RoboGames 2007
games.net/2007.php.
Humanoid and Robo-One/Android
bots took part in many different
competitions. Some of these bots were
fully autonomous while others were
under radio control. An example of an
autonomous challenge was the
“Humanoid Obstacle run” where a
walking robot has to navigate its way
through a number of obstacles (Figure
7). This appeared to be a pretty tough
task with most having great difficulty in
completing it.
The bots in the “Penalty Kick”
(Figure 8) and “Kung Fu” are partially
radio controlled and were much more
agile. The mechanicals of these type of
robots is Bot Hockey ( www.bothock
ey.com). In this sport, two teams of
three radio controlled bots (Figure 10)
battle it out to score goals in a simple
arena (Figure 11). The games end up
very much like their NHL counterparts
with a lot of pushing and shoving and
an occasional violent slamming of the
opponents into the walls. The games
quickly drew crowds, who soon got
caught up in the fast paced action.
Former “Battlebots” heavyweight
Champion, Carlo Bertocchini, demonstrated a couple of his new “RoBoxers”
( www.roboxers.com). These are 3/4
life-size Humanoid figures carried on a
radio controlled wheeled platform
15). Bar tender robots were in action up
on the mezzanine as was a robotic drum
set (my son who takes percussion at
school says it was pretty good) and an
eclectic collection of mechanisms and
displays with a robotic theme.
On the Pavilion floor, you could
meet R2D2, an Imperial Stormtrooper,
and a very cool robot called “Hotshot”
(Figure 16) who went around talking to
people. There must have been a person
operating it, but I never spotted
him/her.
I haven’t covered all the robots and
contests at the show as it would
take more than one visit to cover
everything, especially if you are
RESULTS FOR THE COMBAT ROBOTS:
• 340 lbs
• 220 lbs
• 120 lbs
• 60 lbs
• 30 lbs
• 12 lbs
• 3 lbs
• 1 lb
• 1 lb (Auto)
• 5. 3 oz
Canada — Ziggy
USA — Sewer Snake
Brazil — Touro
Brazil — Touro Light
USA — Totally Offensive
USA — Surgical Strike
USA — Dark Pummeler
USA — Dark Pounder
USA — Thinkling
USA — Micro Drive
USA — The Judge
USA — Last Rites
USA — Pipe Wench
USA — K2
USA — Proteus
USA — AlphaQ jr.
USA — Itsa?
USA — Dark Blade
UK — Spider
USA — Dark Bullit
USA — Vladiator
USA — Original Sin
USA — SubZero
Canada — Texas HEAT
USA — Whammo
USA — Bullet
USA — Gutter Monkey
USA — Revert
UK — Chopper
Mexico — Skeet Skeet
robots are advancing rapidly, but the
sensors and on-board processing
power have a way to go to catch up.
The fire fighting robots were also
fun to watch ( www.trincoll.edu/
events/robot/). The robot starts out
in a random location in a house-like
maze (Figure 9) and then has to find
and blow out a candle that is randomly positioned in another room. Extra
points can be gained for speed and if
further challenges like stairs are inserted. Likewise, points are lost if the bot
touches a wall. The bots are fully
autonomous and use multiple sensors
and have a lot more space for the high
speed processors than their bipedal
counterparts.
A new offshoot from the combat
(Figure 12). They can bend at the waist
and throw punches with either arm.
Sensors mounted on the robot’s body
and head record hits and the bot that
gets the most hits wins the round.
James Hyneman of the TV show
Mythbusters (seen here with Carlo,
Figure 13) controlled one of the bots in
a fight in the arena.
Audience reception was mixed as
it was difficult to tell when a hit was
scored, but the idea definitely has
potential.
There were other attractions at the
show including a number of “Art” bots
which featured a pretty scary looking
metal dinosaur (Figure 14), a giant
squid, and a well equipped (if somewhat
under-dressed) robot gunslinger! (Figure
competing as well. The good things
were a broad range of robot types,
surely enough to cover all interests! A
great venue, lovely weather (mid 70s-
80s) and — for me — the biggest, best,
combat show in the USA.
Bad things? Well, the catering was
poor (luckily, there is a supermarket
just outside Fort Mason that did
reasonable carry out food); there was a
lack of information posted as to what
was going to happen when and where;
and finally, a badly handled (in my
opinion), last minute, change of rules
caused quite a bit of ill feeling with
some of the combat builders.
Overall, a great event and one that
with a little attention to detail will be
near perfect! SV
SERVO 09.2007 65