two hours to get his chance again
this time to play and score a goal.
The museum presented what
were possibly the biggest trophies
(Figure 7) ever awarded in robot
combat, and $50 for each first
place.
The event
reportedly drew
560 paying
spectators —
double from
the year before.
SV
RESULTS
1st Place Fairyweights: Caterpillar
1st Place Antweights: Gilbert
1st Place Beetleweights: Weta, God of Ugly things
1st Place Bot Hockey: Team Scotch Pies
EVENT REPORT:
BOTBLAST R cks
Columbia Mall
● by Dave Graham
The Columbia Mall in Bloomsburg, PA, hosted the
fourth annual BotBlast competition
on July 16th. Top fighting robot
enthusiasts from Florida to Michigan
took center stage at the mall
(Figure 1) and brought 31 of the
most destructive Insect class robots
ever assembled for a BotBlast
competition.
Event organizer Jeremy
Campbell and Team Dreadfully
Wicked Robots welcomed six 150
gram Flea (a.k.a., Fairy) class robots,
eight one pound hungry Ant bots,
and 12 three pound voracious
Beetles. Campbell made one change
to this year’s competition, deleting
the 12 pound Hobbyweight class
and adding the six pound
Mantisweight class to the venue.
The new Mantis class drew five
competitors.
The Flea competition featured
six bots, four with spinning
weapons. In first round action, I
drove my bot, Hedgehog (Figure 2),
and Team Mateo to a win over
Jamison Go and his bot, P150
(Figure 3). During the match, the
two Fleas collided and Hedgehog
sliced the tire off P150. Hedgehog
went undefeated in the winner’s
bracket to the final match, where he
faced teammate Matt Benjamin,
driving Baby V (Figure
4). Hedgehog took the
gold and also won the
Fleaweight rumble.
The Ant
competition pitted
some nasty spinners
against an
outnumbered group of
wedges. In second
round action, Andy
Hoffman-Patalona’s
horizontal spinner, Box #5 (Figure
5), took out Kyle Singer and Fangus
Ultimate (Figure 6) in a close match.
Then, Chris Atwood’s wedge bot
Antelope (Figure 7) sent Box #5 to
the loser’s bracket and moved on to
the Antweight final match.
The loser’s bracket pitted Box
#5 against Fangus Ultimate in a
rematch for a chance to go to the
final match against Antelope. This
time, Fangus Ultimate sent Box #5
packing, and squared off with
Antelope in the final.
The final match was back and
forth with lots of sparks as Fangus
Ultimate’s spinning blade worked on
Antelope’s steel front end.
Eventually, Fangus Ultimate knocked
a wheel off of Antelope winning the
match, and forcing a second match
in the double-elimination format.
The second match went the
FIGURE 1. Group shot of the competitors at
Columbia Mall.
FIGURE 2. Fleaweight
bot Hedgehog.
FIGURE 3.
Fleaweight
bot P150.
SERVO 10.2011 33
