Robot Combat

10 Rules to Win at Robot Combat

David Calkins

By David Calkins

David Calkins

David Calkins is a widely respected robot builder and expert. He has taught robotics and computer engineering at San Francisco State University and various grade schools, is the president of the Robotics Society of America, Founder of the international RoboGames (world's largest robot competition), and has lots of other pedantic titles that no one really cares about.

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These 10 rules could turn you into a champ.

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Car No Match for 15-Foot Fighting MegaBot

Car No Match for 15-Foot Fighting MegaBot

By Keith Hammond

Keith Hammond

I'm projects editor of MAKE magazine.

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12

The first full-sized, mobile, dual-weapon battling MegaBot made its debut at Maker Faire Bay Area on Saturday, firing giant homemade paintballs at a helpless art car (donated for the purpose) and thrilling the crowd with its menacing height and ear-splitting pneumatic cannons. You’ve probably heard about MegaBots, the proposed giant robot combat league — yes […]

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Fight, Robots! Fight! Sonoma Ant Wars

Fight, Robots! Fight! Sonoma Ant Wars

By Stett Holbrook

Stett Holbrook

Stett Holbrook is editor of the Bohemian, an alternative weekly in Santa Rosa, California. He is a former senior editor at Maker Media.

He is also the co-creator of Food Forward, a documentary TV series for PBS about the innovators and pioneers changing our food system.

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4

Chimera Arts, a new makerspace in Sebastopol, Calif., hosted one of its first public events this Saturday, the 2013 Sonoma Ant Wars. Sonoma Ant Wars is a combat robot competition. Crowds gathered to watch fleaweights, antweights, and beetlebots bash, crash, grind, and chop each other in well-organized mayhem.

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MAKE at RoboGames: Robot Combat

MAKE at RoboGames: Robot Combat

By Eric Weinhoffer

Eric Weinhoffer

Eric is a Mechanical Engineer with interests in machining, mass manufacturing, product design and kinetic art. While not building things, he enjoys skiing, cycling, and juggling.

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Despite the large number of categories of robots here at RoboGames, the resounding sounds of metal on metal and cheers from the crowd keep drawing us back to the combat arena. We were immediately surprised by the variety of locations and backgrounds these teams come from, whether it’s a High School from across the country, a local engineer working in his garage, or a robotics team from Brazil.

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MAKE at RoboGames

MAKE at RoboGames

By Eric Weinhoffer

Eric Weinhoffer

Eric is a Mechanical Engineer with interests in machining, mass manufacturing, product design and kinetic art. While not building things, he enjoys skiing, cycling, and juggling.

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0

Imagine the carnage that ensues when you pit two 200+ lb. robots against each other, often with weapons that spin at around 3500 rpm. The noise level and adrenaline both run high as they bang away at each other. Intern Coordinator Sam Freeman and I are at RoboGames to witness not only the combat, but all sorts of other robotics events as well. We only got here a little while ago, but have already been fascinated by the great stuff we’ve seen.

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