Build Your Own Combat Robot

xvi Build Your Own Combat Robot
Ronni Katz is an adjunct professor of computer science at DeVry College of Technology
in North Brunswick, New Jersey. She was an original member of “Team
Spike” at the first Robot Wars competition and has helped design and build combat
robots that have won and placed highly at numerous competitions. Katz is a
proud member of the Society Of Robotic Combat and produced the 1998 nonprofit
instructional video Introduction to Robotic Combat, which helped many
beginners get their start in the world of sport robotics. Katz writes fiction under
the pen name of Ron Karren and has been published in numerous fanzines. Her
first military technothriller novel, Wing Commander, can be found at bookstores
nationwide. You can visit Katz online at QuestPress.com for news of her future
publications.
Andrew Lindsey has been competing in robotic combat since 1996. In addition
to competing in all three major televised robotics competitions, he was one of four
combat judges at the November 2000 BattleBots event. Lindsey lives in New Jersey
and designs fiberoptic interface electronics for a living. He competes regularly
in the North East Robo-Conflict events in the New Jersey/Pennsylvania area.
Steve Richards has been fascinated by the prospect of fully-autonomous robotics
since his childhood. He founded and runs the robotics company Acroname, Inc. in
an effort to advance robotics through information, parts, and a robotics community.
When he isn’t milling, coding, wiring, or ranting about robotics, he also enjoys
running. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife, Karen. Richards admits
that the only truly successful autonomous creation he has been involved with is his
daughter, Annie.
Cassidy Wright has been involved with robotic combat since 1994. She built her
first bot when she was just eight years old. She is a teenager now, and the builder of
Triple Redundancy, Fuzzy Yum Yum, and Chiabot.
About the Technical Editors...
Carlo Bertocchini has been building competitive robots since 1993, and he worked
as a mechanical engineer until 2001. Now he divides his time between competing
in BattleBots matches and running his company, RobotBooks.com. He is the designer
and builder of Biohazard, the world’s most successful combat robot. You can
learn more about his robots at www.robotbooks.com/biohazard.htm. Bertocchini
lives in Belmont, California, with his wife, Carol.
Grant Imahara is an animatronics engineer and modelmaker for George
Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic in Marin County, California. He specializes in
electronics and radio control at the ILM Model Shop and has installed electronics
in R2D2 units for Star Wars: Episodes 1 and 2, and the famous Energizer Bunny.
For fun, Grant competes in BattleBots with his robot Deadblow, which set a record
for the most number of hits in the first season of the show. Grant lives in a
loft in Oakland, California, where he also works on his robot in his spare time.