Build your own combat robot
[...]... Kevlar, ripping off another robot s entire armor plating, and completely disintegrating an opponent in a single blow One of the most destructive robots the sport has seen to date is Blendo This spinning robot, more commonly known as a SpinBot-class robot, totally destroyed FIGURE 1-1 Biohazard, a superstar of robotic combat (courtesy of Carlo Bertocchini) 3 4 Build Your Own Combat Robot many of its opponents... 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 contests—such as BattleBots, Robotica, and BotBash, to name a few—have been spawned from the original Robot Wars... robotics He’s also an award-winning wildlife photographer and the author of The Wild Cookie, an interactive kids’ story on CD-ROM xv xvi Build Your Own Combat Robot Ronni Katz is an adjunct professor of computer science at DeVry College of Technology in North Brunswick, New Jersey She was an original member of “Team Spike” at the first Robot Wars competition and has helped design and build combat robots... Competition Robots NFL linebacker, and a wheelchair-bound person can run circles around an Olympic gold medalist Robot combat has leveled the playing field so that anyone can compete against anyone on equal ground W hat Is a Robot? Now that you’ve made up your mind to build a robot, you’re probably sitting back wondering just what you’ve gotten yourself into “What is a robot? ” you ask yourself Surprisingly,... declared co-champion for that event Today, most combat robots are remote-controlled; but in the early years of Robot 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 autonomous combat robots would be too slow to compete because they... hours of taking robots apart and putting them back together again, and the feeling you get when you realize you’ve become a small but integral part of our quirky little robo-community I hope this book will help you get started in the unique and exiting sport of robot combat Robot experts clearly explain everything you need to know to build a bot of your own For anyone thinking of building a robot, I strongly... designing FIRST robots The official FIRST Web site is www.usfirst.org FIGURE 1-6 Team Titan Robotics from the International School in Bellevue, Washington, built Prometheus for a FIRST competition (courtesy of Larry Barello) 15 16 Build Your Own Combat Robot Robot Soccer Probably the most difficult robot sport is Robot Soccer This is an autonomous game where a team of bots works together to score goals... member of the Seattle Robotics Society, the world’s largest robotics club, and was recently appointed to the SRS Board of Directors He is an avid competitor in autonomous robot sumo, and enjoys building legged robots for various contests to demonstrate that walking robots can be formidable competitors Tom Carroll has been involved with robotics for more than 40 years He built his first robot at age 14,... time playing sports I spend mine building robots You may think that this is not a typical hobby for a teenaged girl, and you’re right I am part of a rapidly-growing community of combat robot builders from all across the U.S., of all ages, and I’m not exactly new to the sport, either I was at Fort Mason San Francisco in 1994 watching the first robotic combat competition, Robot Wars I saw my dad win match... 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 building 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 . Controlling Your Robot 157 9 Robot Material and Construction Techniques 183 10 Weapons Systems for Your Robot 203 11 Autonomous Robots 239 12 Robot Brains 259 13 Robot Sumo 275 14 Real-Life Robots:. 226 Hammer Bots, 228 viii Build Your Own Combat Robot Crusher Bots, 231 Spear Bots, 233 Closing Remarks on Weapons, 236 11 Autonomous Robots 239 Using Sensors to Allow Your Robot to See, Hear, and. unique and exiting sport of robot combat. Robot experts clearly explain everything you need to know to build a bot of your own. For anyone thinking of building a robot, I strongly encourage you