Head-on collisions, smashed bodies, tangled wrecks, flying parts . . . while this might sound like your typical short course race this is actually the intended outcome of a good RC robot combat. In what can be described as a cross between RC club racing and the movie Highlander, ABC’s BattleBots brings heavy metal carnage to mainstream TV. You’ve seen it, for sure, but what’s really involved in waging war with RC. One of the veteran competitors, Al Kindle, is a member of the MaxAmps.com team and was kind enough to provide a behind the scenes look at one of the more obscure segments of RC and share what went into his bot—Blacksmith.

MaxAmps.com
ABC’s BattleBots is a household name, but people generally only know what they see on the show? What are some of things people don’t know about combat robotics competitions?
Al Kindle
The biggest thing would probably be that there are far more events that are not on TV. There are many different organizations in the country and across the world holding regular events in various weight classes. The Northeast Robotics Club (nerc.us), for example.

MA
What does the show get right and, in contrast, what is missed by TV viewer?
AK
Overall, I found the recent season to be excellent. The overall production quality was excellent in every way. What’s missed is a lot of the madness that happens in the pits trying to rebuild a bot in time for the next round. We spent several long days repairing after the Rumble and Bronco fights.

MA
From concept to completion, how long does it take to build a combat robot, and what parts are the most challenging?
AK
It really varies depending on the weight class and type of bot. Blacksmith was built from the end of January to mid April. For us, the most challenging part was the short build time. The bot was still being designed after we started building, as well, due to the time crunch. The concept began much earlier as we knew there would be an application process requiring detailed information about the bot.

MA
What is the typical team size and how did you pick your team? What is the most difficult about working as a team?
AK
On the club level, I usually build on my own. I knew there was no way I would be able to pull Blacksmith together on my own, however. I reached out to my long-time nemesis and friend Alan Young to be my main build partner. The entire team consisted of four people during the build and five at the event itself. The hardest part of working as a team is that while you want experienced people, everyone also has their own ideas about how to best design and build the bot. Luckily, we all get along very well and seldom ran into any problems.

MA
How hard is robot combat on the batteries?
AK
Robot combat is often incredibly hard on batteries. Though the matches are only three minutes long, 250 lb bots can draw a tremendous amount of current in that short time at a near constant rate. With all the systems operating at once, Blacksmith was pulling close to if not over 1,000 Amps. Our MaxAmps.com batteries never failed during the event. In fact, they supplied so much current that our hammer motor burst into flames–twice.

MA
How did you get started in this sort of competition?
AK
I saw a segment about Robot Wars in 1994 on a show called the Next Step. I competed at my first event the following year at Robot Wars 1995 in San Francisco. I helped found the Northeast Robotics Club in 2000 and have been competing ever since.

MA
Do you have any advice to someone who might want to get started in combat robots?
AK
Seek out a local club if possible. Builders are almost always willing to help new people in any way they can. A good starting point is the Build a bot section of the NERC Website (http://nerc.us/)

MA
How has the hobby changed since you’ve been involved?
AK
The technology of motors and batteries has evolved dramatically. This allows double or triple the power to be obtained in the same weight class. 3D printing has begun to work its way into bot designs, mostly in the smaller weight classes where entire frames have been printed.

MA
Do you partake in any other more traditional RC hobbies?
AK
I originally crossed over from RC car and truck racing. I continue to enjoy all forms of RC. cars, trucks, helis, etcetera.