Build Your Own Combat Robot

BotBash
Chapter 1: Welcome to Competition Robots 11
Another event is the Tag Team match, where two bots team up against two other
bots. A popular event is the Tug-Of-War, where a contestant bot is attached to a
house bot via a rope. Between the two bots is a pit. As you guessed, the contestant
bot must pull the other bot into the pit. Yet another popular event is the Melee.
Here, three or more robots fight against each other and the last one standing wins
the melee. (BattleBots has a similar event to the Melee, which is called the Robot
Rumble.)
Table 1-2 lists the weight classes for Robot Wars.
The official Robot Wars Web site is at www.robotwars.co.uk.
BotBash is a smaller-scale version of BattleBots. The rules of the contest are very
similar to BattleBots, with the big difference being that BotBash is a double elimination
tournament. This means your bot can lose one round and still be able to
fight on. This is a nice change for bot builders because if a battery connector falls
off, or some other unforeseen problem arises in a match that causes you to lose,
you can still prove that your bot is the best by winning the remaining rounds. Another
big difference is that the BotBash bots have lower weight limits. Tables 1-3
and 1-4 list the BotBash weight classes for the wheeled and walking robot classes.
As with BattleBots, there is a 3-minute time limit; and if both bots are still fighting,
a winner is declared by points. Here, the three judges award one point each for aggression,
strategy, and damage, for a total of nine points.
Each year, the BotBash tournament offers different events aside from
one-on-one battle. In the past, they’ve featured a Capture the Flag event where two
cones (flags) are placed at opposite sides of the arena and the bots race to capture the
opposing bot’s flag. The bots can plan either an offensive or defensive role to attack
or protect the flag. The bot that touches the other bot’s flag first wins the match.
Other events at BotBash include obstacle courses and sumo events. Occasionally,
BotBash tournaments feature autonomous events. Because the rules and events for
each tournament change each year, builders must keep up-to-date on the rules and
regulations. The official BotBash Web site is at www.botbash.com.
More Than Maximum
Featherweight 0 pounds 25 pounds
Lightweight 25 pounds 50 pounds
Middleweight 50 pounds 100 pounds
Heavyweight 100 pounds 175 pounds
TABLE 1-2 Robot Wars Weight Classes �