i personally like battlebots. it encourages people to learn about technology, physics, programming, and all the other cool stuff we learn about. it is done in such a way that the public says "oh, that's really neat!" i mean, when we say we're on the robotics team, what's the first thing out of people's mouths? "OH!! are you in BATTLEBOTS!
" "err...no, not exactly, we focus more on-" "oh...
" *people walk away* seriously, they expose the public to the field of robotics somewhat more efficiently than FIRST. everybody knows what battlebots is about, but when you say "FIRST" they say "wha?
"
please don't use the excuse that they destroy eachother, because their pits are similar to ours wrt gracious professionalism and helping eachother out.
i think the show is really cool, in that it is spectator friendly. it's easy to understand. it doesn't take 5 minutes to explain it. I like to watch it, to look at the designs, and the ways that their builders solve design problems. i think that i would definitely like to present some of the ideas i have gathered to the team for next year's robot.
lastly, i like it because it is bonding time for me and dad. we sit down with a bowl of popcorn, critique the designs, speculate, and afterward, draw ideas out, and discuss the matches, and how things could have been handled differently.
battlebots has given me a very positive experience in my usually-not-so-great-relationship with my dad, and i appreciate that.