hi there! just wanted to start a thread where we can have discussions and ask questions about building a plastic bot outside of SIG hours! i hope it helps us stay active and get our bots ready to fight!
so, the question i wanted to ask today is: once we know how our bot will fight, where should we start? i have several possible starting points in mind, like the driving mechanism, the protective shell, the inner chassis, and a few other angles. my idea is not a spinner, so if i had to pick one place to start, what should i do first?
Hey @YellowEng, thank you for starting a new thread!
That’s a very good question and I think it depends on your preference. I tend to start designing the body and trying to put those weapon ideas in CAD, cutting them out of cardboard or even a tupperware… whatever works for you.
Doing this will force you to figure out your motors, motor drivers and controllers. The sky is the limit, so you could just go and buy a small RC car or whatever this thing is so you can hack it and control it your way.
If you need ideas in terms of parts to buy, you could always buy some of the same components we use in the Weaponized Plastic Robot Workshop, but again, it is a creative process, so you can go a in a completely different rout if you like.
Would you want to share your initial idea and see if we can help you figure out some of the components?
I am printing a new weapon tonight and will start working on my laser pointer guided controller tomorrow
I wonder who came up with that idea! Only an absolute genius would imagine something like that… but maybe a genius that needs to build another laser guided robot to mess things up!
(Laser Guided Weaponized Robots is now a patent pending by @sneezix)
the best example i could find already existing is a battlebot named BioHazard. my plan is to build a bot with a low profile and wedges running around the body. tucked at the front of the bot is a hinged arm that will act as either a flipper or a lifter, depending on how its development goes. its wiki page seems to provide a few leads on how it was assembled, but there isn’t much detail. my guess is to begin by designing the overall shape of the bot.
I’ve never built a robot with such potential energy, so I imagine you would have to reinforce some parts with metal in case it is spring loaded, but as long as they are exposed or used to get in contact with the other robots, I think you’ll be fine.
My friend made Up and Down last year and it uses a similar idea, so we could ask for advice in case you need it.
I don’t want this to sound like a threat, but we have already built 8 ROTATOs that are (probably) ready to fight again as soon as their builders repair the damage from their very first little “friendly discussion,” so I’m hoping to start seeing more Weaponized Plastic Robots around Asmbly that are not just ROTATOs soon
We just wrapped up another successful workshop last weekend that ended with 3 happy builders… and my own robot looking like it lost an argument with a lawn mower.
We’ll have a new S.I.G. meeting on June 11th, right after the official WPFL competition in New Hampshire, so there’s a very real chance I’ll show up with even more broken robots and questionable engineering decisions by then.
A few of you have been asking where we source parts to repair or upgrade your bots, so I’ve started compiling the list of components we use during the workshop. Whether you’re rebuilding a ROTATO or designing your own Weaponized Plastic Robot from scratch, these parts should help cover most of the essentials.
Most of the links are Amazon affiliate links. They don’t change the price for you, but they do help support the project a bit. Some of those funds will go directly toward building the arena so we can have proper fights where only cheap robot parts are at risk.
So now I’m curious… I know a few of you are building creative controllers for Rotatos, but is anyone already building new Weaponized Plastic Robots? What kind of ridiculous ideas are cooking in your CAD tabs right now?
I ended up wining the Austin-flavored track for the build challenge after completing the workshop over the weekend. The workshop was a great experience! Thanks @Angel
OMG @klgilbert!!! That’s amazing! Congratulations on winning that hackathon!
We will have to figure out how to make the arena with some sort of brackets to hold a camera for situations like yours!
Are you planning to attend the SIG on the 11th? Maybe you can give us a demo?
Thanks. Yeah, I’m planning on attending the SIG on the 11th. It’s going to be tough mounting the camera in that overhead position, but I’ll see if I can figure something out
(probably) ready to fight again as soon as their builders repair the damage from their very first little “friendly discussion,”
Asking as someone who’s terribly behind in terms of actually building one Any chance there’s an opportunity to watch that as a spectator the next time one happens?
Hey @ilya, it’s never too late! So you are never behind!!!
There are three easy ways you can get up to speed:
Join the SIG on the 11th. We will have an open conversation around Weaponized Plastic Robot control systems and probably some recent competitions. This is not exactly what you are looking for since we won’t be building robots, but it’s a great way to get involved!
1. Join the next Rotato workshop on the 30th: there is only one spot left, but this is all you would need to build your first robot and get you right on track to design, build and program your own later on if you’d like.
We will have self guided Rotato kits some time this summer… I can’t tell exactly when bc it’s a lot of work, but something we are working on already.
And of course… just sharing your questions, ideas and plans in here is always a great way to get help from Weaponized Plastic Robot experts and Rotato builders!
Two rotatos made the trip to compete in an official Weaponized Plastic competition this weekend, and we’ll be streaming the event starting around 11:00 AM Austin time:
One of our ROTATOs is competing as a Democratic Fighting Robot. Instead of having a single driver, the robot follows the will of the people. Every few seconds, the internet votes on what it should do next, and the robot obeys.
The other ROTATO will be driven by Kaitlyn, one of our workshop graduates, who has equipped her robot with a weapon that looks significantly more dangerous than my engineering judgment would normally recommend.
If you’re around this morning, tune into the stream, help guide the Democratic Robot, and let’s see how far crowd-sourced combat strategy can take us.
