Servo - November 2015

Andrea Suarez from Busted Nuts Robotics, builders of Witch Doctor and Shaman:

Start with something simple. When you see BattleBots on TV, you're watching the result of a decade or more of experience. Witch Doctor is not my first robot. My first robot was Kerminator, and it was a middleweight (120 lb) with a 10 inch saw blade from our local hardware store.

It didn't stand a chance of winning an event, but I learned how to solder, weld, wire, use a machine shop, drive, and compete. In combat robotics, "the hard way" is the best way to learn — it's just as important to figure out what doesn't work!

Go to every competition you can. Even if you don't have a robot yet, show up and talk to the builders. You'll find that this crowd is eager to help new builders get involved. This incredible community is one of the best parts of combat robotics.

Chuck Pitzer from Team Raptor, builders of Ghost Raptor:

Armor up! I've seen so many robots that have a great concept and even great engineering get totally dismantled because the builder didn't consider the greatest threat in the arena: kinetic energy.

Design for speed. Slow robots are targets. Even if slightly uncontrollable, hitting a robot that moves fast is like trying to grab a fish without fishing gloves on. Speed gets you out of a lot of situations that would lose a match otherwise.

Start small and work your way up. Starting with a 220 lb or

250 lb bot means that you could spend $10K plus and end up with something that doesn't work and you never use again. Build upon what you already know. There are so many unknowns in design engineering that you are best advised to build upon what works. If you take risks (like building an articulated spinning head), build upon something that you know works well. Struggling with an untested drive system AND a risky new main weapon is a shortcut to failure.