ROBOT WARS

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ROBOT WARS
Joris West Side Favie
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ROBOT WARS

• Robot Wars was invented in California in 1992
• It then moved to the United Kingdom to be
  televised on the BBC
• The show was very successful and attracted
  millions of viewers
• Two Dutch series were produced by BNN, featuring
  yours truly
• After six seasons on BBC the ratings dropped
  substantially
• The BBC then sold the UK show to channel Five
• Ratings did not pick up and finally Robot Wars
  was CANCELLED ?
• No further TV shows are planned, but there are
  many LIVE EVENTS in the United Kingdom and in
  Holland

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DEAD METAL
Weight - 112kg Length - 160cm Width - 100cm
Height - 70cm Speed - 12mph
Dead Metal weighs in at a sturdy 112 kg and is
driven by a battery powered engine and a
thermonuclear starter motor. His weapons
consist of pneumatically driven pincers -
designed to immobilise all opponents - and a
circular saw turning at over 3000 rpm. He's
quicker than his fellow robots moving at a speed
of 5.4 metres per second. Anything slow enough to
get in his way is usually ground to a halt! Dead
Metal is protected by a steel exoskeleton
consisting of jagged armour plates and spiked
struts as wheel guards. This exoskeleton offers
the ultimate in protection now, although in
previous wars a great deal of internal wiring was
exposed and open to attack. This design oversight
- considered to be one of Dead Metal's few
weaknesses - has now been rectified. His internal
linkage system has also been improved to increase
the power distributed to the cutting disc and
jaws. Fast, deadly and by far the ugliest of
the house robots with a grungy, corroded, rusty
look. When the sparks fly, robots usually die!
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SHUNT
Weight - 105kgLength - 130cmWidth -
110cmHeight - 70cmSpeed - 10mph
Shunt might be a lightweight in house robot terms
- weighing in at a mere 105 kg - but he is a
heavyweight when it comes to havoc. He moves at
a speed of 4.5 meters per second and has a
prototype cold fusion engine capable of dragging
a fully loaded Land Hummer from a standing
position to a speed of over 6mph. Shunt may be
the lightest of the house robots, but no opponent
is going to get off lightly when they're at the
receiving end of a deadly diamond edged axe blow
with a force of over 500kg per square centimeter.
His design is reminiscent of a bulldozer, with
a rear-mounted scoop and fearsome axe, both
powered by pressurized carbon dioxide. Shunt's
chassis and scoops are made of steel, while his
superstructure is moulded fiberglass. Shunt's
extremely resilient structure and low profile
ensure that he can take just about anything
thrown at him.
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MATILDA
Weight - 116kg Length - 140cm Width - 66cm Height
- 66cm Speed - 8mph
The charmingly named Matilda may not be able to
waltz like her Australian namesake, but does have
hydraulic tusks. New for this year, she has had
her tail-weapon transformed into an
interchangeable weapons arsenal that can take
either her deadly chainsaw or a state of the art
flywheel weapon that weighs over 60 lbs. Truly a
sting in her tail! And as she's powered by a
rechargeable battery unit and moves at over 3.6
m/s, dancing with her is not recommended.
Matilda is always a favourite with the
audience. She is fashioned from fiberglass
matting - a material that is more resistant to
heavy blows than steel. She is driven by a
12-volt motor and her tusks are operated by a
powerful pneumatic carbon dioxide system. A 76cc
motor drives her steel chainsaw tail when fitted.
Matilda's greatest strength is the extreme
toughness of her skin, which is capable of
resisting just about any form of attack. Her
outer structure is smoother and less complicated
than the other house robots - and attacking blows
tend to glance off, rather than penetrate.
However, she is vulnerable to being overturned
and as viewers of the show will know, certain
competitors take great delight in lifting her
skirts'
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SGT. BASH
Weight - 120kg Length - 140cm Width -
90cm Height - 90cm Speed - 8mph
Sergeant Bash is the flame-filled, militaristic
machine of war powered by four batteries running
in parallel. Conduits attached to his
flame-thrower also vent heat to power a secondary
steam engine. Sergeant Bash weighs in at a
mighty 120kg and moves at 3.6m/s. This
camouflaged, armour plated annihilator has a
tank-like forward section and pneumatically
driven, front mounted pincers. His primary weapon
is a propane-fuelled flame-thrower mounted on a
360 degree turret which promises to warm the
throttles of any robot's heart! Internally,
Sergeant Bash is built from more complex
components and equipment than any of the other
house robots. His sophisticated weapons require
the inclusion of gas bottles to power the
flamethrower, in addition to valves and numerous
carbon dioxide reservoirs. The flamethrower and
pneumatically driven pincers all contribute to
Sergeant Bash's increased weight and he requires
an extremely long wheelbase to support the mass
of internal engineering. But this year, those
front pincers have been replaced high spec
surgical steel jaws, to exact destruction with
his own brand of surgical precision!
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SIR KILLALOT
Weight - 280kg Length - 120cm Width - 120cm
Height - 130cm Speed - 5mph
Sir Killalot is arguably the scariest robot on
Earth. He derives his power from a prototype cold
fusion cell, weighs in at a massive 280kg and
stands 1.3m high. At 1.8 metres per second he's
slower than the other house robots, but one look
at him and you'll quickly get the message - mess
with Sir Killalot at your peril! As well as his
devastating appearance, Sir Killalot is armed
with a highly efficient rotating drill and a
fearsome hydraulic cutting claw, adapted from the
'jaws of life' which rescue services normally use
to save trapped victims from car wreckage. Sir
Killalot uses them to create wreckage! The
hydraulics were adapted and refined to give a
much faster cutting speed. The claw is quite
capable of lifting over 100 kg of weight, slicing
through armour plating and cutting the axles of
opposing robots in two. Considering the
complexity of Killalot's design and the
formidable nature of his weaponry, he was built
over a relatively short period of time - intial
build was less than three months. The most recent
of the house robots (apart from REFBOT), Sir
Killalot was introduced to the show in 1999. He's
the largest and by far the most impressive house
robot in action today - although his vast size
and slow turn of speed are often considered his
greatest weaknesses. But is he invulnerable?
Would YOU want to take him on?
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GROWLER
Weight - 375kg Length - 152cm Width - 130cm
Height - 76cm Speed - 17mph
Growler is the robot pit bull with attitude that
joined the ranks of the House Robots at the same
time as Mr. Psycho. The jaws of Growler are not
the place to be stuck in the arena as there is 9
tons of force snapping them shut on its victims!
The shell and chassis of Growler is
predominately steel with industrial digger gauge
used in the jaw. Growler has something of a
reputation for being the fastest ever House Robot
and that speed is due to 2 48volt 5kw motors
running a 4 wheel drive motive system. 300 amp
speed controllers and 6 batteries ensure that
Growler never runs out of steam!
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MR. PSYCHO
Weight - 750kg Length - 163cm Width -
145cm Height - 150cm Speed - 8mph
Mr. Psycho made its dramatic debut at the Sixth
Wars and as may be noticed by glancing at the
above dimensions and weight it is the biggest and
most powerful House Robot ever built. Mr.
Psycho's giant claws are powered by two 9 tons
hydraulic rams running at 3000 psi. They can in
theory grab and lift the equivalent of two Sir
Killalots! The Hammer head alone weighs in at
20kg and is given a kick by a hydraulic
accumulator and is powered by a 9 ton shoulder
and elbow ram generating awesome force. The
tracks are the same type used successfully on Sir
Killalot and are powered by two Briggs and
Stratton 5hp electric motors run at 48 Volts,
which are controlled by two 300-amp speed
controllers. The chassis is constructed from
thick walled steel box section and the head is
fabricated in fiberglass.
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CASSIUS
Weight - 250kg Length - 130cm Width - 100cm
Height -85cm Speed - 20mph
Cassius Chrome, the final House Robot. Powered
by 2 x24v Magnetic Motors this robot has a fierce
look that is backed up with a fierce punch. With
interchangeable fists, it can be designed to
batter, pummel or pierce. Each piercer weighs in
at 15Kg.
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HAMMERHEAD
Weapon - Co2 flipper Motors - 2x Bosch 750
watt Armour - polycarbonate
Weight - 100kg Length - 130cm Width - 140cm
Height -30cm
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THE END!
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Presenting the Web Lecture

• Dos and Donts

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A Bad Example

• Replay the Robot Wars web lecture
• Make a list of its mistakes
• Before continuing, review your list
• Why are the mistakes wrong?
• Think of rules to avoid them

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Make Your Slides Legible

• Contrast with background (brightness)
• Black on white not white on black
• Use a familiar, standard font
• Big enough font size (30 pixels)
• Proper capitalization

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More Considerations for Good Slides

• Working memory capacity (7 2 chunks)
• Consistent layout style
• Avoid clutter (busy backgrounds)
• Meaningful text pictures
• Functional sound animation (if any)
• Progressive building for complex schemes

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Content Structure

• Determine your objectives
• Use examples rhetorical questions
• Introduction what will you tell?
• Body tell it!
• Conclusion what did you tell?

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Body Language

• Speak with enthusiasm conviction
• Hand gestures and facial expressions
• Make eye contact
• Dont read from notes
• Practice makes perfect builds confidence

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Recording the Web Lecture

• Prepare yourself relax
• Have an assistant or audience
• Neutral background
• Check visibility audibility
• Capture the hand gestures
• Dont show the remote

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Conclusion

• Avoid common mistakes
• Use common sense
• Put thought into making slides
• Practice your presentation
• Properly set up your recording environment