Servo - June 2012

Marketplace and other online retailers began selling motors and parts specific to Beetleweights. Just a year after the Beetleweight class took off, for example, Kevin Berry’s Fir Darrig Beetle had its previously impenetrable 1/8 inch aluminum cut through by Team Wyachi’s 3A. Kevin quickly updated his armor to titanium to catch up with the growing power and complexity of the Beetleweight bots.

Builders liked the freedom that the added weight allowed over the Antweight class. A few ounces dedicated to the batteries or motor affected the overall design of the bot much less than they would in an Antweight bot. Of course, any remaining unused weight could go into more fun extras.

Beetleweights often feature complex motorized weapons. The added power that the extra weight allows makes for interesting and fast paced fights. They were also larger than Ants, which allowed them to be less compact and thus easier to build than their smaller counterparts.

Today, the Beetleweight class is still active, although not as frequently as in the early 2000s, which is considered the golden age of Insect fights. RoboGames — which is by far the largest current competition in robot combat — had 32 Beetleweights registered for the April 2012 competition.

A growing trend among the Beetleweight class is autonomous bots. These bots are not remote controlled, but instead use sensors to track and fight another autonomous bot. An example of these futuristic bots is Mini Touro+ by team RioBotz. Dr. Marco Meggiolaro — author of the famous Combot Tutorial — designs and builds the Touro series along with students from his university in Brazil. The bots utilize a spinning drum on the front of the robot. The autonomous Mini Touro+ — along with the RC versions in every weight class by the same name — is considered one of the top competitors in the weight class.

Another powerhouse in the Beetleweight class is Gene Burbeck of Fierce Robotics with his “One Fierce” series of Beetleweights. He is often considered one of the best and most prolific Beetleweight builders in the world. His bots are all spinners, heavily armored, and have a unique feature in the building world: they are reliable and always work.

Beetleweights, although a few years younger than their Antweight counterparts, have risen to major prominence in the robot

Mini Touro.

combat world, and may have even become more popular. The appeal of the Beetle as a middle sized bot between the one and 12 pound weight class continues to be widespread. Beetles are a popular weight class today, and probably will be for years to come.

Next month in this series, we’ll cover robot combat in the northeast. SV

One Fierce robot.

A Decade of Robot Fighting The box is locked, the lights are on ... it’s robot fighting time! I had seen the BattleBots TV show on Comedy Central as a kid, but the rush of my first three minute match would have a bigger impact on my life than I could have ever known at that moment.

● by Andrea Suarez

world,” I realize that this hobby has shaped so many facets of my life. It dramatically redirected my career choice to biomedical engineering and helped me secure my first job as a research and development medical device engineer. It has introduced me to many great friends and to my boyfriend and fellow robot builder, Mike Gellatly. I went from having never left South Florida, to travelling around the country to AL, MN, NY, CA, IL, and all over FL.