Monday, August 25, 2008

BattleBots

BattleBots fans, rejoice! The dueling robot competition show, which last aired on American television in 2002, is due for a comeback. According to this article in Popular Mechanics, this new version of robot wars will focus strictly on the competition between the machines, targeting college students as designers. The televised event will likely air on an ESPN channel in November 2008.

With robot names like Diesector and Nightmare, watching the original BattleBots competitions on the Comedy Central TV series was a hoot. You can check out snips of previous BattleBot competitions on YouTube, like Best of Battlebots or Top 10 Battlebot Moments (the sound quality is poor on this one, but the clips are great -- note the sign-waving fans in the first one!)

Want to build your own competition-ready robot? There are a number of challenges out there just waiting for interested children and young adults! Check out the National Robotics Challenge or the Edventures Robotic Challenge: Grades 3-12 or drop by BEST and Botball® for middle & high school students.

No comments: