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A Brief History Of The Demise Of Battle Bots
Popular Science ^ | 06.19.2013 | By Kelsey D. Atherton

Posted on 01/11/2014 7:30:19 PM PST by Jet Jaguar

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To: skyman

I was fat dumb and happy watching Battlebots until they inexplicably ( to me ) canceled it. I don’t think it was a technical issue. Just the usual ratings game.


21 posted on 01/11/2014 8:30:59 PM PST by dr_lew
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To: Jet Jaguar

Go big or go home.

22 posted on 01/11/2014 8:42:40 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: martin_fierro

There you go.


23 posted on 01/11/2014 8:44:04 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
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To: Redcitizen

Yes, 50 cal machine guns and rockets.


24 posted on 01/11/2014 9:07:18 PM PST by headstamp 2 (What would Scooby do?)
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To: Jet Jaguar

I remember watching a documentary about a robot battle (the first?) at MIT. It was called King of The Hill. All students had the same parts to work with. There was a hill with two opposing slopes. The winner was “Whoever got the highest up the slope. It was a hoot. They followed a few kids around as they made their robots. They had the competition. Most of the kids tried to build fast robots to get to the top first. Some built tall robots. One kid built a killer robot. The look on the other kids faces when he knocked their robots off the hill was priceless. It taught them to listen carefully and to anticipate what others might do.


25 posted on 01/11/2014 9:08:27 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: MV=PY

#3 The robots should be allowed to join a union.


26 posted on 01/11/2014 9:09:13 PM PST by headstamp 2 (What would Scooby do?)
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To: Jet Jaguar

I so loved those shows.

They need to totally bring this back with a drone category.


27 posted on 01/11/2014 9:14:12 PM PST by VanDeKoik
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To: dr_lew

I enjoyed it as well.


28 posted on 01/11/2014 9:16:08 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
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To: headstamp 2

Exactly! Now there’s a battle bot fight I want to see.


29 posted on 01/11/2014 9:54:51 PM PST by Redcitizen (Never bring a tank to a Chuck Norris fight.)
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To: Redcitizen

LOVED LOVED LOVED all those shows !

Long live Vlad the impaler !


30 posted on 01/11/2014 9:59:10 PM PST by bicyclerepair (TERM LIMITS TERM LIMITS TERM LIMITS)
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To: GeronL

make it an outdoor sport, allow flying robots

Great idea! Let ‘em carry Hellfire’s too!!


31 posted on 01/11/2014 10:30:52 PM PST by Afterguard (Liberals will let you do anything you want, as long as it's mandatory.)
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To: Jet Jaguar

“Razer” huh?
That’s nothing!
Here’s the REAL champion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25zh2Z0Z3JA

Nobody beats MiniFridge!


32 posted on 01/11/2014 11:13:10 PM PST by mkleesma (`Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.')
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To: Jet Jaguar

A lot of the success of the wedge is due to the (at the time) impracticalness of fast walker bots. You can’t tip a 6-leg bot if all you can do is lift one foot. Now that walkers are more feasible, it might be possible to bring back Battlebots. As others mention, varying the arena terrain would also negate a lot of the wedge’s effectiveness. Processing power is also a lot more substantial now, which would make self-righting bots more possible. A bot with a suspension system and the positioning sensors from a smartphone might be able to stay balanced without the need for a really complex controller.


33 posted on 01/12/2014 12:26:14 AM PST by Little Pig (Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.)
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To: cripplecreek

Precisely, hard flat arenas produced a winning design. Change that surface and that design is no longer a winner.


34 posted on 01/12/2014 3:36:38 AM PST by SampleMan (Feral Humans are the refuse of socialism.)
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To: Afterguard

That would be awesome


35 posted on 01/12/2014 10:39:55 AM PST by GeronL (Extra Large Cheesy Over-Stuffed Hobbit)
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To: bicyclerepair

Vlad had to be one of the top three most effective and famous bots on that show. Good choice!


36 posted on 01/12/2014 12:18:00 PM PST by Redcitizen (Never bring a tank to a Chuck Norris fight.)
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To: 867V309

Yup, the sphere was my preferred design. Something that would roll without external protrusions (very heavy controlled counterweight inside), with powered spikes to snap out & in for damage. Wedge would do nothing, while the weight and spikes tear it up.


37 posted on 01/12/2014 1:40:07 PM PST by ctdonath2 (Making good people helpless doesn't make bad people harmless.)
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