Tiny Fighting Bots Pack a Punch in the Antweight Division

Two robots enter, one robot exits! Combat robotics is a fantastic showcase of design and skill, but mechanical competitors don't have to be big, heavy, and expensive. There is an Antweight division for battlebots in which most competitors weigh only 150 grams, and [Harry Makes Things] shows four entrants for Antweight World Series (AWS) 64.

Clockwise: ReLoader, Shakma, Sad Ken, and HobGoblet battlebots.
Each of them have very different designs, and there are plenty of photos as well insightful details of what was done and how well it worked. This is exactly the kind of detail we like to read, so big thanks to [Harry] for sharing!

In combat robotics, competitors typically maneuver their remote-controlled machines to corner or immobilize their opponent. This can happen by damaging them to the point that they stop working, but it can also happen by rendering them powerless by working some sort of mechanical advantage.

One robot is tracked, two are wheeled, and the fourth is a walker. The yellow ReLoader is a low, flat, wedge-shaped crawler design with a center lift arm. The idea is to get under your opponent and lift them up, ideally lifting their wheels off the ground and removing their ability to move. Another design is Sad Ken, which uses a horizontally rotating bar as a weapon to smack opponents. The green HobGoblet has a front-mounted aluminum "thresher" mounted directly to a brushless motor and looks like a combine or thresher. The latest design is Shakma, a cam walker that slowly hobbles while dramatically spinning a comically large saw blade.

As one can imagine, 3D printers have done a lot to combat robotics in general. [Harry's] favorite method is to print a robot body as a big block of solid ABS with recesses for all the functional parts. There's a lot of cross-pollination with the RC airplane world, and brushless motors, radio gear, and ESCs (electronic speed controls) are common sites. That doesn't mean people aren't pushing the envelope. Enthusiasts have used a Raspberry Pi Zero and Bluetooth game controller instead of RC gear, and carbon fiber is commonly used to save weight.

Watch the video (embedded below) to learn about the 150 gram ReLoader and see some additional hardware and design views. Maybe you'll come away with some personal inspiration?

Technology Aug 22, 2022 0 73 Add to Reading List

Tiny Fighting Bots Pack a Punch in the Antweight Division

Two robots enter, one robot exits! Combat robotics is a fantastic showcase of design and skill, but mechanical competitors don't have to be big, heavy, and expensive. There is an Antweight division for battlebots in which most competitors weigh only 150 grams, and [Harry Makes Things] shows four entrants for Antweight World Series (AWS) 64.

Each of them have very different designs, and there are plenty of photos as well insightful details of what was done and how well it worked. This is exactly the kind of detail we like to read, so big thanks to [Harry] for sharing!

In combat robotics, competitors typically maneuver their remote-controlled machines to corner or immobilize their opponent. This can happen by damaging them to the point that they stop working, but it can also happen by rendering them powerless by working some sort of mechanical advantage.

One robot is tracked, two are wheeled, and the fourth is a walker. The yellow ReLoader is a low, flat, wedge-shaped crawler design with a center lift arm. The idea is to get under your opponent and lift them up, ideally lifting their wheels off the ground and removing their ability to move. Another design is Sad Ken, which uses a horizontally rotating bar as a weapon to smack opponents. The green HobGoblet has a front-mounted aluminum "thresher" mounted directly to a brushless motor and looks like a combine or thresher. The latest design is Shakma, a cam walker that slowly hobbles while dramatically spinning a comically large saw blade.

As one can imagine, 3D printers have done a lot to combat robotics in general. [Harry's] favorite method is to print a robot body as a big block of solid ABS with recesses for all the functional parts. There's a lot of cross-pollination with the RC airplane world, and brushless motors, radio gear, and ESCs (electronic speed controls) are common sites. That doesn't mean people aren't pushing the envelope. Enthusiasts have used a Raspberry Pi Zero and Bluetooth game controller instead of RC gear, and carbon fiber is commonly used to save weight.

Watch the video (embedded below) to learn about the 150 gram ReLoader and see some additional hardware and design views. Maybe you'll come away with some personal inspiration?