By Dale Hall Nents, While Losers Praise the Mechan- Square Off in Three-Minute Bouts to Ical Prowess and Driving Skill of the of Torque, and the Like
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hus begins another on. And while contes- televised half-hour tants who watch their of Battlebots, a robots get taken apart cable television in the ring grimace in show with a real pain, good modestT but enthusiastic sportsmanship gener- audience who enjoy The box is locked, the lights are on, it’s robot fightin’ time! ally prevails. In post- watching mechanized fight interviews, monsters locked in mortal combat. winners are gracious toward their oppo- Every week, pairs of angry gizmos by Dale Hall nents, while losers praise the mechan- square off in three-minute bouts to ical prowess and driving skill of the of torque, and the like. (I can hear a decide which is the mightiest of them victors. million ten-year old boys now: "But all. Piloted by their builders via radio As a scientist with a materials back- Mom! It’s educational!") controls, the robots fly around a walled ground, I like to see what happens How about robot combat as an arena full of deadly obstacles, wheeling when material meets material on the exemplar of family values, a sense of and turning, always probing for the field of combat. How much punish- opponent’s weak spot — ment can 10 mm Lexan perhaps a tire, or a pro- take, anyway? (A lot, jecting feature that can judging from recent be grabbed, torn off, combat.) Is there any real sliced, or beaten into a advantage to Kevlar in the pile of twisted metal. robot battle pit? (The jury Their array of is still out.) Is aluminum weapons is dazzling: armor a strong deterrent to sharpened lances, spikes, a determined, titanium car- lifting arms that can flip bide-tipped saw whirling at three hundred-pound high speed? (Nope.) opponents completely But mostly, I enjoy over, spring-loaded watching Battlebots because hammers capable of of the raw creativity that punishing force, charges onto the floor mechanical jaws that every time the starting can crush foes or hoist siren sounds and the them off the ground, intrigue of a practical titanium carbide-tipped puzzle that has no absolute saws that can shear answer. As many tourna- through 10 mm steel ments have shown, the plate like butter. most successful robots The competition pro- embody Mies van der ceeds through a series of Rohe’s dictum that form elimination rounds, follows function. These until the two final sur- ‘bots have no-nonsense vivors face off for the designs that waste no championship. The weight or space on extra- humor and whimsy, and good sports- winner is awarded the coveted Giant neous details. Their builders pursue the manship? It’s not as much of a stretch Nut, a large hex nut trophy that seems ultimate in traction, stability, maneu- as you might think. Short video profiles right for this odd competition. verability, defensive armor, and lethal of the robot builders often show fathers Watching battlebots duke it out is weapons with single-minded focus. If, and sons, husbands and wives, and great, mindless fun. At the end of a for example, a saw blade is the weapon whole families hard at work in their long, hard day, it’s an amusement that of choice, then it should be the garages, engrossed in welding, sheet demands only enough attention to meanest, fastest, most powerful, heav- metal bending, wiring, and testing in watch the combatants flail, pound, iest one that can be crowded into the the pursuit of a leaner, meaner, fighting crush, flip, and saw each other until robot’s design. As in real life, however, machine. The builders have a variety of one has had enough or the bell rings, there are always trade-offs. One must motivations. Most simply want to win, whichever comes first. The show allow for the other necessary elements, but others construct elegant, clever doesn’t take itself too seriously, and such as motors and wheels, while still machines that they must know can’t neither do most of the contestants. staying within the weight limit. Offen- win against the ferocious and relentless Whatever intellectual pretensions the sive weapons must be balanced against onslaught of killer ‘bots like Vlad the show has come in 30-second spots by defensive armor and design. And cost is Impaler or Techno-Destructo. The chal- Bill Nye, the Science Guy, talking about a constant constraint. lenge and fun of building a writhing, drive trains, armor, design, the concept segmented, snakelike robot spurs them (continued on page 18) The Electrochemical Society Interface • Fall 2002 9 Free Radicals define the real problem. Conceptually, (continued from the page 9) is the task to develop the perfect floppy disk? No, the problem is to develop the The state of the art constantly most practical and economical form of advances as builders develop and react compact, easily transportable data to new design concepts. One early suc- storage. Is the goal to build the best cessful robot had a rapidly spinning wedge-bot ever? No, the goal is to be shell with flailing weapons to batter good enough to beat whatever ‘bot opponents. Low, flat wedge-shaped shows up in the other corner of the robots proved adept at avoiding arena. We must be focused on the real weapons and riding under opponents, need and not wedded to a particular upending them or driving them into approach. History is littered with hazards. Mechanical jaws and flipping defunct companies that couldn’t or arms had their day, too. Later, brutal, wouldn’t adapt to changing circum- low-riding circular saws seemed stances. unstoppable, ripping opponents’ armor Electrochemists take note: almost all and tires. Every new design concept of the battlebots are battery powered. poses a new challenge that spurs still The simplicity and reliability of electric more innovation. power and drive trains has proven itself In a sense, Battlebots is a lot like the on the field of robotic combat. If you’re challenges we face every day in our impatient with the lack of similar technical work, in the other work we market penetration on our highways, do, and in our daily lives. We’re con- tune in to Battlebots; maybe you’ll get stantly faced with the need to solve to see an internal combustion ‘bot take amorphous, ill-defined problems that a packaged power pounding. It doesn’t keep changing in scope and nature. really help, but it feels kind of good. I The first step toward solution is to 18 The Electrochemical Society Interface • Fall 2000.