Engineering slogans

[kmcclary]

Originally posted by Matt Leese

Actually, FIRST is a year older than any robotic combat that I've ever heard about. The FIRST Robotics Competition was started in 1992. The British version of Robot Wars was started in 1993. Battlebots didn't start until 2000 (if I remember correctly; it could've been 1999). I've heard the "set screws inhale audibly" quote for quite awhile. I think it's fairly accurate to say that Woody thought it up as opposed to stealing it from Battlebots. It also is very much in Woody's style (inhale audibly as opposed to suck). My bet is that Woody came up with it on his own.

Matt

Actually, Robot Wars UK was mid 1997.

Robot Wars was conceived in 1992 by Marc Thorpe. For money he partnered with Profile Records for cash, and the first game was in the **US**, in 1994. You can read his version of the story at:
- http://www.marcthorpe.com/robot.html
However, due to a settlement with his old partners, it doesn't tell the WHOLE story...

According to the online histories (many of which are now severely edited), many people felt, Profile "stole it from him". The combatants supported Marc and boycotted Profile's events. Profile then took it to the UK in 1997, and invited US competitors to come THERE. (I actually received an invitation myself back then to make one for Profile. No way.) Everyone in the US still said "no". Profile then ran it with UK participants. Lawsuits happened both ways, to block Marc from starting a second contest, and to sue Profile for royalties. VERY messy.

Marc was driven to bankruptcy... Eventually the lawsuits were finished, and Marc moved on, but is no longer involved with Robot Wars. He FINALLY became free of all of the litigation THIS YEAR, so we may soon see more of Marc's concepts.

Here's a more complete timeline for Robot Wars, BattleBots, Robotica, Bot Bash, etc...:
- http://www.robotcombat.com/history.html
It is a FASCINATING read...

It would be nice to see the FIRST contest included, but this history is "geared" more toward the "mayhem/gladiator" variety of robotic battle.

The original FIRST game was in 1992 with Maize Craze:
- http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/abr_art1.htm

BTW... They've removed the rules for all the old games. If anyone has a URL of archives of the old FIRST games and rules, please email me directly with it. Thanks!

Bottom line: FIRST can claim actual contests before both Robot Wars and BattleBots.

Now as to FIRST history, FIRST is NOT the original "robotics contest". Woodie Flowers was working at MIT and created the MIT 2.70 "Introduction to Design" class and contest, which involved robotic battle back in the 1980's. I believe it was a 12 or 15 week class. In 1987 Michael B. Parker at MIT made MIT 6.270, "the six week answer" to the 2.70 class.
- http://web.mit.edu/6.270/www/about/history.html
MIT 2.70 evolved into other classes around 1997, while MIT 6.270 is still around. The design for the Lego Mindstorm RCX brick comes from that series of classes! Other Universities have since copied the format.

I think of FIRST as the MUCH larger "industrial version" of the 6.270 class. Automotive scale, vs LEGO scale... I'm let to believe Woodie and Dean got together and jointly conceived this contest around 1990 or so, but don't have the documentation on that just yet.

Any way you look at it though, this type of robot contest significantly predates the gladiator types.

- Keith