The next year, when I was eight, I had a flimsy, garage-built aluminum contraption of my own, and I was ready to roll. Since then I’ve been hooked.

Through my few years of experience in the field of robotic combat, I’ve come to realize that the actual battles - the end result of all my hard work - are not the only things that I have to look forward to. Just as important to me are the people and friends involved, the familiar sounds and smells of machine maintenance, the ebb and flow of people excitedly preparing for competition, the long but rewarding hours of taking robots apart and putting them back together again, and the feeling you get when you realize you’ve become a small but integral part of our quirky little robo-community.

I hope this book will help you get started in the unique and exiting sport of robot combat. Robot experts clearly explain everything you need to know to build a bot of your own. For anyone thinking of building a robot, I strongly encourage you to give it a try. You may not wind up with the super-heavyweight champ after your first fight, but I guarantee it will be an experience you’ll never forget!

Cassidy Wright,

builder of Triple Redundancy, Fuzzy Yum Yum, and Chiabot

Orinda, California

January 2002

WELCOME to the world of combat robotics. You’ve watched them on TV. You’ve seen models of them on toy store shelves. You’ve seen them featured on the covers of magazines. You might also be among the lucky ones who have actually sat arena-side and watched in person as seemingly sane men and women guided their creations of destruction toward another machine with the express goal of mangling, dismembering, and smashing the opponent.

Television has brought this controlled mayhem into the living rooms of America.

You cheer wildly as your favorite robot with its spinning hammers rips the steel skin off its foe. Your robot chases its limping target into a corner, only to have a series of saw blades arise from the floor and send your hero sailing across the arena. The TV cameras pan over to the operators of the losing robot; they are smiling. Even in a moment of havoc, both sides are having fun. Parts and sparks are flying, and smoke wafts upward from the hapless opponent as hazards and weapons reach their targets. The crowd cheers and banners are waving. A winner is announced, and then two new bots start at it.

You can not stop grinning. “This is cool!”

After the program is over, you turn to your friend excitedly and say, “I’mgonna build one of those robots.”

“Yeah, right,” she says. “You can’t even program the VCR. Good luck building a robot.”

“Hey, I’ve got a book on how to build ’em. I’ll start small, maybe build one of those little sumo robots. It’s a kick to watch those little guys try to shove each other out of a ring. I have some friends who can help me get started. I’mgoing to do it!”

Robot combat has come a long way from its origins. The founding father of the sport is Marc Thorpe. He came up with the idea for robotic combat while experimenting with attaching a remote-control tank to his vacuum cleaner to make house cleaning more fun. After a few years spent developing the rules for a game where two robots would duel in front of a live audience, a new sport was created:

Robot Wars. The first official combat robot event was held at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. It was a huge success. Since Robot Wars first came on the scene, thousands of people have participated in building combat robots, and millions have watched and cheered on their favorite bots. Many new combat robot contests - such as BattleBots, Robotica, and BotBash, to name a few -have been spawned from the original Robot Wars competition.

This sport has become so popular, in fact, that many robots have become better known than their human creators. For example, devout followers of robotic combat are familiar with such famous builders as Carlo Bertocchini, Gage Cauchois, and Jamie Hyneman, but these mens’ robots— Biohazard (pictured in Figure 1-1), Vlad the Impaler, and Blendo, respectively— are now bona fide household names among the millions of people who watch BattleBots on TV.

The various robotic combat events have seen many different types of machines, from two-wheel-drive lightweight robots to six-wheel-drive, gasoline-powered superheavyweights. Even walking robots, more commonly known as StompBots, have entered into the mayhem. Probably the most well-known StompBot is the six-legged superheavyweight Mechadon built by Mark Setrakian. Setrakian has even built a super heavyweight snake robot. Though his unusual robots have not won any events, they’ve all been outstanding engineering achievements and great crowd pleasers.

The weapons on these robots range from simple wedges and spikes to jabbing spears, hammers, and axes, to spinning maces and claws, hydraulic crushing pincers, and grinding saw blades of every type, size, and color. The destructive power of these weapons has been used for everything from scratching paint off a rival bot to denting aluminum plates, punching holes through titanium and Kevlar, ripping off another robot’s entire armor plating, and completely disintegrating an opponent in a single blow.

One of the most destructive robots the sport has seen to date is Blendo. This spinning robot, more commonly known as a SpinBot-class robot, totally destroyed many of its opponents in a matter of seconds. It had such destructive force that it was once banned from continuing to compete in a contest and was automatically declared co-champion for that event.

Today, most combat robots are remote-controlled; but in the early years of Robot Wars, there were several fully autonomous combat robots. These robots ran completely on their own, using internal microcontrollers and computers for brains, and sensors to find and attack their opponents. Many people think autonomous combat robots would be too slow to compete because they would require too much time to locate and attack an opponent. This isn’t always the case, however.

The 1997 Robot Wars Autonomous Class champion, Thumper (built by Bob Gross), won a match in 10 seconds flat. That’s Thumper in Figure 1-2.

Today, most autonomous combat robots are found in robot sumo events, where two bots try to find and push each other out of a sumo ring. In this event, bots are not allowed to destroy each other. Sumo builders face a unique challenge, as they design their bots to «see” their opponent and push them out of the ring before getting pushed out themselves. This contest has become increasingly popular in recent years, and new sumo events are popping up all over the world.

In the past, competition divisions consisted of man versus man, or team of men versus team of men (let’s face it - it began as a male-dominated sport). Strength, speed, agility, endurance, and strategy were the only factors that determined the winner or loser. Thanks to robot combat, this isn’t the case anymore. At robot competitions, ingenuity, creativity, and intelligence now rule the game. No longer are 6-foot 5-inch, 240-pound male «athletes” dominating the game. A 10-year-old girl with excellent engineering skills can now defeat a 250-pound former NFL linebacker, and a wheelchair-bound person can run circles around an Olympic gold medalist. Robot combat has leveled the playing field so that anyone can compete against anyone on equal ground.

Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, XI
INTRODUCTION, XIII
1 Welcome to Competition Robots 1
What Is a Robot?, 5
Combat Robot Competitions, 5
BattleBots, 7
Robot Wars, 9
BotBash, 11
Robotica, 13
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science
and Technology), 14
Robot Soccer, 16
The Scope of This Book, 17
2 Getting Started 21
The Robot Design Approach, 23
The Game of Compromise, 29
Design for Maintenance, 31
Start Building Now, 33
Testing, Testing, Testing, 34
Top Ten Reasons Why a Robot Fails, 34
Sources of Robot Parts, 35
Cost Factors in Large Robot Construction, 35
Safety, 36
Safety in the Use of Shop Tools, 37
Safety with Your Robot, 37
3 Robot Locomotion 41
Robots with Legs, 42
Tank Treads: The Power of a Caterpillar Bulldozer in a Robot, 45
Building Tank Treads for a Robot, 46
Wheels: A Tried and True Method of Locomotion, 47
Types of Steering, 47
Wheel Configurations, 50
Selecting Wheels for Your Combat Robot, 51
Tires, 53
Mounting and Supporting the Wheels and Axles, 54
Wheel Drive Types, 57
Protecting Your Robot’s Wheels, 59
Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use.
Build Your Own Combat Robot
4 Motor Selection and Performance 61
Electric Motor Basics, 62
Determining the Motor Constants, 67
Power and Heat, 68
High-Performance Motors, 73
Motor Sources, 74
Internal Combustion Engines, 76
Conclusion, 77
5 It’s All About Power 79
Battery Power Requirements, 80
Measuring Current Draw from the Battery, 80
Battery Capacity Basics, 83
Preventing Early Battery Death, 84
Sizing for a 6-Minute Run Time, 85
Comparing SLA, NiCad, and NiMH Run-Time Capacities, 86
Electrical Wiring Requirements, 91
Battery Types, 92
Sealed Lead Acid, 93
Nickel Cadmium (NiCad), 95
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), 97
Alkaline, 98
Lithium Ion, 99
Installing the Batteries: Accessible vs. Nonaccessible, 100
6 Power Transmission: Getting Power to Your Wheels 103
Power Transmission Basics, 106
Torque, 109
Force, 109
Location of the Locomotion Components, 112
Mounting the Motors, 112
Thermal Considerations for the Motor, 113
Methods of Power Transmission, 114
Chain Drive Systems, 115
Buying the Chain, 115
Chain Sprockets, 117
Belt Drive Systems, 118
Flat Belts, 118
Synchronous Belts, 119
V-Belts, 121
Gearboxes, 122
Mounting Gear Assemblies, 122
Securing Gears to Shafts, 122
7 Controlling Your Motors 127
Relay Control, 128
Poles and Throws, 128
Contents vii
Current Ratings, 129
How It All Works Together, 132
Variable Speed Control Basics, 139
Controlling Speed = Controlling Voltage, 140
Commercial Electronic Speed Controllers, 143
8 Remotely Controlling Your Robot 157
Traditional R/C Controls, 158
The R/C Controller’s Interface, 159
The R/C Servo, 160
Control Channels, 160
Radio Control Frequencies, 162
AM, FM, PCM, and Radio Interference, 167
Amplitude Modulation, 167
Frequency Modulation, 167
Radio Interference and Reliable Control, 170
Radio to Radio Interference, 172
Antennas and Shielding, 173
Antenna Placement, 174
Innovation First Isaac Robot Controller and Other Radio Modems, 175
Radio Modems, 178
Failsafe Compliance, 179
9 Robot Material and Construction Techniques 183
Metals and Materials, 184
High-Strength Plastics, 184
Metals, 185
General Machining Operations, 193
Tools You Might Need to Construct Robots, 193
Welding, Joining, and Fastening, 195
Structural Design for Fastener Placement, 195
When in Doubt, Build It Stout, 201
10 Weapons Systems for Your Robot 203
Weapon Strategy and Effectiveness, 204
Ram Bots, 205
Wedge Bots, 208
Lifter Bots, 210
Launchers, 212
Clamp Bots, 215
Thwack Bots, 217
Overhead Thwack Bots, 219
Spinner Bots, 220
Saw Bots, 222
Vertical Spinner, 224
Drum Bots, 226
Hammer Bots, 228
Build Your Own Combat Robot
Crusher Bots, 231
Spear Bots, 233
Closing Remarks on Weapons, 236
11 Autonomous Robots 239
Using Sensors to Allow Your Robot to See, Hear, and Feel, 241
Passive Sensors, 242
Active Sensors, 243
Thermal Sensors, 246
Tilt Sensors, 247
Bump Sensors, 248
Implementing Sensors in Combat Robots, 248
Sensing: It’s a Noisy World Out There, 249
Techniques for Improving Sensor Input, 249
Semiautonomous Target and Weapon Tracking, 250
Semiautonomous Weapons, 251
Implementing Semiautonomous Target Tracking, 251
Semiautonomous Target Tracking with
Constant Standoff Distances, 252
Autonomous Target Tracking, 253
Fully Autonomous Robot Class, 253
More Information, 257
12 Robot Brains 259
Microcontroller Basics, 260
Basic Stamp, 264
BrainStem, 266
Handy Board, 267
BotBoard, 267
Other Microcontrollers, 267
Microcontroller Applications, 268
The Robo-Goose, 268
The BrainStem Bug, 270
1BDI, an Autonomous Robot, 271
The Rover, Teleoperated with Feedback, 272
Summary, 273
13 Robot Sumo 275
How a Sumo Match Proceeds, 278
The Sumo Ring Specification, 280
Mini Sumo, 281
Modifying an R/C Servo for Continuous Rotation, 281
Building a Mini Sumo, 284
Mini Sumo Body Assembly, 284
Remote-Control Mini Sumo, 285
Autonomous Mini Sumo, 286
Edge Detector, 286
Object Detector, 290
Sensor Integration, 293
Performance Improvements, 297
Various Mini Sumo Robots, 297
International Robot Sumo Class, 299
Motors, 299
Motor Controllers, 299
Ultrasonic Range Detectors, 300
Infrared Range Detectors, 301
Laser Range Finding and Vision Systems, 301
Advanced Software Algorithms, 301
Traction Improvements, 302
Robot Part Suppliers, 302
Annual Robot Sumo Events, 303
14 Real-Life Robots: Lessons from Veteran Builders 305
Ronni Katz—Building Chew Toy, 306
Step 1: Research, 306
Step 2: Conception, 308
Step 3: Building the Bot, 310
Step 4: Creating Weapons and Armor, 311
Final Words, 315
Pete Miles—Building Live Wires, 316
Step 1: Making the Sketch, 316
Step 2: Securing the Motors, 316
Step 3: Adding Wheels, 317
Step 4: Adding Motor Housings and Controllers, 317
Step 5: Layout and Modeling, 319
Step 6: Scrambling, 321
Step 7: Building the Frame, 322
Step 8: Adding a Weapon, 324
Finally: The Show, 325
15 Afterword 329
The Future of Robot Combat, 330
A Prototyping Electronics 335
Breadboarding and Using Prototyping Boards for Electronic Circuits, 336
Wire-Wrapping Prototyping, 337
Soldering for Robots, 337
Soldering Printed Circuit Boards, 338
Soldering Wires, 339
Soldering Connectors, 339
Crimp-Style Connectors, 339
Static Sensitivity, 340
B Resources and References 343
Robot Competition Web Sites, 344
Electric Motor Sources, 344
Battery Suppliers, 346
Electronic Speed Controller Vendors, 346
Remote Control System Vendors, 347
Mechanical Systems Suppliers, 347
Electronics Suppliers, 348
Microcontroller Suppliers, 350
Reference Books, 350
Robotics Organizations, 351
Other Robotics Resources, 352
C Helpful Formulas 355
Chain Drive Centerline Distances, 356
Timing Belt Centerline Distances, 357
V-Belts, 357
Index

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