I just heard that SERVO magazine has committed $25,000 in cash & prizes for their Tetsujin “iron man” competiton. The deadline to enter the contest is June 14th though so anyone interested in trying to win better get moving! :eek:
I have a friend who works with a group that is talking about entering the contest and they said all the details are on the website for SERVO if you click the Tetsujin link. Thre’s plenty of time to get an exo-suit ready because the actual competition is at RoboNexus which is in Santa Clara late in October.
This is a very intriguing competition. Thanks for posting it. I think the main challenges will be to keep the exoskeleton light, and to keep it stable, as in it won’t pull itself over. I can’t even think of a way to keep it from pulling itself over rather than lifting the weight. Can you?
I’m a little unlcear in the role of the human. Do they just kind of hit some switches and enjoy the ride/show?
I don’t think I nor my team would have the resources to compete in this challenge but I’d be very willing to help anyone in the southern california area who is planning on entering.
Well the idea appears to be to design the suit to augment all a normal human weight lifters muscles and then lift much like a human would in a “snatch” lift (one movement to full extension, no pause.) It would be pretty cool to see an exoskeleton that augments the arms, legs, shoulders, and back needed to do this lift, but i imagine that the best design would probably bend the rules of what is an exoskleleton or not.
This could be the “Survivor” of robotics contests. What I mean is that the first time there’s a contest, you have a better chance of winning than if you wait to see if it’s a “hit” or if other folks are doing it before you commit. The deadline for entering is this coming Monday so anyone thinking of doing it, better make up their minds or get their teams together SOON. :ahh:
Besides, it just looks like FUN, doesn’t it? Maybe since it’s sponsored by a magazine, the winners will be on the front cover. That’s better than a Wheaties box!
Try www.servomagazine.com and click on the Tetsujin link. That should do it. But, don’t wait because the entry deadline is coming up on Monday unless they extend it (and I haven’t heard anything about that so I wouldn’t count on it.)
Good luck. I hope to see you in October at the competition. I just think it should be FUN!
If you are serious about helping, you need to contact Dan Danknick at SERVO magazine right away because I heard that there is a need for someone like you to help mentor a team who wants to enter. Dan’s in Corona, which isn’t all that far from you. You can reach him at 909-371-8497 or by email sent to **[email protected]. **
I think it’s great that you want to help. That way, you can still enjoy the fun of the Tetsujin challenge even if you don’t have time to enter your own team.
Well, Corona is about an hour’s drive away from me. I wasn’t looking really to mentor a team, just to maybe kind of join and see if there’s anywhere I can be of some assistance.
Wow, sorry if I made it sound like you needed to drive to Corona. That’s not the case. It’s just that, with all the awards you’ve received, it sounds like you would be just the person who could maybe help with what Dan is looking for. The best thing would be for you to call him or email him directly. That way, the two of you can work out whether or not you want you want to get involved and if so, just how much you want to get involved.
I’m already working with someone, so I’ll let the two of you sort it out.
I heard that the Tetsujin competition is going to be one of the main events at RoboNexus in October. I guess they’re expecting about 20,000 people to attend so it should get lots of media coverage. Robot enthusiasts of the world, get ready for your close-up!
There’s lots of cool stuff planned for RoboNexus. The website is www.robonexus.com for anyone who wants to check it out.
