Photo courtesy of BattleBots, Inc. All rights reserved, Jon C R Bennett / JCRBPhoto, Tony Wood-
ward, Daniel Longmire-BattleBots, Ethan McKibben, Jaclyn DeCicco
T
he thing about being a robot builder
is, well … we’re odd. If you’re thinking
about building a robot, well … you’re
odd too. But that’s OK! The very best thing
about robot events is that they’re entirely
populated by weirdos. Every race, religion,
gender, political bent, whatever. But everyone
in the building really loves making things.
In all my years, I’ve never encountered a
hobby or a sport that has such wonderful people.
Most of my current best friends are people that
I’ve met through robot events. The toughest
competitors turn into wonderful teachers and
pals as soon as the match is over. Can you
imagine a NASCAR team helping a competing
team get their car ready for the event? Probably
not. But in robot competitions, this sort of
thing happens all the time! Contestants loan
each other tools, help each other work, and do
everything they can to help out the newcomer.
Between matches, you’ll often see bitter rivals
hanging out in the pits chatting or sharing a beer.
Teams vying for the same medal will request to
be set up next to each other because they’re dear
friends. Tools get swapped, opponents weld your
broken bot for you, and lifelong friendships are
made. You’ll meet people from countries you’ve
barely heard of and see robots that you’ve never
dreamed of.
And you’ll leave a richer person.
—David Calkins
LET´S MEET A CROSS SECTION OF THE
ROBOT COMPETITION COMMUNITY:
KURTIS WANNER
• LOCATION:
Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan,
Canada
• ROLE: I design
and sell kits
and components,
organize events, and
compete internationally
• YEARS ACTIVE: 19 years
• LEAGUES: Kilobots Combat Robot Events
—kilobots.com/events
• ROBOTS: Dozens of insect-weight bots.
My heavyweight: Crash 'n Burn, a multibot
with flamethrowers
SELF-BUILT? Yes for all. Designing is half
the fun!
• ORIGIN: Saw BattleBots on TV and wanted to
compete, so in 2003 I started a local event.
There was nowhere to get parts so I started a
store as well!
• ADVICE: Start with a Viper kit! It's the lowest
barrier to entry and you'll learn everything you
need to know to move on to custom builds and
other weight classes. (Read more about the
Viper kit in “Combat Kitbots,” page 40.)
BUNNY SAURIOL
• LOCATION: San Jose,
California
• ROLE: In the
robot world
I’m the person
people come
to when they
need help getting
connected to other
roboteers. I go to
at least one event a
month, usually 2 or 3, and help everyone I can
whenever or however I can.
• YEARS ACTIVE: 20 years
• LEAGUES: Robot Fighting League (RFL),
Norwalk Havoc Robot League (NHRL)
• ROBOTS: Malice (250lbs), Grudge Frog (12lbs),
Mouser (3lbs), Mini Malice (1lbs), Micro Malice
(150g)
SELF-BUILT? I built all my robots and I
designed Mouser myself, but Isaak Malers
designed Malice 250, Mini and Micro Malice,
and Grudge Frog. We usually use the lower
weight classes to prototype for the larger
weight classes!
• ORIGIN: I got started in combat robotics as
a way to bond with my mom, and I met my
current fiancé through it as well.
• ADVICE: Start small, you can always work your
way up!
The real magic of fighting robots? Discovering the community love
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