Robotics Teams/Competitions for Adults

[Arurye]

I have been asked numerous times if there are any adult robotics competitions - I haven't come across any recently - anyone know of any?

Specifically looking for events people out of school/college can participate in.

Thanks!

[Bkeeneykid]

There's always Battlebots...

Or Combat Robotics in general.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Combat robot competitions (Battlebots, Robogames, etc.) are open to all ages. There's also a variety of weight classes for whatever your budget and experience levels are.

[gblake]

In addition to fighting with terrestrial robots, adults make them (and flying machines) dance, play soccer, and do other stuff.

Google is your friend.

[Taylor]

Back in the day there was the Milwaukee VEX Mentor Challenge. I don't know if it is still around anymore or not.
I've been playing around with the idea of recreating a version of that locally, but haven't ever followed through.

[Allison K]

The engineers and alumni from my team have enjoyed the power wheels racing series. Somebody else can probably chime in with more detail as I'm not in charge of that endeavor.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Arurye

I have been asked numerous times if there are any adult robotics competitions - I haven't come across any recently - anyone know of any?

Specifically looking for events people out of school/college can participate in.

Thanks!

Drone Racing may be the answer.

[Rangel(kf7fdb)]

AUVSI student competitions are really great and have a relatively cheap entree fee. The competitions are all pretty much autonomous and usually a week long and teams from all over the world compete. I competed in high school and then with an ASU team I created in college and it was always a good experience. You get to learn a lot from all the different teams and in reality, you can make a decent sub for probably 1-2k if you are smart about it. I definitely recommend!

Edit: Thought you said in college. Whoops

[MrForbes]

Unfortunately you still have to be connected to a school to participate in AUVSI.

SparkFun AVC is worth looking in to...although it's in Colorado.

NURC was fun while it lasted.

I play with cars in some fun competitions...been doing Drag Week for several years, and went on the inaugural LeMons Rally. But this stuff is a lot bigger than robots, and takes quite a large time/money commitment.

[SamM]

For those interested in Combat Robots, http://sparc.tools/ is the place to get started. We just had a big competition at the Orlando Maker Faire.

[zinthorne]

I have started doing drone racing. Its super fun to learn the builds and then fly them. There is also a Drone Racing League.

[jgerstein]

Originally Posted by Allison K

The engineers and alumni from my team have enjoyed the power wheels racing series. Somebody else can probably chime in with more detail as I'm not in charge of that endeavor.

I remember you guys from Detroit!

Power Racing is one of my absolute favorite engineering challenges. My husband (another 1257 mentor) and I have been involved in Power Racing for several years, and have had our own car for two years now. This year, a few students from 1257 joined in the fun by building their own car and racing in New York.

For those not familiar with Power Racing, we have a $500 budget to make a Power Wheels (or equivalent) car go fast, and then we race each other. There is a growing contingent of autonomous cars as well, which are typically smaller and not on the track at the same time as the traditional cars.

[Aren_Hill]

Originally Posted by jgerstein

I remember you guys from Detroit!

Power Racing is one of my absolute favorite engineering challenges. My husband (another 1257 mentor) and I have been involved in Power Racing for several years, and have had our own car for two years now. This year, a few students from 1257 joined in the fun by building their own car and racing in New York.

For those not familiar with Power Racing, we have a $500 budget to make a Power Wheels (or equivalent) car go fast, and then we race each other. There is a growing contingent of autonomous cars as well, which are typically smaller and not on the track at the same time as the traditional cars.

The Rocket Pop crew was also some FRC mentors...I had a blast at Detroit racing.

[Chris is me]

While there's all sorts of engineering, building, and even "build and drive a robot" competitions, there doesn't seem to be a popular, accessible adult robotics competition where robots play a sport like game with contact defense but no combat. This seems to be just the educational realm.

A Vex / FTC size competition of this sort would be a fun hobby on the side.

[Whatever]

For those who really want a water game, there are RC model battleship competitions. http://rcwarshipcombat.com/