Battlebots and FIRST

[Perseus]

i think that BB is kind of cool but is now losing its appeal as illustrated by its ratings. It has even resorted to adding carmen electra(a great addition for any show but BB) to its cast.

i also think that FIRST is leaning towards the BBs spectrum though. This year, for example. it involves more hitting and shoving. In some of our matches, bots would be hitting our wing when it wasnt even attatched to a goal!!! maybe i am wrong but i would rather see a robot perform a difficult task than to see a box of steel with a chainsaw on top ram into another box of steel with a rotating saw on top.

[BSMFIRST]

maybe i am wrong but i would rather see a robot perform a difficult task than to see a box of steel with a chainsaw on top ram into another box of steel with a rotating saw on top.

What makes you think BattleBots is easy?

[kane]

One thing i have to say is adults need to get over this "Oh my god that could be inturpurted as violence, then it would teach our kids about violence, then we'd have another school shooting, ah ah ah". Its the same with video games, music and movies. Trust me no normal child that sees to robots running into eachother will want to go on a rampage. America as a whole needs to get out of this "any violence will turn our kids into psychopaths". If your an adult and you don't like battle bots because it promotes violence between bots then you haven't been to this years compititon, sure we don't have blades but we did hit eachother hard. Sure we don't try to damage eachother but we don't go out of our way to avoid contact with other bots. Violence is human nature and if you think that exposing a child to any form of violence will scar him for life then when hes 18 and steps out into the world out of the cave you've kept him in he will go crazy at the sight of it. Do your kids a favor and don't listen to Tipper Gore she dosen't really know what shes talking about.

Just my $0.02

[Amy Beth]

You seldom, if ever, find the same students on both the chess team and the football team. But does this mean there is something inherently wrong with either sport? Of course not.
IMNSHO, anything that gets the football players to build robots is a wonderful thing, even if it is Battle Bots (*gag*). Still, it surprises me that ppl who call themselves FIRST junkies could stand to play battle bots.

[BSMFIRST]

Still, it surprises me that ppl who call themselves FIRST junkies could stand to play battle bots.

It really shouldn't! The people who compete in BattleBots are as kind and graciously professional as FIRST. Don't associate the actions of the robots with the actions of the people. The whole competition is about having fun and everyone understands and agrees with the rules--so how can this contradict with FIRST?

I'm helping a BattleBots IQ team (it's a high school competition)--their event is this week in Universal Studios--and they went through the exact same process you went through in building your FIRST robot. And they'll compete in the exact same atmosphere as you; the robots will be doing different things but the cooperation and spirit are the same.

Don't forget that Comedy Central is not associated with BattleBots; they simply pay for the rights to the match footage. So the whole "aura" of that show isn't exactly in sync with the reality of the competition.

Dan

[ahecht]

While i've only had firsthand experience with FIRST, I know people on several BB and robotica teams, and they all involve the same basic principals of Gracious Professionalism and focus on strategy and engineering that FIRST does, despite how comedy central might portray them. The only robot show I think is truely bad is TNN's Robot Wars, where losing robots are crunched and torched by overweight "house bots" weilding flamethrowers. Also, the fact that a WWF wrestler hosts it doesn't help. I just hope that we don't get into the "us vs. them" mentality that has taken over so many other online groups I participate in (such as the Pocket PC vs. Palm and Sony vs. Palm in the handheld world, Star Wars vs. Star Trek, etc).

[Joe Matt]

Hmmmm.......
Battelbots IQ is a competitor to FIRST
Universal is a competitor to Disney
Battelbots IQ is held in Universal
First is held in Disney

Coincidence, I think not.

i speak from exp, ive played football, bball, track. But i still do FIRST and i was on the chess team for a short time, b4 the season started, i just never went back lol


pont is, anyone can do anything they feal like doing.

[Joe Matt]

pont is, anyone can do anything they feal like doing.

That sums it up.

NEXT!

[kane]

I find it funny that at the end of battle bots it says "A FIRST televison production" their not the same but its kinda ironic.

[Keith Chester]

From what I've seen of Battlebots, the only thing I have come not to like is the way the show presents itself. The announcers making it sound like a football game, and some of the one liners that are used are just sad and pathetic.
As for the community of Battlebots, I have not competed in it, so I will not comment. If it's anything like what I've met here in FIRST, though, I'd be surprised. I'd be hard pressed to find a community like FIRST anywhere else.
As for the engineering aspect of battlebots- I have seen some truly creative designs. Sure, I have seen some truly crappy designs, but you also have to look at Snake and another one using blades for legs (I forget the names of both of these, but they were truly awesome to behold. Very creative.)
FIRST is actually teaching me enough so I might just make my own Battlebot to give it a try.
As for comparing it to first- I definately think the FIRST games are better. However, imagine how much more taxed your mind would be when designing a robot that may live to be one day old and cease to exist. Not that I'm saying it's a fun thing for me, just for people that love rebuilding.
So don't hate Battlebots. Just don't watch it if you want. Screaming it sucks or going out with Battlebots must die mentality is simply idioicy (the ironic part is I have no clue if I spelled that word right), the same idioicy that we learn about in our history classes, just on a smaller scale. Think about it.
Be open minded people!

[Amy Beth]

Originally posted by Team384:JosephM
Hmmmm.......
Battelbots IQ is a competitor to FIRST
Universal is a competitor to Disney
Battelbots IQ is held in Universal
First is held in Disney

Coincidence, I think not.

true dat

I hadn't meant to imply that BB was any less graciously professional than FIRST, any more than a football player is less sportsmanlike than a chess master. I just meant that the BB comp. is run more like a competitive sport.

[WillTatman]

Originally posted by Replic
From what I've seen of Battlebots, the only thing I have come not to like is the way the show presents itself. The announcers making it sound like a football game, and some of the one liners that are used are just sad and pathetic.

As for the community of Battlebots, I have not competed in it, so I will not comment. If it's anything like what I've met here in FIRST, though, I'd be surprised. I'd be hard pressed to find a community like FIRST anywhere else.

As for the engineering aspect of battlebots- I have seen some truly creative designs. Sure, I have seen some truly crappy designs, but you also have to look at Snake and another one using blades for legs (I forget the names of both of these, but they were truly awesome to behold. Very creative.)

Lemme back up Dan and take this on section by section.....

1) The Show is not at ALL an accurate depiction of the life at BB, it's all the fun with your friends in the Pits that makes it as cool as it is. Sooooooo many Inside Jokes, Pranks, and general comradery goes on in the pits. I spent about 70% of my time at BB and about 30% fighting and watching fights, the show doesnt give you that.

2) Community. I bet you have the same idea in your head for FIRST, "These people are AWESOME!" I hope it's at least as good as what we have. My Friends at the Events are what I look forward to the most, not the competition itself. My friends Jerome Eric Chris John and Josh all helped me rebuild my utterly trashed 210lb robot in 2.5 hours at robot wars and was finished in time to make 1st place in it's event. Jerome put about 1200$ worth of stuff in there with about a 50/50 chance of getting the thing trashed. and he did it like it was nothing.

3) The Creativity is there, but you wont see it on television. You see the outer shell, armor and weapon. It may be an external copycat of another robot, but inside it may have a truly innovative feature that only the fellow builders saw. Many robots are copycats of other robots because their design is effective, that's all. If the design wasnt so good, it wouldnt be copied, would it? And even if it wasnt, it would be an oppurtunity to engineer an improvement to that design.

In total, I have spent about 8000$ of my own money on combat robotics. I must come out and say that I think spending a lot of your own money inspires you to use "Thrifty" engineering as opposed to sponsored/school money.

Besides, many people have had FIRST/Combat event crossovers and still had a great time. Remember, Battlebots is By far not the only combat event.

Lastly, here's a lil Phrase that applies to all robotics in general:
"Cheap, Fast, or Good; Pick 2!"

Peace,


http://forums.overvolt.net

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Battlebots Forum

[Adam Y.]

Battlebots is hear to stay that's all I have to say. It rhymes.

[Dave_222]

Originally posted by kane
I find it funny that at the end of battle bots it says "A FIRST televison production" their not the same but its kinda ironic.

he he he