Maker Faire 08: ComBots Cup

Writing by Evan Ackerman on Tuesday, 6 of May , 2008 at 2:48 am

The ComBots Cup was the main event at Maker Faire for anyone even remotely interested in robots and carnage, and this year’s battles certainly did not disappoint. Armored and weaponized remote controlled bots were unleashed against one another in a giant arena where spectators are protected from flying metal shrapnel by sheets of 1 inch thick lexan, quarter inch I-beams, and steel plates. Each battle lasts 3 minutes or until one robot is immobilized, incapacitated, thrown out of the arena, or completely destroyed. In the event that both robots remain functional, a panel of judges awards points based on damage and aggression. Fortunately, there’s plenty of damage and aggression to go ’round… Here’s some video of four of my favorite battles from over the weekend:

Video really doesn’t do justice to the experience of watching two robots that weigh a couple hundred pounds attack each other with titanium spinners traveling at several thousand RPM. If you can possibly get to an event, go.

So, as you can see from the video, these robots aren’t just blindly pounding away at each other… A substantial portion of the battle involves strategy, movement, and the skill of the driver. After each battle, win or lose, the robots get taken back to the pit area to get checked out, tuned up, have their batteries charged, and in some cases, their weapons switched out depending on what bot they’re fighting next. It’s exciting, and it’s awesome. ‘Nuff said. Some pics of the pit area, after the jump.

[ ComBots ]

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Category: Competitive

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