(due to the large radius and weight), they’re prone
to losing drive traction when the weapon first
starts spinning, which starts the chassis rotating
in the opposite direction. This causes the driver to
completely lose control of the bot.
Meltybrain spinners are a special type of
robot that uses its entire body as a weapon and
its drivetrain to power it (Figure
I
). Meltybrain
robots have very high-speed drivetrains that
essentially spin them in place. They can then use
sensors to modulate the speed of the motors
to achieve translational movement. Because
the full robot weight is in the weapon, these
bots hit extremely hard. Their entire chassis
must withstand thousands of RPMs, so they
are generally very tough. While meltybrains are
extremely damaging, they are very technically
complex and require more computing than any
other robot type.
NON-SPINNER WEAPONS
LIFTER ROBOTS
Robots that have a mechanism that does not
store energy and is used to lift up and flip over
other robots are called lifters (Figure
J
). These
weapons move slower than flippers (see below),
and can be moved to any point along their travel.
Most insect-weight lifters use a high-power
servomotor or gearmotor to power their lifting
arms through a simple mechanism such as a
lever or a four-bar linkage. Lifters are the safest
bots that have active weapons, as they do not
store any energy in their weapon system. (You
can build one on page 44.) Some lifter robots
also have integrated grabbing mechanisms that
can hold their opponent as they lift them off the
ground. Lifter robots can be very competitive in
arenas that feature some sort of pit or “arena
out” feature, as they can corral their opponent
into the out-of-bounds area, winning the match.
Lifters are strong against robots that are not
invertible, as a single flip will render their
opponent immobile, but they generally struggle to
cause enough damage to score knockouts.
FLIPPER ROBOTS
Unlike lifter robots, flipper robots have a
weapon that uses stored kinetic energy to lift
or flip their opponents (Figure
K
). Flippers
feature complex mechanical systems that make
reliability a challenge: springs or pneumatics
for insect-weight flippers, spinning flywheels or
ROBOT RUMBLE! Weights & Weapons
I
K
J
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Caleb Kraft
32 makezine.com
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