Thoughts on Robot Wars?

[charlie_grr]

i'm just really tired of newsbroadcasters saying first robotics is " JUST LIKE BATTLEBOTS!!!" i dont know, it may just be a little pet peeve of my whole team including me

[Denman]

Okay there is this show on TechTv Robot Wars, it's very similar to Battlebots, but with an annoying Brit for an anouncer. I've watched it and while they do shred each other, I'm neutral on this show, I'd like you hear everybody's opinion. So post here, note this is not a bash Battlebots thread, i'm just wondering opinons.

When you say that its an annoying brit.... is it craig charles of red dwarf?
it really has degenerated over here in uk.... its moved from the BBC to channel 5 .... (channel 5 is bad, bbc is good)....


it got boring after some teams got too powerful..... then it just got reallllllyy awful and boring as they made it all fights.... the first 2-3 series involved challanges like the gauntlet and sumo wrestling which was muych much better.... (no offense to ed if he reads this.... )

[Bill Beatty]

A friend of mine has predicted that battling robots will continue to loose popularity, and will gradually fad away. Meanwhile, FIRST robotics will grow and continue for a long, long time.

Mr. Bill

[Stephen Kowski]

Is this friend Car Nack?

[Adam Y.]

A friend of mine has predicted that battling robots will continue to loose popularity, and will gradually fad away. Meanwhile, FIRST robotics will grow and continue for a long, long time.

I don't believe this is true. There are over twenty battling robot competitions at this point and even the Japense have their own hi-tech version of Battlebots called robo1 competition.

[Francis-134]

Batteling robots have been going on for quite some time, just they havent always been televised like Battlebots.

[Holtzman]

Robot Wars is what's left when you take gracious professionalism out of FIRST. scary eh

[greencactus3]

Originally Posted by Holtzman

Robot Wars is what's left when you take gracious professionalism out of FIRST. scary eh

actually, in the pits and stuff all the teams help each other out. id guess most all robotic games are the same way. it doesn't matter if the game is to destroy the other robot, its still a graciously professional sport.
and i dint think battling robot games will ever go away. its just sumthing in human nature. from before robots were ever even imagined, didnt people have roosters fight each other, and dogs, and whatever else? at least robotic death matches are a bit more humane. no "deaths"

[Denman]

having competed in a "featherweight" competition, it is very true that everyone helps each other and lends stuff etc... one team gave us about 6 batterys as our charger was immensly slow

[MikeJ675]

Semi-thread necromancy, but I figure my first post should be on something I know about.

I've seen both sides of the issue. I've been to battlebot competitions, I've been to First competitions and to events put on by the new robotic combat organization the RFL.

There are a few common things-
-Friendly people. Never have I seen so many happy, friendly people, anywhere. There seems to be no better method of really getting people together for a fun, educational experiance.
-Good sportsmanship. I know, the combat stuff seems to be all about beating the other guy, and having grudges, but it really is not that way. If you went to a competition, you'd see that even after the most brutal beating, when the bot get's swept into a dustpan, the builders will still go back to the pits and have a laugh, and usually try to fix the broken bot.
-General 'aura' of fun. Rarely do you see someone honestly sad at any of these competitions. I've seen robots ripped apart, with battery packs flung across the arena, and the builder just gathered the parts and started putting it back together back in the pits, with the help of the nearest 2 teams.

The goals may be different... VERY different... But the people and the attitudes of the people are very simmilar.

If you want to find out about what is happening in robot combat today(the only show on TV now was taped 1.5 years ago in england) PM me or email me. I'd be happy to share the other side of the story, that doesn't get shown on TV.

Looking foreward to the 6 week build, and building my own fighting robot. I wouldn't want it any other way.

[Kerry547]

I don't really mind the whole idea of the battling robots cause I think it can be interesting at times but I wish some of the people outside of the robotics circle could tell the difference between the two every time I tell someone I'm on a robotics team they always ask me OH is it like robot wars and I tell them that no though we do build robots but for more practical purposes and then they think that FIRST is something stupid and boring cause in the end the robots aren't bashed till they cant run anymore.

[Kyle]

When someone asks about FIRST and then mentions about battle bots or Robot Wars this is what I always say to give them a better idea of FIRST over battle bots.
Battle bots are mostly adult men, FIRST is all high school kids building robots for the first time in some cases.
Battle bots have much much more time then 42 days to design,build,test,program and drive a robot. battle bot builders can use the same robot year after year with only small modifications if any at all. they do not have weight limits they have weight classes so if a builder makes a new arm on there bot and it is heavy they don't have to drill lighting holes in it before they can run, they just enter in a different weight class.
FIRST offers much more of a challenge then battle bots just on the fact that the people who build FIRST robots are not just building robots they are building an experience that will last a life time, battle bot builders are building something to destroy someone else's experience.

just to note i love battle bots and robot wars, I have met and still talk to battle bot builders and they are just as good people as those involved in FIRST.

[Jeff K.]

Originally Posted by Bill Beatty

A friend of mine has predicted that battling robots will continue to loose popularity, and will gradually fad away. Meanwhile, FIRST robotics will grow and continue for a long, long time.

Mr. Bill

They already took Battlebots off the air, and next is gonna go Robot Wars. Probably in a year or so when FIRST gets really famous, they're going to broadcast the regionals and the championship, and maybe even make an American Robot, like team 121 has been doing. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...threadid=33082 It's awesome. So pretty much FIRST is gonna be the biggest robot thing soon.

[JoeXIII'007]

Originally Posted by Stonefan5271138

They already took Battlebots off the air, and next is gonna go Robot Wars. Probably in a year or so when FIRST gets really famous, they're going to broadcast the regionals and the championship, and maybe even make an American Robot, like team 121 has been doing. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...threadid=33082 It's awesome. So pretty much FIRST is gonna be the biggest robot thing soon.

Gee, and with all the sponsorship, that not only FIRST gets, but all the teams, FIRST is going to a be a superpower of sorts.

It's going to be crazy.

[russell]

Has anyone seen any numbers on how much money goes into FIRST every year? It has to be tremendous. Most teams use up at least ten thousand worth of materials alone every year. Multiply that times 1500 teams and that is 15 million, then theres travel expenses, food, computers, and the cost of putting on regionals and such.