SERVO 05.2015 31
For a third of my life, I've been a competitor and champion in the world of combat robotics.
Instinct still causes me to flinch when
steel clashes with titanium, sending
bright white sparks and a blur of a
robot into the lexan-clad arena. Little
has quelled my nervous exhilaration
when I pit my latest fighting creation
and driving skill against some of the
best competitors in the country.
However, it is the pursuit of
unattainable perfection that keeps me
coming back for more. I am never
done considering the crossroads
between functional design, balanced
simplicity, and brutal effectiveness.
I was first introduced to these
mystic machines in the
fifth grade at a local
robotics competition. I
observed in awe as
heavyweights, Sewer
Snake and Last Rites
clashed with a crescendo
of steel integrity and brute
force. My young mind was
hooked, whirring with
audacious designs as fast
as Last Rite's spinner bar.
Yet, at that time in
2007, there were few kits
to ease the plunge into the
technicalities of combat
robotics. So, while I waited
for my construction skills
Opinion: Why Combat Robots?
● by Troy Mock
Author in 2009. Author in 2013.
