Getting Started in Robot Combat.
-Jeffrey Scholz
Last updated - January 2007
DISCLAIMER: Combat robotics is a dangerous sport by its nature. Extreme caution should be taken when performing any operation explained on this site. Any injury or death resulting from the use of these pages is the sole responsibility of the user and not totalinsanity.net. By undertaking the construction of a combat robot you assume all responsibility for your actions. When building a combat robot, always make sure you are, or are with, a responsible adult.
Build Responsibly.
So, something inspired you to build these machines? Perhaps an event you ran into on accident, maybe you saw a video on the internet, or possibly saw some robot fights on television? Whatever the reason, you're here. Now you want to know how to get started.
1. Getting an idea of what you're getting yourself into.
A good idea is to see what other people have built.
Go here:
http://www.robotcombat.com/therobots.html
http://www.teamplumbcrazy.com/indextpc_001.htm
http://www.metalmunchingmaniacs.com/build-a-combat-robot.t
http://www.madoverlord.com/Robots/TO2006.t#6p1
http://www.teamcosmos.com/robots.shtml
http://www.fingertechrobotics.com/
http://www.teamslackersunited.com/index2.aspx
http://www.teamrollingthunder.com/
In no particular order. Take maybe an hour or so to browse those sites. Don't worry if you don't understand things such as "brushless motor," "Lithium Polymer Battery," or "Electronic Speed Controller." You'll understand them later.
Done?
Good.
Note that there are several similarities between the designs.
- Almost all of them run on two or four wheels and have a part that drags on the floor. They run using "tank" steering, not "car" steering. Very few of them "walk" since a walking robot is tough to build.
- About half of them either have an inclined plane, like a doorstop or ramp in front of them. The other half have a piece of metal that spins. Most robots fall into these two categories. The first one, the "wedge" or "pusher." These robots try to win by slamming their opponents into walls The second spins a piece of metal and runs it into the opponent to damage it. (To avoid getting angry emails later, I will say I did not adequately describe the "wedges" strategy – just let it suffice for now).
- All of them have batteries that power electric motors. Practically none use gasoline engines.
- Almost all of them use a radio control. These are the same radio controls model airplanes and RC cars use.
- Most of them are build out of aluminum, steel, titanium, plastic, or composite.
What does this mean? It means that your robot will have either two or four wheels, use an inclined plane or a "spinner," run on batteries, be radio controlled, and use certain metals, plastics, or composites.
Robot combat has been around since 1994, and many robots then did not meet the criteria listed above. Years of evolution have singled out the best designs and made the weaker ones obsolete. Robots used to walk and steer like cars more often, but those robots simply could not compete with the simplicity and reliability of tank steering. There were robots that used hammers and pincers to destroy their opponents, but systems required to run them were heavy and unreliable. Robots used to use gasoline and hydraulics to move around, but electric robots proved to be more reliable. Finally, cost and performance requirements have whittled down the viable materials to a short list.
My point is this: your robot will be like what's already out there, so take a good look around at what other people are doing. Oh, your robot won't be identical, but you'll either be using a wedge or a spinner, with some variation from another design.
2. Itching to get started?
Okay, here's some advice:
1. There are WAY too many tips and tricks out there for me to simply list them all. You'll have to look over the internet to find them. Most robot combat team websites are linked from here:
www.buildersdb.com/ You'll also find a lot of tips on other tutorials at this site.
2. To get an understanding of how these robots work, get this book:
Kickin-Bot
This will be the best $18 spent on combat robots. Grant Imahara is an excellent writer and you'll have all the knowledge you need to build a good combat robot. Although the book is aimed at larger weightclasses (i.e. 60lb to 340lb), the same theory of operation still applies to lighter weighclasses – you'll just be using smaller motors and batteries than what he discusses. Read this too:
http://www.totalinsanity.net/tut/other/lingo.php
Get the book and read it, now. :)
Be sure to check out the tutorials here too.
3. Done? Didn't think so. ;) Anyway, after you're done reading, the next step is to start designing your first robot. Now what you don't want to do is choose a complex, expensive design that will just end in frustration. You may not find a wedge robot "cool" and inspiring, but that is probably your best bet because it is the simplest, cheapest, and most reliable design out there. Once you finish it, you will not think "oh, this is such a boring robot with only two degrees of motion." You will think "yes! I finally got the darn thing to work, now I can compete! This is awesome!" Finishing a robot is one of the greatest joys you will experience, so make reaching this goal as easy as possible. So, decide you are going to build a wedge and move on to the next step.
4. Read the rules. They are here:
http://botleague.net/rules.asp
Don't design anything that will get you disqualified.
5. Choose your weightclass:
Fairyweight – 150g
Antweight – 1lb
Kilobot – 1kg
Beetleweight – 3lb
Mantis – 6lb
Hobbyweight – 12lb
Battlebots IQ – 15lb
Featherweight – 30lb
Lightweight – 60lb
Middleweight – 120lb
Heavyweight – 220lb
Superheavyweight – 340lb
Mechwars – 390lb
Begin by crossing off the weightclasses that are less populated and only held by events that invented the weightclass. That leaves:
Fairyweight – 150g
Antweight – 1lb
Beetleweight – 3lb
Hobbyweight – 12lb
Featherweight – 30lb
Lightweight – 60lb
Middleweight – 120lb
Heavyweight – 220lb
Superheavyweight – 340lb
You don't want to spend too much money on this right? Because this is your first project, you will be buying new tools and making (sometimes expensive) mistakes. So we want to stay away from the expensive weightclasses.
Fairyweight – 150g
Antweight – 1lb
Beetleweight – 3lb
Hobbyweight – 12lb
Featherweight – 30lb
"Fairies" are not a good place to start because it is difficult to stay underweight. Going overweight on your first build is a nightmare, let's try to minimize to possibility of that happening.
Antweight – 1lb
Beetleweight – 3lb
Hobbyweight – 12lb
Featherweight – 30lb
Amazingly destructive robots populate the featherweight class, so you probably don't want to start there.
Antweight – 1lb
Beetleweight – 3lb
Hobbyweight – 12lb
These three weightclasses are the most popular weightclasses for beginners to start in. Don't assume that the Hobbyweight class is the most expensive and the antweights the cheapest; antweights need relatively expensive carbon fiber and titanium to be competitive. Hobbyweights can get away with hardware store aluminum. However, ants only require small portions of Carbon fiber and titanium, whereas Hobbyweights need more aluminum, so that kind of balances out. All the classes have cheap battery, motor, and radio solutions.
6. Design the wedge. The book will teach you how to do this. If you don't feel like buying the book, there are a good number of tutorials available on this site, but some prefer a hard copy. The book lists a lot of suppliers for parts, but for more, click here:
http://www.totalinsanity.net/resources.php
7. Seek advice. Go to one of these forums:
Delphi Antweights Forum
Delphi RFL Forum
If you decided to build an ant or a beetle, chose the first link. If you decided to build a hobby, use the second. Tell other people about your design, list the specifications (i.e. what parts your using), and try to use pictures.
They will help you from there.
A couple of notes on the forums:
- Some people there are not nice, others don't seem to be. Don't take it personally and give seemingly mean people the benefit of the doubt. The lack of intonations and body language make communication difficult and unintentionally unfriendly. Quite frankly, the flaming that sometimes goes on mystifies me. At an event, builders readily share tools, help each other on their robots, and make friends. At the forum, builders sometimes argue and gang up on a singled out person. You'll just have to take it as the way things are. Don't let this scare you off though, I have seen several instances where a complete newcomer goes to the forum, learns, and builds a competent robot on first try because of all the advice.
- Most are impressed by newcomers who have done their homework. If you read other people's websites and read the book I mentioned, you won't be asking any stupid questions.
- This isn't Myspace, AIM, or text messaging. Use proper English and grammar. I personally, (tmhammerbros) won't flame you for writing poorly, but others will.
- Many say "read more post less." Ignore them. Spend five minutes to ask a question and save yourself five days of suffering from a poor decision that could have been avoided if you knew the answer.
- However, try to find the answer to your question before you ask. Hit Google before you hit the forum.
- Keep off topic posting down. First read through the off topic folder to see what "off topics" we find interesting. But if you do have something genuinely interesting, don't be afraid to post or participate in off topic discussions.
- Be sure you post in the correct folder with a good thread title.
- Delphi doesn't give you a lot of attachment space for pictures. You're better off hosting your photo somewhere else and linking to it.
8. The book, the forum, and your experience will guide you from there.
Have fun!
© 2006 by T.i. Combat Robotics unless otherwise noted.
