweight (one pound), beetleweight (three pounds), hobbyweight (12 pounds), and featherweight (30 pounds). These weight classes have become popular in just the last few years, and they are cheaper and safer to build than the large weightclasses seen on TV.

The large weight classes: Lightweight (60 pounds), middleweight (120 pounds), heavyweight (220 pounds), and superheavyweight (340 pounds). The three television shows, Robotica, Robot Wars, and Battlebots, showed robots in this range.

A robot that moves by means of legs, rather than wheels, is allowed a weight advantage. Robots fight against others in the same weightclass.

Robot Design

Robots vary widely in shape, size, weaponry, and number of wheels. They can be made of mostly scrap metal and recycled or surplus parts, or they can have custom parts and machining and exotic materials, or anything in between. The cost of a competitive robot in the large weightclasses can be as low as $500, or it can be $50,000 or more. The average is $3000-$5000. An antweight can be made from a remote-controlled toy for twenty dollars or so.

Boxbots, also called rammers or bricks. These spend their weight budget on heavy armor and a robust drivetrain, rather than on weaponry. They often have four or six wheels. Their strategy is to survive the weapons of the opponent and arena while driving the opponent hard into the walls and hazards.
Wedgebots. These have a strong drivetrain and armour, with a sloped front and low ground clearance. They usually have two or four wheels. Their strategy is to shove their wedge under the opponent and break its contact with the floor, then flip the opponent over or carry it to the arena hazards. The sloped face is also good at deflecting weapon blows.
Thwackbots. These have a two-wheeled body and a long arm with a weapon at the tip, such as a sledgehammer or pickaxe. The strategy is to get close to the opponent, and then spin the whole bot about its own centre so that the weapon arm swings quickly in a circle. The arm is also good for keeping dangerous opponents at a distance.
Hammerbots or axebots. These have weapons on one or more swinging arms, such as hammers, picks, or axes. The strategy is to land as many blows on top of the opponent as possible and crush or puncture its armour. It is difficult for a hammerbot to deliver a powerful blow without just lifting itself off the floor, but it can be done and has been.
Clampbots. These have jaws, pinchers, or grappling arms that can close on an opponent and capture it, crush it, or lift it into the air. The strategy may be to damage the opponent directly, or to take it to the hazards.
Lifters. These have an arm that gets under the opponent and lifts it off the floor, breaking its traction and keeping it helpless. The strategy is to prevent the opponent from attacking and to take it to the hazards.
Flippers. These also have an arm to get under the opponent, but instead of a slow lift, the arm fires upward with great force, throwing the opponent in the air. The strategy is to flip the opponent upside down or on edge, or to simply throw the other robot so high and so often that the repeated landings cause it to break.
Spinners. Spinning weapons are popular and varied. These use a motor to spin a solid weapon, such as a bar, disc, saw, or cylinder (drum), and strike the opponent with the kinetic energy of the weapon. Spinners can be mounted anywhere on the robot: in front, at the sides, or on top. Their effects range from showers of sparks to tearing the wheels or armour off the opponent, or even throwing the opponent many lengths in the air. The strategy is simply to destroy.
Full-body spinners, also called shell spinners. These are round robots in the shape of domes, pucks, or cones, in which the entire outer shell is the spinning weapon. Usually the shell is studded with teeth or blades to tear into the opponent. Because the weapon of a shell spinner is so large and heavy, these bots tend to have weak drivetrains, and if the spinner breaks the bot is easily pushed about. Shell spinners are also helpless if flipped upside down. However, it is not easy for the opponent to get close enough to do so.

Some robots use combinations of weapons, such as both hammers and jaws, or a wedge with a spinning weapon on top, or a spinner at one end and a wedge at the other. There are also robots that fit no strict definition, such as snake robots.

External Links

www.botleague.com Site of the Robot Fighting League.
forums.delphiforums.com/battlebot_tech/start A large combat robot discussion forum.
www.battlebots.com The official site of Battlebots Inc.
www.robotcombat.com Contains reports of Battlebots events, and a history of Battlebots.

Combat robot

Weight Classes

Robot Design

External Links

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