The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Recreational Robotics Major Keary |
I hope to see more faces from Melb PC at this September's RoboCup Junior competition than there were at last year's event. Apart from being an interesting exposure to what is happening in schools, and having the chance to meet up with the very large contingent of competing teams, the event deserves encouragement.
A development in recreational robotics is the emergence of combat robot competitions, which began in America during the late 1980s. I haven't heard of anything being done here, but there could well be some interest hidden away. The cost of setting up a competition arena probably needs sponsorship, which may be difficult to find locally. However, for anyone interested there is an interesting book.
Combat Robots
There are two distinct classes, remote control and autonomous robots; as mentioned later, autonomous (that is, fully programmable) robots in certain weight categories are simply not an option. The first combat competitions were devised in Japan where a sumo contest was introduced.
In 1992 Marc Thorpe (a name that keeps on popping up in the context of combat robots) was experimenting with a radio-controlled vacuum cleaner and came up with the concept of Robot Wars. In 1994 he launched the first competition, and by 1997 it was so successful that a television series was made for the BBC (for once something didn't happen first in America). Similar events followed; BotBash (1997) and BattleBots (1999), the latter becoming a highly rated TV program. By August 2001 a variant of Robot Wars, Robot Wars Extreme Warriors, began showing as a TV series on TNN.
"BattleBots is a single elimination fight-to-the-death contest where one robot tries to destroy another in a 3-minute time frame" [Build Your Own Combat Robot]. These devices have to not only survive an opponent's attack, but cope with diabolical hazards in the arena; they include twenty-inch diameter carbide-tipped saw blades that can spring up with sufficient force to make a 150 kg robot airborne; carbide-tipped spears that shoot up from the floor with 30 kg force; and augers that can crush robots that come within their reach. That is just part of the 'inventory' that competitor robots have to contend with while fighting an opponent.
The various competitions have weight classes that range from 0-10 kg through to 100-150 kg. Details are to be found in Build Your Own Combat Robot, which - as the title suggests - is about building such devices. The information is practical, being based on experiences rather than theory, but provides sound technical reasons for the various preferred mechanical and control solutions.
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The technical depth is very good and supported by excellent diagrams and some of the best technical
photographs and illustrations I have seen in print. The large format (200 x 250 mm) provides plenty of
page space for the illustrations. The range of topics is quite extraordinary and includes a technical
discussion of electric motor basics; power requirements (with a discussion of battery basics and using
Ohm's Law); remote control issues (such as the relative merits and problems of AM, FM, and pulse code
modulation); and fastening system options.
The discussion largely revolves around the design and construction of various types of combat robot.
There is some passing mention of programming, but fully autonomous combat robots present a problem:
they can't tell the difference between another robot within the competition 'arena' and anything else
that
moves - in or out of the arena - including humans.
However, roboteers who don't really want to build large, destructive devices will find a wealth
of information about construction techniques and componentry that is fully relevant to non-combat robots.
Sumo robots do contest each other, but not destructively; a chapter on that class contains information
applicable to soccer robots. The term, sumo, suggests something very large, but these are quite small
(from 500 g to 3 kg), and some are autonomous. Construction details are provided with information about
the components; in particular there is coverage of various sensors, including mention of laser range
finding.
Much of the literature presently available to RoboCup competitors focuses on the Lego programmable
brick and Lego accessories (motors, sensors, etc.), but there are other manufacturers and this
book is a good source of information about other products and vendors.
In spite of combat robots projecting what some may perceive as an undesirable image, this title contains
a surprising amount of mathematical and mechanical information in a context likely to capture the attention
of students. Secondary school teachers should take the time to look at the book as a teaching resource.
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Pete Miles and Tom Carroll: Build Your Own Combat Robot ISBN 0-07-21964-2 Published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 381 pp., RRP $54.95 incl. GST. |
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Reprinted from the September 2002 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
