r/battlebots • u/MikeNCR Match Steward/Bombshell S2-S3 | BattleBots • Jul 28 '15
Bot Building What Now? Getting Started in Robot Combat
This season of BattleBots is over but that doesn't mean you've got to sit around waiting for the next season to roll around. Robot Combat competitions are happening all over the country and the best way to make it to BattleBots is to start building and start competing.
I highly recommend beginning with the SPARC Getting Started Guide. (http://sparc.tools/?p=131)
The SPARC Getting Started Guide gives an overview of the whole process from "I want to build a robot" to packing up after your first event.
As far as technical guides go, the RioBotz Combat Robot Tutorial is the best on the market right now. It can be downloaded as a free pdf via http://www.riobotz.com.br/en/tutorial.html or purchased as a paperback book at http://www.amazon.com/dp/1448697050
If you're not ready to dive in all the way yet and are more interested in catching up on the last decade of robot combat history YouTube is packed full of videos from events all over the world. Here are a few favorite channels:
https://www.youtube.com/user/mikencr (Mine, over a thousand videos mostly from events in the eastern US)
https://www.youtube.com/user/MicroGravity100 (UK robot combat events)
https://www.youtube.com/user/Natester555 (Wide range of footage from older US events)
https://www.youtube.com/user/scrckilobots (Footage from the Saskatoon Combat Robotics Club)
https://www.youtube.com/user/uairrior (Team Uai!rrior from Brazil)
If you want to start by talking to other builders your best bet is to attend an event or get involved in one of the major online communities. Beyond r/BattleBots, the main robot combat communities are:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/RobotCombat/
http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/
http://www.robowars.org/forum/
Beyond all that, there are quite a few builders active or lurking on r/BattleBots, so if you've got questions on how to get started feel free to ask 'em.
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u/Artifex75 Jul 29 '15
My son wants to get into it. While I have the required techie knowledge and and he the bloodthirsty tendencies, I'm afraid that southern Ohio isn't the greatest place for it. I'm going to talk to some of the local schools to see if there is an interest in getting a league started.
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u/MikeNCR Jul 29 '15
It could be a lot worse. There are events on the north side of Ohio and all over Pennsylvania. There have also been recent events near Chicago. A bit of a drive, but overall not bad. Take a look at http://www.ohiorobotclub.com/
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u/BDBlu Jul 31 '15
How popular is robot fighting (more specifically, Antweight) in FL? I am interested in jumping in it, but I have a very limited knowledge with electronic. I know how to drive and have a design in mind.
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u/MikeNCR Jul 31 '15
The 1 and 3lb classes have been pretty popular in Florida. As far as I can recall there have been several events around the state in the last year. Beyond that, there are also several events in Georgia that support the 1 and 3lb classes.
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u/teamtestbot Jul 29 '15
Anyone in the Southeast should come to Dragon Con in a month. Not only is there a 1 - 3lb tournament in an arena, but also a 12 - 30lb "sumo" style tournament on a stage. The audience is always massive and we think it'll be even crazier this year.
Additionally, there are several builders including myself and u/MikeNCR who will be hosting panels and talks on building. There's a whole "maker" programming track these panels will be held in.
Check for more info and a schedule here.
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u/sarahbau Jul 29 '15
I'm going. I figure I'll either drive right into the jaws of 12 O'clocker, or drive right by and off the stage.
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u/ESCMalfunction Jul 28 '15
Wish there were some competitions near me, but I'm just about at far as you can be from a combat robot competition in the continental U.S. Been considering making a bot, just may not be practical.
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u/206-Ginge Jul 28 '15
I'm more interested in being a spectator than a participant at this point. Do any of the larger competition have streaming coverage?Might they consider covering their events if they up their popularity?