Servo - September 2015

degree weather combined with the

104°F water, or perhaps it was the adrenaline and the physical exhaustion of our day of hiking and skiing, combined with the notion that we had a chance to be part of something spectacular. The robot design kept evolving exponentially until we knew we had our answer.

Once we got back home, we designed many iterations — steel tube frames, welded aluminum frames, different weapon systems — before settling on the final design.

Ultimately, it came down to ease of manufacturing. Our team is split up among three states, and we had no personal CNC access. We designed the robot to fit the skills of our two sponsors: Kalamazoo Waterjet and Revolutionary Machine & Design. Kalamazoo Waterjet made our solid S7

Tool Steel weapon and many waterjet components, while Revolutionary Machine & Design did the CNC work on Witch Doctor's frame. We did all the work we could separately, and then our team flew down to meet in Miami to crank out all the finish machining, welding, assembly, wiring, and testing — in just two weekends! It was the most exhausting, intense, and rewarding build I have ever taken part in.

SERVO: Multi-bots are not common in most combat events. What led you to choose this configuration?

Suarez: We chose a multi-bot design because we were pushing ourselves to try something different. We wanted Shaman to be much more than just a nuisance bot. We wanted it to drive into clamping/lifting robots so they couldn't catch Witch Doctor. We wanted it to create a huge ball of flame around the opponent so Witch Doctor could come in and get its hit. Shaman is all about distraction, manipulation, and fire.

SERVO: What did you learn from your BattleBots experience?

Suarez: We were initially a bit concerned that the prizes and television crews would affect the behavior of the builders at the competition. It was immediately obvious that the level of support and encouragement between the teams was only heightened by this experience. As always, the BattleBots community is incredible. I can't wait to see what BattleBots does next! SV