The future of roboting

As a relative new comer...we're in our 3rd year and someone who doesn€™t post too many times (I leave that to Will !) I have to make some comments.

1. This thread was to try and create some ideas to support or promote our 'sport'....I applaud Craigs initiative. Thanks to the honest and open comments from the EOs they have some concerns of which we as a community should try and help with ...we owe them that much at least.

2. For 2 years I said we will never have a heavy.....but I gave in. Audiences pay to come and see 'Robot wars', we have to give them what they pay for...without that and good value for money they wont come...so lets not debate on this thread the pros and cons of introducing a new weight class when there is an underlying message from our EOs that to survive we have to find better ways of getting the crowds back in. We've built 6 or 7 feathers now....and that€™s a really great way into the support to generate new blood and continue the sport but when heavies are on the bill...thats all they want to see.

I am pleased we have resurrected St Agro and like Craig we try and make our machines to stand out so that there is something different.....there's still so much you can do to differentiate and give the crowd something to cheer for...but at the end of the day they want big, loud crashes and bangs.

3. Whilst we've been around for 3 years, there has still never been anykind of formal meeting (forget the formal FRA meetings) that happened during events to solicit and feedback and tell the story/status as is (pre show briefings are sometime a luxury !) This is probably because we are all up to our eyes in getting things ready to put on a good show. What€™s good about our community is there are so many people from different backgrounds etc I am sure we could all pitch in with a few ideas...but I am conscious that you have to earn the right to comment let alone criticise the EO's, who for some is their income. So maybe at the next event (RIAT for us and I for one am looking forward to a more relaxing event because events for me are SO STRESSFUL - too many robots me thinks !) Maybe it will be a chance to sit down and see what we can do.

4. There has been some debate about the forum. Some will hate me for saying this but I think there are maybe too many distractions/threads that dont help our cause....for me everytime I check the view active topics there are too many Fan Fic Quizzies post and I am not sure this is serving any purpose for EO's, active real life community etc ( :uhoh: sorry guys) but I recongnise very few as part of the Uk circuit, for me this doesnt add value to the forum. Of course we need a social side but without events we dont have a sport..... Also we seem to easily get off track and introduce new discussions - somewhat lack of discipline...so back to the original thread !!!

5. For events i think we should think more about staged fights...little bit of running around the arena ! etc. ... a bit like the fixed wrestling matches we use to see in the '70s for those old enough to remember. It should be like a boxing match....'introducing all the way from Newcastle, weighing in at 100kgs...etc' set the scene, create the drama (of course you cant do that with 20 feathers every show !)Havent seen too much play acting of recent - but seen plenty of wanting to win ! If I look at my kids 17 + 12 now, there's probably a new generation that didnt see robot wars...they are probably brought along by their dads who did see it...so maybe we could do more to address the new generation who have never seen it. Ideas to consider but without bums on seat not much use.

6. Buzz word at the moment is use of social media (well in my industry it is - I sell ATMs / cashpoints)...viral campains - effectively mass marketing via web,email, twitter, facebook and all the other forms ...all at no cost - Should we be doing more than just use of this forum and the odd post-event videos on You-tube ? No expert but when I see IBM and Deloitte using the like of Youtube you have to ask yourself why - with their mulit million $ marketing budgets do they use this fom. So maybe some mileage there ?

So glad got that off my chest. Longest post I have ever made....It's a great sport we have here, but to continue it sounds like it needs some help (and I mean more than just helping setup and take down the arena - which I am ashamed to say I've done little to assist !)
Have to say that Robots for Will has opened up several doors already and he hasnt left school yet..so lets keep this alive for everyones sake.

Cheers, Ian

woooo steady on.

Im not having a go, and theres no need to start being sarcarstic.

I was merely saying, and ive just reread my post that....

Ok so you went to an event and had to carry it side ways and it scratched your car, it was annoying, and you dont like flippers as they make you yawn, and theres too many, and you dont like the idea of being thrown out of the arena after 20 seconds........ ok, your opinion.... im interested in all of that...but all im saying is..... most events have big doors, and ok we've all scratched our cars becuase of our robots, but carpet rubber and some planning, and they dont have to, and we now have cages to stop 20 second fights... we've moved on from maybe the last time you went to a HW event. Thats all.

From an Eo point of view, ok so people will build a middle weight, they will use wheel chair motors, maybe not even put a weapon on it. It will trundle around the arena. Now as an EO putting on a show would i want this, and do i see this as the future. answer is no. What would your answer be? IM just trying to understand peoples views.
This is about the future and where people see it. We wont all agree.

Im not shooting people down, im not having a go at anyone, all im doing is putting my point accross, the same as you have done.

This is what this forum needs some good debates, people to actually have a say in what they think, or how do i, or robots live or any EO know where to go with our hobby !!

Too many people are sititng probably reading this, but wont get involved....thats their choice, but then these same people may have something to say if they dont like when things are changed.

I fail to see why people dont get involved and take an interest.

I as an EO, was offered a job, a golden opportunity just a few weeks ago, and it would have meant giving robots up. For my sins, and in the current climate i will maybe live to regret it however here i am still posting on here at 11pm at night, and not preparing for a new chapter in my life starting in September. I turned it down.
It was a live changing decision of which is the hardest ive ever made, and up until 5 minutes before the phonecall I was still debating with my heart and head as to what to do.

The reason I am so active in this thread is because this is do or die time for RR, Ive said before, and I'll say it again, in the current climate so many buisiness's are failing, and some of my friends in the entertainment world have gone already. I am lucky I have a network of support that I am still alive, but only just.

So yes things are going to have to change, and believe me there will be changes coming, but what im trying to do is find out what people think, where people see things going, and how we can work together to keep what we love alive !!

John

HAHAHA! Thanks Ian, you just reminded me of going to the Octagon in Bolton and watching 'The American Dream Machine' take on 'the softies' tag team and spin both of them round the arena with their arms and legs and then putting them both head first in a dust bin.

I suppose the fact I can remember that after 30 years is exactly your point.

That said I've given up any sort of arranged fight with you cos your boy doesn't play fair :rofl: :rofl:

Andy

dont ever arrange a staged fight with meggamouse......

He can be in the pit and still get the audience vote !! GRRRRRRR

The conversation at Guildford went:

It's Colins first one on one fight, he hasn't got used to the controls yet so can you at least give him a fight?

Response:

Not a problem

Result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY7vrIy9 ... annel_page

4 seconds!!!! :rofl:

Andy

jonno you made the right choice bud.....robots rule ! lol

ive just emailed channel5customerservices@five.tv
and asked them if they will be recording a new series of robot wars soon,
i have also sent the link to everyone in my email address book and asked
them to do the same and pass it on to their friends to, i am also on facebook
and will do the same thing there. i dont know if it is worth trying the bbc,
i cant find an e mail link for them.
maybe we can start robot wars sms jokes on mobiles ! that might be a silly idea
I will go to sleep tonight dreaming of robots as usual, and think how we can
let the uk know robot wars is still very much alive.

I go out for the evening and all hell breaks loose!! :uhoh:

Jonno has again made some interesting points in his posts; the one that caught my attention is about interesting fights and interesting robots. All EO€™s trust us to bring along robots that are safe, reliable and entertaining for the public to watch.

I also absolutely agree with the comment made by Craig

€œIf u build a rambot with 2 5mph wheelchair motors then its going to be dull, build a rambot with 8 wheels and 8 motors and its going to be as dull its down to the fight,€
The actual fight may be boring.
So what I would say, (if you possibly can) try to make your robot regardless of size as interesting as possible, for the public to watch fight? If it is a rambot put some lights on it, funny ears, fur, anything to make it interesting. We have to balance the competition side with the entertainment of the paying public.
Again all EO€™s trust us to bring along robots that are safe, reliable and entertaining for the public to watch.

Please don€™t take offence at remarks made on this forum, passion for this sport has always been strong, and inventors as a rule never take criticism well. Also if anyone has concerns about posting their points of view I do understand how hard it is, but be brave and help secure the future of the robot scene in this country.

Thanks for everyone€™s comments on this thread I for one appreciate all your input. :D :D

Craig

jonno, i agree with everything you said! dont know how you have put up with everything over the years and i think you should have taken the job! but as u havent i hope the next few events are big and we carry on for a few more years atleast

i dont think people understand that without you we would have packed this in 5 years ago!

stick to heavys, middles r shocking for every reason whats been said in this thread! wheel chair motors? you just wouldnt, thats going back to like series 2 in robot wars, and back in the day when beast thrashed t bone - people will just start moaning again saying the same things about middles n then want to get on to lightweight or whatever it is!

where is andy kane, shame he doesnt get involved anymore but i dont blame him!

Jonno, I think, overall, most of us will be happy to support whatever changes you want to make as long as we have somewhere to fight. I think that would sum up most of our views on this topic.

I don't think we should be critising anyone just for using wheelchair motors though. I'm using them cos theyre pretty much my only option. I'm building my robot my way, I aint arsed about winning fights or anything, I just always wanted to build a heavy and this is the way I can. Everyone else should be able to build it their way, whether they wanna build an ant, feather, middle, heavy, walker, whatever.

An interesting discussion and now that I have some time off from rebuilding a US summer camp I think its time to waid in.

When I first got into roboteering back the robot wars era we went for the middleweights because it was a legitimate weight class with a decent number of competitors and was so for a few years. A great place to gain some experience before we built a heavyweight. Nowadays I don't see much point in directing a new person down the route of a middleweight.

We have two major weight classes both with pretty well established sets of technology and a relative sum of investment depending on how crazy you want to make your machine. Featherweights are a great gateway into the sport and heavyweights are a defined step up. Some people prefer to stay in one limit or another, everyone has their own reasons.

Personally I love the full combat featherweights but I realise the whole event has to be smaller with a smaller arena and smaller crowd because of the size of the machines. Thats a cold hard fact.

I will be returning to heavyweights once I have completed my degree and have a stable cash flow because I love building a large machine and I have several heavyweight suitable components sitting there that are doing nothing.

With regards to the future, I think that a new direction of offering people robotic combat or robotic entertainment instead of robot wars. Robot wars started the ball rolling and now its up to all of us to keep pushing it. Under the topic of robotic combat we could start going down alternate routes, the boxing robots are a great example of this. If we want to offer robotic entertainment then this opens up hundreds of routes of machines. Robogames in the US is the best example I can think of an event that covers near enough every robotic discipline.

Obviously doing this every event won't work but the UK champs could perhaps include other forms of robotics to bring more people along to the event. Then who knows, before long they may be throwing a combat robot in the arena ;)