When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

It seems that every SINGLE time I bring up our robotics competitions and what we do, regardless of who I'm talking too (students, adults, teachers), no joke 9 out of 10 people ask if we can put saws on our robots and then proceed to talk about how cool that would be. Then I try to explain what a bad idea that would be because you could only compete one match after 6 weeks of building and $2000 of parts. Its really quite amusing. :p

I'm curious as to how many other people hear the same thing from "non-firsters."

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

happens to me just about every time. the first question i get is usually "is it just like battle bots?!" :p

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

haha, then after you say you are not allowed to do that because it is specifically in the rules, they always seem disappointed. One of my teachers then asked if we could put an EMP on the bot and I told him is actually says "no EMPS" in the manual.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

Just respond:

"Yeah it's kind of like Battle Bots, but FRC is more like a sporting event than a gladiator duel-to-the-death."

And then if they ask about saws or spinning blades on FRC robots, ask them:

"Do baseball or football players carry circular saws and spinning blades to attack the other players?"

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I think it is because those types of contests made it into the mainstream culture and have stayed there as the frame of reference. Because people are familiar with that and enjoy those contests, it takes a while for them to understand FRC and get the bigger picture. That's why elevator speeches are so important and why team outreach makes a difference. And that is because - we are hoping to make an impact on careers, industries, mindsets, communities - regarding that bigger picture. The robots are a great way to open doors to the opportunities and possibilities available, but the team members have to prepared to open those doors in front of them.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

ha it happens to me every time and usually its asked like
"is it like that old battle bots show, that was so cool!"

my response is "no, its much more cooler than that" or "FIRST makes that show look boring"

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I always say something similar to what you said. And, yeah, I get it all the time. The worst is when I say "I don't want something I spent x amount of time and x amount of money on to be destroyed in three minutes" and they think for a second and say "Then build it better than everyone else's".

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I always try to explain what it's about and if they really don't get it, I give them a link (if I'm talking online through a chat) or show them a picture of our robot. And Yes, I do carry pictures of our robot around :P

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

We just had a fund raiser today. And we were, once again, asked if we were like battle bots. There seems to be a strange connection between irrational violence and robot interest. It doesn't help that, as part of a class in middle school, kids build machines to do different tasks then get to destroy them in various ways in an almost demolition derby. They're not robots, but I think a lot of kids still like the concept of dropping bricks and chucking basketballs on things.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

Wow, I think this is great. Pretty hilarious too.

Many of the people who ask this are high school kids who don't really care about things like FIRST's vision; they just like to dream up cool things like battle bot robots. It's often impossible to tell them much more about what we really do, unless they're someone like an adult that actually has interest.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I get the battlebots all the time.
I usually take the opportunity to talk about Gracious Professionalism and explain about alliances. :)

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I was filling a person in at our regional this weekend and they said, "So when does this program relate to the robots you would see on TV that would tear each other apart." And I just groaned and said "Battlebots?"

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

every person that ive discussed robotics with (except 1) has asked "do you get to kill the other robots"...it gets real annoying to have to explain FIRST in detail so many times

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

Most of the time when I explain FIRST and FRC to people, they ask if it is like battle bots. Some of them loose interest in FRC after I tell them that it is not like battle bots.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

Well, maby next year that will be the game.::ouch::

If it is we are making one giant steel cirular-saw blade with a crab drive.:cool:

Anyway, that way when people asked that, you could say "yes, actully its exactly like that."

I can't even imagine how many people would suddenly join robotics teams. That would certainly be one way to get people interested in FIRST:p .

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

haha, this is a very cunning idea.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I think next time I'm asked I'll respond with something like this:

"Well, let's look at evolution. First cavemen hit each other with clubs, and now we're building technology. In Battlebots, we're cavemen. In FIRST, we managed to go through 2000 years of history into the new age of using technology to help others."

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I usually say "No, but it'd be cool if we did that at the end of our season." Then they ask me what we do during our season. Reverse psychology always works on the simple-minded.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

We do do that at the end of our season. I thought everybody did:confused: .











Just kidding:D

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

Basically everyone asks me if they're battle bots. I return with the clear fact that FIRST is more fun.

Also look at this field from when I saw live battlebots in Texas:



BORING.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

well, a couple of the guys on my team joke that they should go start a battle bots team, so that when somebody asks "Is it like battle bots?!?", they can finally say "Yes, it is just like battle bots" :]

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

Although... these televised robotics events still aren't bad. Sure, the ignorance of the general public does tend to gripe us a lot, but accidentally watching Robot Wars as a small child pretty much set me on the path to robotics. Its the 'gateway drug' for robotics, if you want to make a terrible analogy. Over time, people will begin to understand FIRST and appreciate it more.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I hope so also but I don't think so as I see a decay in cultural so I think that understanding will be hard to come by

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

After the first couple times I was asked this annoying question I started preemptively saying "the robots are not designed to damage each other, unlike battle bots"

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

Before bumpers (and even after them) some pretty violent incidents have occurred, self-destruction can be quite impressive, but I don't know of any documented cases from first, I do know, however, that in at least 2 locations on the internet that have a video of 190 and some other team fighting to defend/ attach to the bar in '04. the other team wound up pushing 190 into the stationary goal which provided the correct tipping moment too over-turn the defending robot, 190 fell forward and its hook caught the bar and, in the process of lifting itself, it ran over its immobilized opponent. It is an impressive video.

Oh, I almost forgot the 'mauling' of M.O.E. in '02, yet another impressive encounter.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

As I have now competed in both, I ussualy say something like:
"No, I enjoy FIRST events much more than battlebots. It is much more like a sport."

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I get it all the time too, my default response is along the lines of:

"Its like battlebots in the sense that the robots are on the same approximate scale, and operate via radio control, etc. Its NOT like battlebots, in that we play a competitive game, as opposed to trying to destroy the other bots."

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

If they automatically associate "robotics" with "Battle Bots", ask them if the rovers on Mars fight to destroy each other. Ask them if factory robots tear different line robots apart until they're immobile.

Don't get me wrong, I love watching Robot Wars and Battle Bots on TV, but FIRST is much more exciting than those shows will ever be.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

I've definitely gotten this before, but once I explain what FIRST is they usually end up liking it better anyway. Besides, at this point pretty much everyone I've ever talked to knows what FIRST is.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

And first has alot more potential longevity than BattleBots, if you know what i mean.

Re: When you talk about FRC how many people ask about battle bots?
 

Yes, they do. Battlebots, Robot Wars, etc. managed to market themselves effectively, get themselves on TV consistently (for a while), and provide a great spectator experience, so people have heard about them... perhaps FIRST could learn a thing or two from them?