I have heard all pros and cons on battery stats from both sides, and I have a proposition which i think might the most elegant solution to the dilemma.

First: No robot will ever work without batteries. So not including them in your specs means your robot does not work. Not even with petrol engines.

second: Vapourbot roboteers still underestimate the importance of batteries. You cant shove 4 mags in a robot, claim 36V on them, and not have any less than 15kg worth of batteries in there. Even with A123s which does help a lot it still is a large chunk of your robots weight.

Third: The argument against battery stats is that people, and beginners especially, find it too difficult. Which is true in a sense, and you would not be the first real robot builder that miscalulates on it either.

Fourth: Writers do not check the stats on batteries every time a vapourbot is entered, so there is no incentive for vapourbot builders to include them.

Therefore my proposal is this:

Agree on a standard batterypack. Make it a default size and weight, and give that a standard voltage and maximum current draw.

Agree that for every type of used motor, you need a set amount of packs, and therefore the volume and weight that go along with it.

That way all of us will know when you see in the stats, 2 Magmotors 28-400 on 36V, you will need to see 2 time X amount of packs. Any less, and you will know the robot will not last the distance should the robot need to go the full 5 minutes.

All writers need to take these stats into account, and if one roboteer tries to enter without battery stats, disqualify them.

The way I see it, it is the most fair way to have a competition where there are a lot of variables to take into account. But it also means that there would be a more sensible amount of power claimed by certain roboteers. You want 2 48V ETEK motors? Fine, you pay the penalty by having a load of extra battery packs on top of the 22kg of the motors themselves.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.