Robot combat is an electrifying sport that sees engineers create their own robots and unleash them into the arena, where they battle for supremacy. Creating a combat robot requires innovation, practicality, and a basic understanding of mechanics and electronics. We’re going to show you how to create a winning robot!
Different Types of Combat Robots
Combat robots are classified by their primary method of attack. Here are the most common types of robots:
- Spinner Robots: These robots feature powerful spinning weapons, such as horizontal or vertical spinners, designed to inflict significant damage upon impact.
- Hammerbots: These robots employ hydraulic systems to deliver crushing blows to opponents, aiming to disable or immobilize them.
- Wedge Robots: Wedge robots feature a low-profile design with a wedge-shaped front that allows them to easily deflect opponents and control the flow of the match.
- Drum Spinners: Similar to spinner robots, drum spinners employ a drum-shaped weapon that rotates at high speeds, delivering formidable kinetic energy upon impact.
- Lifter/Flipper Bots: These robots focus on flipping opponents over or lifting them into vulnerable positions, often using powerful lifting arms or pneumatic systems.
Combat Robot Design Considerations
Your combat robot is going to take a lot of damage in the arena, so you should focus on making your robot as durable as possible and choose sturdy materials and construction techniques capable of withstanding impacts, collisions, and weapon strikes.
To boost your robot’s durability, you may be tempted to make your robot as heavy as possible, but if you miscalculate weight distribution, your robot will struggle to move and be unstable. You need to balance the weight of components such as motors, batteries, and armor to optimize performance.
Combat robots, which are fast and agile, tend to perform very well in fights. Lightweight robots are able to outmaneuver opponents and evade incoming attacks. You can’t win a combat robot fight with just defense. The goal is to add weapons to your robot that fit your bot’s overall design yet still have the potential to inflict significant damage.
Your robot requires effective control systems that allow your bot to maneuver effortlessly around the arena. You need to choose reliable control electronics that won’t break in the heat of battle and are easy to control, especially in high-pressure scenarios.
Design Ideas and Weaponry
We recommend sticking to one of the tried and true styles of combat robots. Don’t overcomplicate the design: create a spinner, hammerbot, wedge robot, drum spinner, or flipper bot. Here are some tips when designing your combat robot:
- Spinner Robots: You can play around with different spinner configurations, including horizontal bars, vertical discs, or asymmetrical designs for unique attack angles. Hardened steel or titanium are your best bet spinner weapon materials due to their durability and impact resistance.
- Hammerbots: The design of the hammer mechanism, including the size and weight of the striking head, determines the impact force and effectiveness of the weapon. You can enhance the performance of hammerbots by optimizing the pneumatic or hydraulic system for rapid strikes and precise targeting.
- Wedge Robots: Wedge robots excel at controlling the flow of the match thanks to their low-profile design and wedge-shaped front. You can improve standard wedge robots by using low-friction materials on the wedge surface, allowing smooth pushing and shoving maneuvers. Additionally, wedge robots can integrate lifting arms or flipping mechanisms to exploit opponents’ vulnerabilities.
- Drum Spinners: You need to experiment with different drum configurations, including single-tooth, double-tooth, or serrated designs, to maximize impact potential and weapon reliability. High-tensile steel and hardened aluminum are commonly used for drum construction to withstand the stresses of combat.
- Lifter/Flipper Bots: You can design lifting arms or flipping mechanisms capable of exerting sufficient force to topple opponents and disrupt their control. We recommend implementing pneumatic systems due to their rapid actuation and high lifting force.
Designing combat robots is a great way to get into the world of robotics. It’s also not nearly as difficult as you’d think. You can build a small, simple, yet effective battle robot within a few days for just a couple of hundred dollars. Remember to tune into BattleBots to get some ideas for your first robot, who knows, if you nail the design, your robot could be participating in the next event!
Read More: How to Build a BattleBot
