Mentorns robot assessment weekend report?
Neil Adamson
I was led to believe that yesterday and on saturday, Mentorn had a look
at all the competitors for the new series of UK robotwars.
Any chance of a word or two about the weekends assessment?
How did it go? Any clear favourite?
Cheers
Neil
--
Neil Adamson
P.A.Thomas
> I was led to believe that yesterday and on saturday, Mentorn had a look
> at all the competitors for the new series of UK robotwars.
> Any chance of a word or two about the weekends assessment?
> How did it go? Any clear favourite?
dont know about mentorns point of view, but from what i saw on
the weekend there were a lot of robots with a lot of time and
effort put into them on display.
roadblock is back and bigger than ever and Corporal Punishment
looks kind of nasty and generally evil. There were a lot of overweight
bots there, quite a few people having to go for aluminium armour
to keep the weight down, not many fast robots there, about the
only ones with any speed were Tender Caress, which is our robot, and
a featherweight entry from the Corporal Punishment guy called Armadillo?
which had nice body armour but would get seriously mullered in the
competition if something hit it.
There was a nicely engineered one called spike, but it looked kind of flimsy
but was just a very cool robot, someone was wheeling a 105KG monster
in as we were leaving,
called Demon Duck which still had to have armour and weapons added
to it!!!!!!
I think the biggest problem is that people were overweight. They may
put in a super heavyweight class which will probably make for good TV
but then half the challenge is building it into the specs they gave us.
Also the size of the robot is a rough guideline rather than a set figure,
which we wish we had known earlier.
A very good weekend though, and most enjoyable. Thanks to all
phil
sorry about the punctation and spelling its too early
Neil Adamson
<tho...@prl.research.philips.com> writes
>dont know about mentorns point of view, but from what i saw on
>the weekend there were a lot of robots with a lot of time and
>effort put into them on display.
Sounds like series two will be better than the first!
>
>I think the biggest problem is that people were overweight. They may
>put in a super heavyweight class which will probably make for good TV
>but then half the challenge is building it into the specs they gave us.
>Also the size of the robot is a rough guideline rather than a set figure,
>which we wish we had known earlier.
>
If mentorn want big robots with "lots of weapons" a heavier weight limit
will be required. Anyway, if the house robots are allowed to be way out
of the limit why can't the competitors!
The only thing is that if Mentorn do want the winner of the UK to fight
abroad in the USA it will have to be within the weight...
I agree with you Phil, that the weight limit should be stuck to, as an
engineering challenge, and as a level playing field. Otherwise where
will in end?? Mighty Elephant 1000kg...
Anyway, thanks for the info Phil! (+ Good luck!)
Neil
--
Neil Adamson
adam
> looks kind of nasty and generally evil. There were a lot of overweight
> bots there, quite a few people having to go for aluminium armour
> to keep the weight down, not many fast robots there, about the
> only ones with any speed were Tender Caress, which is our robot, and
> a featherweight entry from the Corporal Punishment guy called Armadillo?
> which had nice body armour but would get seriously mullered in the
> competition if something hit it.
Thanks for the remarks, but don't worry about Armadillo as its a
featherweight only and won't be allowed by our team to compete with
anything thats not in its weight class. Increasing the weight limit so
late in the day wont wash it either. Even if it was done for next year
people these last two years prove that peole would still not manage it
and it would just spiral upwards for ever. Also once the weight starts
to get above a 1-man weight (175lbs) then it becomes logistically
difficult to transport them. It helps to sort out those with skill and
to show how hard it is to build something within the rules you only have
to see that professional special effects departments couldnt manage it
the first year with the house robots.
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Jon Witte
>called Demon Duck which still had to have armour and weapons added
>to it!!!!!!
It actually came in at 140 Kg, but the team were looking for a price
on an Ally frame. It also made a great "Quacking" noise at random
intervals....
In all a good weekend, nice to meet lots of like-minded souls (ie.
folks who don't think I'm either insane, immature or both) I think
UKRW 1998 is going to be a great laugh - Only hope I get in! I gather
they looked at 120 bots with a view to select 80 for the shows. Anyone
shed any further light?
Jon Witte
Visit the diary of "Pain" at...
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/prickly/rw.htm
adam
Adam
--
Jon Witte
>so what was that gas gun thing ?!!?!?!??!
I'll tell you all now..
Slave piston with nasty spike one end.
Quick metered squirt of Butane and LOX.
Spark Spark
Bang Bang
Screw actuator to re-cock
(Pitches -5 to +95 degrees)
Been using similar technology to fire oranges thru garden chairs and
golf balls the best part of a K for years. Old technology in the
circles I move in!
The (entirely reasonable) query from the tech staff was "Does the
Muzzle Velocity make it a firearm?" I don't know is my answer, but I
can tweak that by using less bang juice. To be honest, I hadn't
expected the tech guys to consider it -and so hadn't welded anything
up on saturday!
I'm still waiting on the final nod that it's Ok
Hope I get a place, competition looks like it's going to be *awesome*
fun!
Keep up the good work, Adam ;-)
lou...@my-dejanews.com
adam <ad...@dataark.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> Thanks for the remarks, but don't worry about Armadillo as its a
> featherweight only and won't be allowed by our team to compete with
> anything thats not in its weight class. Increasing the weight limit so
> late in the day wont wash it either. Even if it was done for next year
> people these last two years prove that peole would still not manage it
> and it would just spiral upwards for ever. Also once the weight starts
> to get above a 1-man weight (175lbs) then it becomes logistically
> difficult to transport them. It helps to sort out those with skill and
> to show how hard it is to build something within the rules you only have
> to see that professional special effects departments couldnt manage it
> the first year with the house robots.
I didn't find it too difficult. My robot is sitting at the top of the
Middleweight category, but is larger than many of the heavyweight robots.
I think that if You can't weld up a frame, the additional metal you need to
fix it all together, and the fact you can't place metal exactly where you
want it, is going to add at least 30% to the overall weight. I saw quite a
few robots made from vast amounts of plywood and shelving material.
I'd be quite happy if I didn't get in by virtue of the fact that it wasn't
particularly advanced, or safety requirements or some valid reason. I'd be
mighty upset if I was displaced by those who ignored the rules.
--
Gernif
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