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Desired features & capabiltiies of battlebot?

posted 9 years ago by monkeyalien
9 replies | jump to latest

Obviously you don't want it to be too light or you could be throw around by an opponent. You wouldn't want it's outer edge to be too short or angled such that it can get wedged under something. Wheels are best kept under the machine and thus protected.

A single spinning blade can be quite effective inflicting damage but for some reason they can be disabled easily enough and if that's that's the only weapons the machine's vulnerable. The bots that are just circular & spinning always seemed to have problems when they hit anything, often flying across the ring. A lifting arm can be quite effective in flipping an opponent over or into a hazard. A strong pickaxe-like mechanism can be effective. A claw-action can inflict damage directly or hold an opponent as it's driven into a hazard. The machine should be sufficiently powerful to push an opponent or at least fight back against being pushed around.

I suppose the ideal bot would have a very hard shell, the edge riding on the floor but not in a shallow wedge shape, powerful drivetrain, at least two main weapons with a saw, claw, and/or lifter, some means of upright itself if it turns turtle maybe with the claw or lifter, and all that wouldbe heavy enough not to get pushed around easily.

Anything else?

(this signature was absent on picture day)

[–] joen0411 9 years ago

There use to be a bot with a chainsaw. I don't think it can cut threw metal but what about a rotary saw blade. I think that could do some damage, maybe a wedge to lead the bots to it. I wonder if there actually was a bot like that but I just don't remember? Flame bots need to have a flame that can cut threw metal otherwise it's just for show.

If it weren't agains the rules, a shark shaped bot with a laser :)

[–] monkeyalien 9 years ago

I think a chain would have a tendency to break, or just slip off with proper tensions or guides/shields. Totally agree on the flame. Theere were plenty of bots with metal-cutting blades you'd normally find on a chop saw, table saw, or circular saw. A claw design where one or two claws have saws might be nice so you can grab on and cut in, but maybe the claw should be individually actuated. What about a harpoon-like weapon that quickly protrudes out and anchors itself in the opponent? Not a projectile, but could be detachable.

One thing I'd like to see is the post-mortem, why a bot shut down or was disabled. Cut wires, broken shear pin, broken belt, damaged drive mechanism, damaged controller, etc.

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[–] joen0411 9 years ago

I don't think a harpoon weapon would work. Hitting a moving target takes skill. One thing I've noticed is these guys aren't good drivers, not even back in the original. I've seen guys with RC cars that drive them perfectly. Took them years to learn. Harpooning would require skill

[–] cliff-hartle 9 years ago

At least in the old rules any launched weapon had to be retrievable and say the cable that retrieved it had to not be an entanglement device.

The problem with any cutting weapon is that your work piece aka the other bot has to be clamped down securely or your blade will jam and maybe stall your blade. Many old school bots that had real metal cutting blades in the early years but switched other to sort sort of blade with with heavy blocks on it to mangle or even throw the other bot.

[–] mr_greylon 9 years ago

My stepfather and I had just finished our cursory drawing for the bot we were going to build during season 5, but the show got canceled and we never moved forward..

The design was primarily a wedge with over-sized wheels on the outside (to allow continued movement if flipped). There was also a mostly hidden spinning tire on the back plate (very flat) for the same purpose if it landed butt down.

It was going to have a spinning drum 2/3 of the way up the body away from the front that spun in a forward motion. The idea was to slide under the enemy, let the drum damage the bot from beneath as it drove the enemy backwards. With the enemy atop the wedge, the wedge would race towards the traps on the arena walls. This would leave the opponent the decision of either reversing (thereby more likely to run itself into the wall), or power forward and try to drive over the wedge and drum.

Pity we never got around to it. Maybe it ain't too late. :)

If you buy a ticket for a remake, you are the problem, not Hollywood.

[–] joen0411 9 years ago

If you did get flipped, would you have to drive with everything reversed? That would confuse and disorient you. Of course it might also confuse your opponent.

[–] mr_greylon 9 years ago

Good question, but that wouldn't be a problem.

A popular addition to controllers for drivers of bots that could be flipped was a switch that changed the controls appropriately. Just a quick thumb flick and your bot can be driven without having to figure everything out. :)

If you buy a ticket for a remake, you are the problem, not Hollywood.

[–] joen0411 9 years ago

Now that you mention it I think I remember something about that. My memory is fading. Good feature to have if you design your bot to still work upside down.

I wonder if a drill would work? You need to apply pressure so probably not good for a moving target.

[–] bing-57 9 years ago

> Obviously you don't want it to be too light or you could be throw around by an opponent.

Yes. I've heard the number 200 or 250 thrown around as the weight limit and it seems important that you use up every single ounce of that. If you are short of that weight, add more armor or spikes.

> You wouldn't want it's outer edge to be too short or angled such that it can get wedged under something.

That's a mixed bag. We've seen Complete Control destroy itself by running its low front edge into an uneven crack in the floor. It never ran right after that. Plus, we saw Bronco's low flipper get stuck under the outer wall of the arena.

But, the best bots around are wedgebots that are low and have a front edge that does nothing but slide under the other bot. Those were banned from this competition because they were too boring. That would have been the only thing to stop these dominating side spinners.

> Wheels are best kept under the machine and thus protected.

Maybe. Wheels that are enclosed on the inside usually have to be very small and that makes the bot slow and hard to handle.

> for some reason they can be disabled easily enough and if that's that's the only weapons the machine's vulnerable.

Side spinners aren't disabled very easily at all. Vertical spinners can usually be out-maneuvered or tipped over.

> A lifting arm can be quite effective in flipping an opponent over or into a hazard.

If it lifts, it's no good. If it flips, it has a good chance. But, it has to get close to be able to flip and a spinner can do a lot of damage first.

> A strong pickaxe-like mechanism can be effective.

No. Pick-axes are garbage. The driver'd have to get really lucky to hit something useful. The same goes for flames.

> at least two main weapons with a saw, claw, and/or lifter

No. You put all your eggs in one basket and go for broke. Remember that you only have 200 pounds to work with. If you make two weapons, neither one of them can be much more than 50 pounds and they won't be very devastating. Look at that one with two vertical red wheels. Each wheel was small and wimpy. Tombstone put everything it could into its one weapon and shredded that two-wheel thing. The same goes for multi-bots. Each mini bot that you make is that much less weight in your main bot.

And look at the others that are favorites. Icewave has one big, heavy weapon. Bronco has one big, heavy flipper.

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