BattleBots

In reply to aircooled :

Duck is funny, like making a boxer pass out from hitting his opponent too much. 

I love this show. There's been some amazing battles this season and it is the most real reality show on TV

Back in the day when it was on Comedy Central the go to for smaller classes was a wedge, maybe with a weapon embedded in it, and the larger classes were spinners either vertical or horizontal drum style.  The electronics were high end RC radio stuff mixed with commercial grade ESCs and motors from power chairs.  Interesting to see the consumer level robotics kits being used now.

I think the most interesting bot right now is shatter. The whole designed to split off armor is awesome, and it looks super cool. 

There have some very good battles this year, lots of creative designs still being tried.

The use of plastic / teflon style armor seems to be a future trend (good at absorbing energy and very light).

The wedge (as a component) really is king.  If you can get underneath the other bot, you have a huge advantage. Pure damage bots (e.g. Tomestone) can even be defeated if you angle the wedge to deflect their weapon (they tend to destroy themselves at that point).  After that, it's a mater of if you want to go for control (throw or push them out of the arena) or damage (chew them up).

The power of the newer batteries and motors are also evident.  Many of the spinning weapon designs are turning down the power of the weapons because gyroscopic procession make them hard to drive.

Someone did try a projectile weapon last season (one shot, not effective).  I am wondering if a hydraulic or pneumatic ram / penetrator might work.  Kind of hard to use, but it would be an interesting attempt.

I don't get the hype. The problem I've had with this show is the lack of control and the lack of carnage. It seams as if very few teams actually practice maneuvering the bots?? I do appreciate that it is hard to drive a small radio controlled vehicle with much precision, but some fight are just sad to watch. 

Give it up for this weeks celebrity guest drivers: Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder!!

In an average fight, who/how/what they hit is pretty random and it is more often driving error or the bot breaking down that is the determining factor. The show has been on since the opening of the pyramids, but the number of actually entertaining fights there has been are just a handful.

In reply to Torkel :

Did you not get the memo that you don't have to watch?  

In reply to aircooled :

Re: Tombstone v Wedges- it's been a pretty tough thing for anyone to really build a strong enough one- the only time it's been defeated was when it broke it's own chain.  But one idea that I've thought about- if you could put some suspension below the wedge- so that it rides and rolls- but when it's hit, it digs into the surface and does not move.  Having seen Tombstone throw itself almost out of the arena a few times, that seems like a great way to let it kill itself.  

alfadriver said:

In reply to Torkel :

Did you not get the memo that you don't have to watch?  

After hearing friends talk about it and seeing the show discussed online in more than one forum, I at least wanted to give it a chance. And then a second chance. After that, I still don’t watch it, but I’m also left with an unsatisfying feeling of “what’s the hype? Am I missing something?”

In reply to alfadriver :

I keep thinking if I built one, it would be like Tombstone but with an adjustable clutch mechanism that would prevent the big, out of control rebounds when it makes contact 

As mentioned, the fights in the current season have become noticeably more eventful.  I suspect some of this is the fact that they are doing a lot more fights (not just single elimination) so they can edit out the the dull ones.  I do agree, reliability has been a big issue, but that as been much better recently.  Although bots go up in smoke this season quite a lot, most all of it can be associated with some sort of damage (self inflicted or otherwise)

I do agree, you wonder about the driving ability of some of them.  Some are heavily hampered by insane gyroscopic forces and compromised designs (two wheel designs are always going to hard to control precisely).  The driving, as with everything else, has also improved.  I certainly have watched the show (especially with the hammer bots for some reason) and have to yell "FIRE" "FIRE" because they just don't seem to fire off the hammer when some clearly good shots appear (don't know why, maybe visibility?)

Re: Tomestone vs Wedges:  I still think you can angle some front armor (more front quarter really) that takes the hit of the blade at a reasonable sharp angle and deflects the energy upward (this of course will push the wedge down into the floor).  Tomestone has recently adopted a tactic of rather then a straight advance, doing a swing around to hit on the side, making catching the blade a bit more difficult.  As with most bots, good, precise driving would be the key.

There is always the box rush, which is Tomestones real weak spot (weapon spin up time), which again, requires good driving.

Torkel said:

alfadriver said:

In reply to Torkel :

Did you not get the memo that you don't have to watch?  

After hearing friends talk about it and seeing the show discussed online in more than one forum, I at least wanted to give it a chance. And then a second chance. After that, I still don’t watch it, but I’m also left with an unsatisfying feeling of “what’s the hype? Am I missing something?”

You are very much entitled to your opinion, and you are also entitled in wasting your time talking about a subject that you don't like.  If it were me, I'd focus on things I actually enjoy, though.

loosecannon said:

In reply to alfadriver :

I keep thinking if I built one, it would be like Tombstone but with an adjustable clutch mechanism that would prevent the big, out of control rebounds when it makes contact 

Sort of like a dead blow hammer.  And if you could design the hammer to actually be like a dead blow hammer with the clutch, that would be massive.  Take one of the hammers, spin it, and let it do the work.

In reply to aircooled :

About the driving- I kind of doubt that any of the real beginners have had a full 100% on chance to drive their bots.  They are really dangerous.  Then again, some of the experienced teams have trouble pulling the trigger at the right time.  It took the Minotaur team a while to figure out how to drive that thing with the massive gyro effect, as you brought up.

Where I get frustrated is how weak some of them seem to be assembled- some of them break apart way to easily.  It's not as if bots like Tombstone, Bronco... are brand new.  Look how easily they have ripped apart other bots.  The only team that seems to have paid attention is Shatter, with their absorbing cover.

I have noticed some of the bots seem to be segmented (the ones that fly into parts).  It almost looks like the part are held together by strong magnets?  You can see dark round sports on the parts where they join. They can’t be bolts, they would be way to big to break that easily.

One of the best parts about BattleBots is it's very much like going to Bonneville and watching Land Speed Racing- it makes you THINK.  Can you do it better than they do, can you do a better defensive system, can you do something different that isn't a joke (like that hamburger thing last year)?

The rules are actually quite simple- 8 pages.  https://battlebots.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BattleBots-Design-Rules.Rev-2019.0.pdf

Having watched a few seasons, I would not likely do a hammer bot, a rotating saw bot, or any fire as the primary weapon bot.  Hammers are too tough to aim really well, and the other two take too long to do damage.  Fire with a clamping bot would be very good- although the heat isn't like welding- you can only use propane and/or butane, with no additional gas.  So the heat you can generate is limited.

For sure, I'd head straight to the 250lb weight limit.  

I'm leaning toward a spinner, but the idea of a wedge with a suspension to allow the wedge to dig into the surface when struck sounds really appealing.  But you can't *just* be a non-moving wedge- the rule do require a moving and powered weapon of some type.

I'd always envisioned a multi-ram weapon that fired out of font, back and both sides at once so that the inertia was balanced and didn't upset the bot.

 

alfadriver said:

In reply to aircooled :

Re: Tombstone v Wedges- it's been a pretty tough thing for anyone to really build a strong enough one- the only time it's been defeated was when it broke it's own chain.  But one idea that I've thought about- if you could put some suspension below the wedge- so that it rides and rolls- but when it's hit, it digs into the surface and does not move.  Having seen Tombstone throw itself almost out of the arena a few times, that seems like a great way to let it kill itself.  

The big problem with tombstone is the guy can drive. Its anvil simple and very reliable, and when combined with a driver that is extremely effective at keeping his weapon centered, it's a big combo. As evidenced though, if you can get around the side of him, it's entirely possible to take him dow . Bite force has won it all twice now for similar reason . 

alfadriver said:

One of the best parts about BattleBots is it's very much like going to Bonneville and watching Land Speed Racing- it makes you THINK.  Can you do it better than they do, can you do a better defensive system, can you do something different that isn't a joke (like that hamburger thing last year)?

The rules are actually quite simple- 8 pages.  https://battlebots.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BattleBots-Design-Rules.Rev-2019.0.pdf

Having watched a few seasons, I would not likely do a hammer bot, a rotating saw bot, or any fire as the primary weapon bot.  Hammers are too tough to aim really well, and the other two take too long to do damage.  Fire with a clamping bot would be very good- although the heat isn't like welding- you can only use propane and/or butane, with no additional gas.  So the heat you can generate is limited.

For sure, I'd head straight to the 250lb weight limit.  

I'm leaning toward a spinner, but the idea of a wedge with a suspension to allow the wedge to dig into the surface when struck sounds really appealing.  But you can't *just* be a non-moving wedge- the rule do require a moving and powered weapon of some type.

I wonder what a wedge+shredder combo would do- like one of those industrial shredders you see doing cars. 

I watched a couple of episodes recently for the first time.....pretty interesting really

I'd like to see the designs get shaken up by a drastic rules change. Like maybe a minimum center of gravity height and mandatory legged mobility rather than wheels.

I like everything about this show with the exception of it being difficult to stream. 

I wish it was on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon. 

Mndsm said:

alfadriver said:

In reply to aircooled :

Re: Tombstone v Wedges- it's been a pretty tough thing for anyone to really build a strong enough one- the only time it's been defeated was when it broke it's own chain.  But one idea that I've thought about- if you could put some suspension below the wedge- so that it rides and rolls- but when it's hit, it digs into the surface and does not move.  Having seen Tombstone throw itself almost out of the arena a few times, that seems like a great way to let it kill itself.  

The big problem with tombstone is the guy can drive. Its anvil simple and very reliable, and when combined with a driver that is extremely effective at keeping his weapon centered, it's a big combo. As evidenced though, if you can get around the side of him, it's entirely possible to take him dow . Bite force has won it all twice now for similar reason . 

He's been running that thing for probably 20 years, I remember seeing it years ago.  Same thing with nightmare.

In reply to minivan_racer :

if it ain't broke....

One of the things I am noticing is consistency and reliability. Duck! as an example. Duck has almost 0 offense. An extremely basic lifter. But duck is a bulletproof brick on wheels. Seriously. I watched it take some of the nastiest hits that any bot could dish out and just keep coming. When your strategy is break their weapon with your bot- you've got something. Same with Bite Force. Paul even admits he doesn't have the most powerful bot or scariest weapon. What he does have is an extremely bulletproofed design, and he's built in a lot of defense into offense. I remember a few years ago when that bot had modular weapons. Now, he has a spinner. That's it. And he's damn near impossible to beat, if his bot keeps running. 

So someone made a wedge that got Tombstone to break itself pretty badly- that was a nice fire at the end.  Funny that the spinner was shattered just right to for the bot to shake itself loose from getting stuck, whereas Tombstone's break caused it to shake itself apart.

Given the strengths and weaknesses of bots- it's almost like rock-paper-scissors- each can beat someone if things work out right- as that was the second time (and almost 3rd) that amazing defense and driving beat Tombstone.