Gidday from Down Under mate.

[leo-rcc]

Our robots have about as much in common with radio controlled cars as your refrigerator.

Haha......Really? That's not the impression I got from watching the telly programme.

That's because you are watching a television program. A lot of people who heard I was on the show thought the robots were like 10" long or so, they never realized there over a meter long and weigh up to 220 lbs/100kg.

We have pretty much every discipline of engineering in our robots. Pneumatics, hydraulics, electronics, structural engineering, CAD, material knowledge. There's a lot more to it.

[allan175]

I realise a lot of work goes into them, but it doesn't really matter what the size is, they are still controlled it with a radio control unit held by someone nearby.

[leo-rcc]

Sure, and robots at an assembly plant are controlled by the guy pushing the buttons, what difference does that make?

[allan175]

They are preprogrammed and following a specific sequence which they are repeating over & over (which is actually what your previous definition of a robot actually was).

Autonomy has absolutely nothing to do with the definition of robot. Robot means nothing more than worker (it even comes from the Czech word for hard work). A robot is a machine (or software) that is programmable to do a certain task, it has nothing to do with doing that tasks on its own.

So, your "robot war" robots don't actually fulfill your own definition of the word robot!

[leo-rcc]

There is programming in there. We time our pulses for weponary, we have sensors and endstops programmed. Our weapons follow a pre-programmed sequence, as do our motors for the wheels, ramping of the ESC's.

[puglover]

leo-rcc: which Australian division are you from?
I have looked up a few guides..
so I'll keep you updated with my progress..
including photos etc.
I feel like the ultimate geekazoid.
Also.. is programming differential drive difficult?
Where do I buy all my parts from?

allan175: I am shocked that a programmer such as yourself doesn't share our passion for robots.. I am curious as to how many robots you have seen... Because some are rather developed... and just the thought of how they might develop in the future makes them ever more interesting.. it is something like that of an artwork.. somebody has spent much time, money, effort, education on this project.. even if it is the most basic of robots... it is something that you can marvel at.. a celebration of the nurture that went into it!

leo-rcc: you would have seen more robots then I over time.. show me a good robot!

[leo-rcc]

I am not in Australia, but I do have contact with the aussie roboteers through their forum. I compete in the UK, Holland, Belgium, and Germany.

Most of us do not do differential drive but basically it is not that different from the tank style drive we use.

On the robowars forum you can find a lot of info on parts.

[puglover]

I am not in Australia, but I do have contact with the aussie roboteers through their forum. I compete in the UK, Holland, Belgium, and Germany.

Most of us do not do differential drive but basically it is not that different from the tank style drive we use.

On the robowars forum you can find a lot of info on parts.

Ahh.. yes I did the join the forum last night!
What is your username on the forum?
Funny that you mention that.
Wow you are amazing.
*scratches chin* I also bet you have a fair few dollars in the bank..
What did you study at university?
How much money do you spend on building your robots these days?
Do you have a photo gallery?
I demand for your brain and bank details! ROFL.

I feel so overwhelmed.. there is so much I want to do in this life.. how am i going to fit it all in?

[edit: Why did I say 'this life'??! 0.o' Do I think there is going to be another life or something? Is it because I am a woman (jokes) ? lol. See thats what I mean I don't think that there is another life.. yet, I continue to yearn for one perhaps out of fear.]

[leo-rcc]

It's not that Allen175 doesn't like robots, but he associates robots with androids and autonomy, which is understandable. Fact is, we used to have a autonomous robo-sumo league with a dozen robots that did look for opponents on their own and try to push that opponent out of the ring. In about 3 years that completely died out because it is just boring.

I've seen robots in all shapes and sizes, are you looking for something particular?

---

Our team has its own bank account where al team members deposit a steady amount every month as a budget.

Starting a robot from scratch is not cheap, but the smaller ones are less expensive than the heavyweights where the parts need to pull more current and take more forces.

[Tiberius]

So, your "robot war" robots don't actually fulfill your own definition of the word robot!

Just getting a robot to move forward in a perfect straight line needs a lot of programming...trust me At the end of the day, the only difference between a fully automated robot (of which you seem to like more) is that instead of the robot figuring out if it needs to go forward, and then working out how much to turn the motors, a human is giving the first instruction.

Perhaps is might be interesting to see how two robots fair when they have full autonomous control on them. I think the easiest way would be some kind of tracking beacon placed on either robot which broadcast a signal that both robots could receive, thus they would know the position of the robot, perhaps even the direction. If you were really clever, you could send a different signal when the robot executes an attack (such as a weapon swing), and program the other robot to react accordingly. The program aim would be to chase the other robot into a position where it cannot escape the weapon as easily as it could in an open playing field, whilst at the same time avoid the other robots advances.

Actually...that doesn't sound half bad. I might have to try it with some lego robotics