15th-17th June 2007 Robolympics 2007

[geoff]

Ladies & gentlemen,
I know its a long way off but I thought it was worth putting this up now.
Robolympics 2007 will be held on 15th - 17th June and with over a years notice, I think its about time we made a concerted effort to fly the flag of UK roboteering in the good ol US of A.
We have agreed with David Calkins that entry fees will be waived and providing that your machine if fully compliant with the current FRA build rules it will be allowed to compete without any modifications.
Im willing to act as liaison for any UK or European teams that may wish to go, if I can get an idea of numbers Ill make enquires to see if we can get some sort of deal for flights, air freight, accommodation, etc.
So come on, start saving up and lets send a UK/European contingent to show our former colonial cousins just how robot combat should be done!!
Any interested teams can contact me at teamscorpion@aol.com

Geoff Smith
Chairman,
Fighting Robot Association.

Like i said in the other thread about this years games, this is a fantastic competition!

Going up against the likes of SJ, sewer snake and megabyte was definately an experience I will never forget.

[dcalkins]

We can get very good discounts on hotels near the venue - we do that every year.

Really hope to see you guys this year and next. And dont limit yourslef to combat! Weve got robo-soccer, hockey, sumo, and much more! Bring lots of bots to teh states, and lots of medals back home.. .

If they are the same medals that we won they are very cool! Scrolling text across them on a wee display!

[john_frizell]

This sounds like a VERY good idea to me. And as indicated above, the Americans have a lot of weight classes for combat robots. The ones that are most popular there are not the same as ours; here is a table of the entries in the 2006 Robolympics as of a few days ago.

Wt Class Entries

150 g 6
1 lb 29
1 lb autonomous 4
3 lbs 9
12 lb 17
30 lbs 16
60 lbs 20
120 lbs 24
220 lbs 12
340 lbs 4

And from what Ive read they are very powerful machines. Have a look at http://www.botmag.comwww.botmag.com. Here is an extract from one of their articles:

Advances in battery, motor, armor, and electronics technology have permitted quantum leaps in the power that is packed into the latest generation of combat robots. Driven by the pressure of a National competition schedule that includes about 50 events a year all around the country, top competitors are forced to evolve and improve their machines every few months.

Kevin Berry, who fights in the smaller insect weight classes, reminisces; My first 3-pound beetle bot back in 2003 was built under a cake pan and it held up pretty well. Now I use custom formed titanium over a Kevlar honeycomb and we still get beaten up pretty badly in competitions.
--o0o--

We are going to face some rough competion.

[dcalkins]

Well, The Aussies are coming. Weve already got 4 Aussie teams registered in the 30 pound (13.6 kg) category. Korea will be sending several 60 pound (27.2 kg) bots. We had four Brazilian teams last year - and they won gold in 3 pound, and bronze in 120 pound combta and android soccer:
http://robogames.net/2006.phphttp://robogames.net/2006.php

There will be several robot soccer teams from England and Scottland coming as well as some hexapods, ants, and BEAM bots..

So how about it guys? 11 months to plan and build, but register soon. Im capping all events at 32 robots. Weve already got 54 as of this writing, so I expect 1, 12, 30, 60, and 120s to actually fill up this year.

http://www.buildersdb.com/eventdetail.asp?eventID=196http://www.buildersdb.com/eventdetail.asp?eventID=196

[jamesb]

looks very interesting.
who else is planning to go so far. I know those above who have said so are planning to go, but any british teams signed up we dont know about?

TV?
if so
prize/apearance money?

sorry if that question is answered on your site, couldnt find it.
cheers

TV is always there.

No prize or appearance money - we just cant afford it.

this is tricky,
i REALLY want to be there, but cant commit until september, maybe even december due to the little on arriving (see profile pic for cute picture of her)
ill have to take my chances on there being places left if i am able to make it.

another option of course, if anyone else is going and assuming i cant, maybe they could run one of my machines there for me?

Wed be thrilled to have you or your bot. Weve had several other teams running bots for people that couldnt make it, so thats no problem.

The event is 11 months away. If airfare is Eu1200 (max), and hotel etc is another Eu300, its really only about EU200 per month if a person starts saving now. Its definatley do-able.

You can also try for SMALL sponsors. Many teams find success getting Eu100 or Eu250 sponsorships. A few of them and youre done. NOt very glamourous, but it pays the bills.

Point out the press page:
http://robogames.net/news.phphttp://robogames.net/news.php
Sponsors love press, but they often do it for a good feeling... (no really.)

I hope that you guys will start trying now to find a way to come. Ill waive the fees for the first 3 German teams that register - its a small bit I know, but it helps.

I would really like this to be a truly International competition. We will have Brit teams for soccer - but combat is the king. So please try to come.

Thanks for everything!