Author: Todd Rogers

Posted on

Hickory Bot Battles September 2021

It’s been over a year since our last bot competition (due to COVID) but we finally made it back out into the world!

This year’s competition at Hickory Bot Battles was amazing. Great venue, great coordinators, and it was fantastic to get the chance to see old friends in the bot community we hadn’t seen since before the pandemic hit.

There were Antweights and Beetleweights this year; with a healthy mix of new bots as well as classics. (Wheel of Power, I’m looking at you buddy!)

Below are some pictures from the event. I’ll post a link to fights as well.

WE’RE BACK IN BOT BUSINESS BABY! 🙂

The “pit”… Where the magic happens. 🙂
The arena of DOOM with everyone masked up and watching intensely!
Mark 5 of my 3lb Bot: Talos (angry eyebrows added for extra danger)
Posted on

Hill City Robot Combat ’19

Vector Space in Lynchburg, VA put on another amazing “insect class” bot competition this year. Below are some of the team photos and highlights!

Great venue and great people! Props to Vector Space for an amazing event.
Julian and Jasper inspect Trooper in the pit.
Hydrate before every fight!
Trooper and Talos group photo (Don’t ask why)
“It’s game time…”
Talos bringing some spinny-spinny to the arena!
Antweight “Circle of Power” and builders (such a cool bot!)
John and Daniel hear a story about my favorite screwdriver…like, seriously…it’s an awesome screwdriver.
Some of the coolest Antweight bots at the event!
After the fighting, we all decided to take a nap in the arena pit.
“These are not the bots you’re looking for…”
Posted on

HBB Competition – Aug 2019

This was a fantastic 2 day event at the Catawba Science Center in Hickory, NC. The event was hosted by Carolina Combat Robots and USCONEC.

Bot Fights!

Plastic Antweight Fight – J5 vs Lefty
Beetleweight Fight – Trooper vs Captain Doom
Plastic Antweight Fight – J5 vs Plas Knuckles
Beetleweight Fight – Talos vs Last Resort
Plastic Antweight Fight – J5 vs Oh the Humanities!

Event Photos!

  • Gruff from Season 4 of BattleBots!
  • Daniel from the NC Robotic Legends team enjoying the bot carnage!
  • These guys had a fantastic “melty brain” bot; The Wheel of Power
  • Mark and Jasper talking shop in the bot pits
  • Julian from the NC Robotic Legends team with his bot Trooper!
  • Sir Clips rides piggy back on Talos
  • Best t-shirt seen at the event
  • Great crowd + great bot fighting = amazing event!
  • Todd and Talos bonding
  • Hotel Table turns Robot Workshop
  • BattleBots Q&A Forum
  • The Skittles Monster Attacks!
  • Foxtrot from Season 4 of BattleBots!
  • Kraken from Season 4 of BattleBots!
  • The Skittle Monster attacks, right in front of the judges!
Posted on

Scuttle – A 6 legged combat bot

Builder Dan Bostian explains and demonstrates his 24 pound walking spinner combat bot. He recently won an award for most innovative design at Seattle Bot Battles 2019. Absolutely amazing and a great example of how to use the SPARC weight advantage rules for walkers. (Your bot can be heavier if it uses non-wheel based locomotion.)

Posted on

How to Calculate Speed Based on Wheel Speed & Tire Diameter

A vehicle transfers power from the engine through the transmission and differential. The gears in these components result in a wheel speed expressed in revolutions per minute (rpm). From the wheel speed rpm, the size of the tire determines the final road speed of the vehicle. The calculations can be applied to any vehicle; from a bicycle, to a semi-truck, and even a robot!

Step 1
Calculate the circumference of the wheel in feet from the diameter. The formula for circumference is the diameter times pi. Pi is a mathematical constant and is 3.1416 to four places. For example, if the wheel is 30 inches in diameter the circumference would be 94.248 inches. Divide by 12 to get 7.854 feet.

Step 2
Calculate wheel revolutions per mile by dividing 5,280 by the tire circumference in feet. The example tire will make 672.3 revolutions per mile.

Step 3
Calculate the speed per minute by dividing the wheel speed by the tire revolutions per mile. For example, if the wheel speed is 300 rpm, the example tire is moving at 0.446 miles per minute.

Multiply the miles per minute speed times 60 to convert the speed to miles per hour (mph). Our example tire with a 30 inch diameter turning at 300 rpm will have a road speed of 26.8 mph.

Tip
If the calculations need to be made numerous times, a spreadsheet can be set up with the calculations. Then, only the tire diameter and speed in rpm need to be changed to calculate a new road speed.

Source: How to Calculate Speed Based on Wheel Speed & Tire Diameter