If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. Please email info@fightingrobots.co.uk if you have any questions.
I've also got two new US Ants in the works for a competition on July 14th, one is mostly done, the other is waiting on chassis components.
After the July event, the next major event is Dragon*Con Robot Battles, 1lb and 3lb are full combat, 12 and 30lb are on a tabletop style platform. Apollyon won the 12lb class last year and Nyx was designed with the event in mind, so I'm looking forward to seeing how things go.
Algos is on the left, full titanium chassis with a (theoretical) 15,000rpm single tooth disk. Klazo is on the right and is a prototype robot kit from Kitbots.com with a custom aluminum drum and titanium wedgelets.
The next event is Saturday and has 150g, 1lb and 3lb combat. I'm going to try to get a good amount of video at the event.
Dragon*Con 2012 is next weekend, and with that comes Dragon*Con Robot Battles, one of my favorite events each year.
In the 12 and 30lb class, there is no arena. Combat occurs on a 16x12ft platform with a sumo style format. Spinning weapons are limited to 20ft per second and there's a generic bad idea rule to cover dangerous things not specified in the rules.
In the 1 and 3lb class, it's full combat in an arena I've spent the last half dozen weekends helping build. The combat area is just short of 8x8ft with a single pushout and a centrally mounted hazard.
Last year, I brought Apollyon, Kobalos, and Motor City Massacre. Apollyon went undefeated in the 12lb class. This year, Apollyon is the only returning bot. New (to Dragon*Con) bots are Nyx(Feather), Algos and Klazo. (US Ants) I've also been working with a friend of mine on his first robot, which is yet to be named. The weapon on it is a front hinged servo powered flipper.
We took a total of 5 robots to Dragon*Con 2012. The antweights were Algos, Klazo and Reptar. Apollyon was the 2011 12lb champion and returned to defend the title and Nyx was in its first Dragon*Con and second competitive event.
Algos placed 3rd losing to Segs from Found Objects Robotics in the semi-final after performing perfectly in the first few matches. Algos finished with a 2-1 record.
Klazo fought Tigger, another Found Objects robot 3 times before falling out of the arena pushout while inverted and finished with a 0-1 record.
Reptar swept the bracket and won the 1lb class in it and the drivers first robot combat event. Reptar is currently undefeated with a 3-0 record.
Apollyon successfully defended the 12lb title and is the 2012 Dragon*Con Robot Battles 12lb champion with a 4-0 record.
Nyx nearly finished Dragon*Con 0-1 after facing Uberclocker Unicorn in the opening 30lb match, however after the first round the 30lb weight class was switched to double elimination, which meant Nyx would be able to continue to fight. Nyx won 6 straight matches capturing the 30lb championship and finishing with a 6-1 record.
I have already uploaded all of my video from the event and sorted them into relatively convenient playlists which can be found at the following links:
Rules are a bit different from typical US combat due to the whole no walls thing. Here's the official rules: http://robotbattles.com/rules.htm
These are the main rules that came about due to the conditions:
D. No vehicle may, under any circumstances, present a hazard to the judges, spectators, or the opposing operator(s). No vehicle may in its operation cause damage to anything other than the opposing robot or the combat surface. Any vehicle that imperils the viewing areas will be ruled ineligible for competition.
I. Slow spinners are allowed with an absolute maximum tip speed of 20 feet per second and may spin in any direction. The tip speed in feet per second is calculated by this formula: Tip Speed = RPM x Diameter x .00436. This rules only applies to non-arena competitions; Arena competitions have no restrictions for spinners.
The matches are best of 3 to account for the potentially extremely short individual fights and there is a general we can include random obstacles on the combat surface rule that keeps things interesting and makes wedges much harder to drive.
Interesting, so although iit doesn't say specifically no Pneumatics, the audience safety rule pretty much rules them out, since a flipper or powerful axe could be too dangerous.
It would likely depend on the exact weapon arrangement, as the crowd is a good distance back. The flywheel powered automatic flippers that Dale Heatherington ( http://www.wa4dsy.net/robot/ ) brings can throw bots very well and are still allowed to compete. I imagine it would be down to the specifics of the weapon system and if you were worried, contacting the event organizer to check before making any plans would be a good idea.
I put together an Instructable on my 1lb bot Algos. It covers the initial build, some redesign, shaft hardening and titanium anodizing. The Instructable also includes .slddrw and .dxf's of all of the waterjet cut components used. Check it out and vote for it in the Digital Fabrication Contest if you like it. http://www.instructables.com/id/One-Pou ... bot-Algos/
Comment