In early April, 2015, some of my friends and I went to RoboGames 2015. We originally went just to have a fun Saturday afternoon, but we soon realized that the games relied on countless physics concepts that we had been studying.
We saw two weight classes of robots in the arena: Lightweight and Heavyweight.
There were many different types of robots, but many of the robots held similar characteristics. We were able to group the robots into two general categories.
We saw two weight classes of robots in the arena: Lightweight and Heavyweight.
There were many different types of robots, but many of the robots held similar characteristics. We were able to group the robots into two general categories.
Classic Wedge
The Classic Wedge was by far the most common of the robots. It is also the oldest design for robots in the arena. Since the stock Classic Wedge didn't really include any weapons, they were able to focus all of the weight into heavy, durable armor and a powerful motor. The grey bot in the top picture is a Classic Wedge. The primary strategy with the Classic Wedge is to use overwhelming force to shove opponents into the sides of the arena to cause damage. Since all of the robots have the same or similar weights, F=ma requires a robot to be very fast to deal more damage to opponents. Additionally, as a wedge, you have to make sure the bottom of the wedge is as low to the ground as possible, because you want to be able to scoop up another robot off its wheels, which is impossible if the opponent has you off yours. One of the more common variations of the Classic Wedge was the Flame Wedge, which sacrificed a portion of its armor to add a flamethrower inside of the wedge. The tactics they employed were similar to the Classic Wedge, except for when they shoved the opponent into the wall, they held them there while they seared the internal electronics to a crisp. Horizontal Blade Where the Classic Wedge focuses on defense, Horizontal Blade robots are built to rip, tear, and shred opponents into scrap with quick, precise blows. The red bot in the top picture is a Horizontal Blade. Horizontal Blades feature a fairly durable chassis that connects to a separate motor that powers a deadly metal bar, sometimes sharpened, sometimes blunt. Blunt blades with cause more impact damage and fling opponents around the arena. Sharp blades with cut and pierce heavy armor and shred light, exposed parts. Since impulse is increased when the time of impact is decreased, the blade can deal enormous damage when it impacts the armor of an enemy robot. The blade only strikes for a fraction of a second, allowing it to deal huge damage to even the thickest of shells. However, if the opponent is aggressive enough, they may be able to strike the blade enough that it doesn't have enough time to charge up into a good spin. One of the most types of robots was the Wedge-Horizontal Blade Combo. They had a wedge in the front, but also featured a light horizontal blade in the back to deter flanking. These generally fared well, but their lack of speed due to heavy armor and a blade also put them at a decent disadvantage. My friends and I were talking about it, and we decided that a Horizontal Blade robot with the majority of the power focused into a blunt spinning blade would be the best option. The rest of the weight would be put into powerful and precise turning capabilities, so the robot would be able to turn its blade into any incoming attack. |
A Flame Wedge, above. The aftermath, below.
Original Sin, above, is a 4-wheel drive Classic Wedge with a unique hinge to optimize wedge height.
Last Rites, below, is a 2-wheel drive Horizontal Blade with the highest RPM blade in all of RoboGames history. Arch rivals in the RoboGames 2015 Tournament. |
The final round of RoboGames 2015, with Original Sin defeating Last Rites, left. The creators of the robots carting them to the battle, right.
Left to Right:
Ethan Danziger, Daniel Oliva, Ryan Clark, Mikey Harris. And Grant Imahara in the background. Yep. He was there too.
Ethan Danziger, Daniel Oliva, Ryan Clark, Mikey Harris. And Grant Imahara in the background. Yep. He was there too.