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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_iscru1h wrote

There are different weight classes, but the "pinnacle" of the sport revolves around 250 lb robots. (/r/battlebots is an example of this, and UK competitions and Chinese competitions are about 242 lbs for a heavyweight). The heavyweights are really the only ones that make TV, though smaller weight classes may have Youtube streams, etc.

Lower weight classes and competitions for them are more widespread and far more accessible (one heavyweight team will have to spend anywhere between $5,000 and $80,000 to run a team for one season).

You can probably find a local competition where the robots are 1 or 3 lbs.

Anyway, the fact that one robot is strong enough to launch another over 15 feet into the air (and the one on the receiving end can generally withstand falling from 15 feet multiple times per match) shows how crazy the engineering is on these things. You have some of the world's best engineering geniuses in this sport.

EDIT: There are a LOT of comments arguing about this being fake and Big Dill not weighing anywhere near 250 lbs. I posted a thread on /r/battlebots about this to get a sense of the builders' take on the weight issue and how close everyone is to the 250 lb weight limit. Pretty much every verified builder says they are at or just a tad below that limit. You can read that thread here.

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theoriginalnab t1_iscw7g9 wrote

I love how he's not even mad, just thrilled it made it.

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jayhawk618 t1_iscwfma wrote

I haven't watched much of the reboot, but back in the day (the 2000 version) the middle weights were always my favorites. It just felt like they had to be more selective with which weapons and defensive strategies to include in their bot. The lightweights were also kind of fun to watch because it was basically top fighting since everyone used a spinning bot.

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_iscz4ie wrote

You should watch the new episodes. Nowadays, everyone who's competitive is using a spinning bot again.

There's a lot of kinetic carnage, but the bots are way bigger than those lightweights from Comedy Central!

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G45X t1_isdapoc wrote

The bot can flip a person like that... crazy.

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_isdez6b wrote

Robot reliability and weapon power have both gotten exponentially better.

Here's Valkyrie vs. Rotator, one of my favourite fights of the reboot era. As much as I like creative weapons and brute force, seeing 2 robots slug it out with weapons firing on all cylinders for such a long time is admittedly one of the most exciting things you can watch.

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_isdfkkt wrote

You would not want to get launched by one of these robots!

The amount of force behind the flipping arm is so immense that if you were standing on it, your leg bones would probably shoot into where your lungs are. Remember, they are launching 250 lb robots made of similar steel that are used in tanks, not squishy fat and muscle that humans are made of.

A lot of people think it would be fun to be thrown by one of these (there are pneumatic people launchers at swimming pools, but they're rated for much lower PSI), but they should do a Mythbusters sort of thing to really reinforce how dangerous these things really are.

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sharkweeek t1_isdhiyx wrote

The average weight for this event is no more than 250 lbs. Bots typically weigh in at exactly 350. If there are multiple bots the total weight if all bots can not exceed 250 lbs. (I helped a few teams last year).

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_isdibqy wrote

Not the full story. It gets better.

After having their weapon deemed "too unsafe to compete" as it was flinging metal shrapnel into the crowd every match, they were given co-champion status with a promise not to compete again that year.

They turn up with the same robot next year, start flinging bot parts into the audience again and badly damaging the arena walls, and are asked to stop competing again for co-champion status.

Funnily enough, when Battlebots was on TV, it entered but as robot design evolved and opponents (and the walls) were able to take the hits, the design had aged out, and it didn't win a single one of its 4 next matches before retiring.

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Listen_to_Psybient t1_isdn50e wrote

There is no way that thing is 250 pounds. It's the size of a 45 pound weight plate. What's it made of?

−9

5kyl3r t1_isdob4l wrote

give some of these boiz to the ukrainian army and launch some russki nazis

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Time_Punk t1_isdq2q8 wrote

For an instant loss, unfortunately. (IINM?)

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_isdq7tp wrote

(Copying this comment from another thread and expanding it for more detail as others here are doubting it)

These are /r/battlebots. Nearly every robot of its class is 250 lbs.

There are lower weight classes but the show is focused on the heavyweights (250 lb limit).

You underestimate how powerful the weapons are and how thick the armour is. These are not RC cars. As much as it's getting tossed in the air and how Blip (the blue robot) makes it look easy, a lot of engineering went into it to come up with a weapon that powerful.

The size of the arena and camera positioning make these not look as big as they are. If you look behind the protective glass, there's a cameraman there. You can get an idea of the size. And couple that with the fact that these are usually armoured in AR500 steel, have weapons themselves that can weigh up to 80 lbs, and house a ton of motors, batteries, electronics, etc.

These are 250 lbs. Most actually struggle to fit within that weight limit with all the armour, weapon systems, etc.

The heaviest robot to compete on Battlebots was Chomp. Because it used legs instead of wheels, it was given double the weight limit to play with, and it weighed 500 lbs.

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teamtestbot t1_isdqc49 wrote

updooted for r/battlebots leaking onto main

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Roamer101 t1_isdql9v wrote

Yes, it does. If you've ever seen the intro to a match on BattleBots, you can see how large these bots actually are at the pinnacle of competition. Last I checked the size limit was something like "it needs to fit with an 8 by 8 foot square" which is very large. Most bots seem to be between 1-2 feet tall and 2-3 feet square. Also, most of them pack extremely thick steel armor. Many carry drum or spinning blade weapons that weigh in at over 50 pounds.

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707Guy t1_isdqm0o wrote

In the description to the video you linked, they say that 250 lbs is the absolute maximum weight allowed and the people in the video seem shocked to see something weigh that much.

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_isdqvzk wrote

Battlebots builders are some of the most wholesome people out there. They're all friends with the simple goal to push engineering as far as it will go, all while putting on the biggest, most entertaining show out there.

Some teams have been known to allow other teams completely obliterate their robots, even if they've stopped moving, just for the spectacle of it. Emmanuel (the builder of Big Dill) probably is just excited to see his robot do something amazing that'll be seen by thousands of people, regardless of whether his robot is dead or functional.

And going back to the wholesome thing… once the dust is settled and the robots (or what's left of them) are back in the pits, you'll always see everyone helping each other out. Everyone wants to see 100% functional bots fighting each other and putting on the best shows possible. It drives the TV ratings and helps kids get into science.

If I had more of this growing up instead of being forced to just repeat math questions, maybe I would have ended up in engineering instead. Destruction is fascinating.

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_isdrj3m wrote

No, they are surprised it fit within the weight limit and got it that close.

Most teams have to cut weight to fit within the rules, sometimes drilling holes into their armour/weapons.

Think about it this way, if the weight limit is 250 lbs, you have that much to allot to armour and weapons (there is a lot more to it than that like drive power, but for the sake of simplicity, we'll just talk those 2 things).

Now imagine you had to fight a 250 lb robot. If you only built a bot that weighed 170lbs, you would be severely disadvantaged as you would have maybe 40 lbs less armour and 40 lbs lighter of a weapon in those 80 missing pounds. Again, a weapon bar itself is allowed to weigh 80 lbs. Without spoiling any fights, this exact situation happened this past season as one robot took so much damage in a previous fight, ran out of spares, and entered the arena over 80 lbs underweight, only to get completely dominated by its opponent.

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_isdsirt wrote

It's very easy to find yourself over the weight limit with all the stuff you need to fit in the robot and the weight of the materials you need to make it this battle-tough.

You can ask on /r/battlebots how many robots are skirting the fine line of the weight limit. Most of the builders on the show are actually on there and will happily answer any questions if you don't believe me. They're super approachable when it comes to this stuff.

Funny, /u/teamtestbot is a builder and he already found this thread and replied to one of the other comments in this chain.

Anything, thinking logically, these guys are some of the top minds in engineering. Why would you not attempt to get as close as possible to get the maximum destructive potential for your robot? If you're competing to win, why would you settle for less?

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Time_Punk t1_isdsqq6 wrote

I think if you can’t move you’re out. You’re right tho: it looks like it couldn’t move anyway. Not an expert tho just been to a local Smash Bots match once, maybe different rules.

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Johno69R t1_isdt4y1 wrote

What did Big Dil do?

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teamtestbot t1_isdtq9b wrote

Oh I don't think you have to do that, just have to apply an asston of force into something. Think of all the videos of Russian tanks throwing their multi-ton turrets 100 feet in the air from the exploding ammo. That's an asston of force.

That all being said though, there is a 30lb weight class

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InternetProtocol t1_isdv3l6 wrote

IIRC, the original walls were about half as high, then the blendo thing happened, so they doubled the height, then it happened again, so they doubled the height yet again and re-enforced them.

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_ise0m17 wrote

Yes, there are referees at ringside that will count down from 10 if you're not able to move. If you don't move, then the fight ends by knockout.

So it's not instant, since theoretically, Big Dill could have used its weapon to flip itself back over, but it looks as if the lifter had broken anyway; earlier in the fight, it was underneath Blip (the blue one) and was not able to fire the weapon.

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btjk t1_ise0rav wrote

Super Mario 64 vibes.

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abtei t1_ise22xb wrote

im sorry but that does not flip like 250lbs. physics do not look right if weight is correct.

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_ise2r63 wrote

Things scale you know? You just need enough force to be able to flip something 250 lbs and the builders behind the blue robot were able to do that.

In fact, they were debuting new technology to do that (it's confusing but you can read about it here ).

Pneumatic systems in robot combat have been doing this for decades. Here is another example from 2015. And here is another example from 20 years ago in the UK.

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JakobiGaming t1_ise3d0b wrote

Flipper bots are so lame, I watch battle bots to see robots explode, not just get turned upside down

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Bob_Chris t1_ise4j34 wrote

That robot is not moving like it has 250 lbs of mass.

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Jaedos t1_ise7s6q wrote

These things are wider than most end tables and night stands. The camera angle really messes with perspective. It's stupid how fast these things are, but that's electric motors for you.

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Derplord4000 t1_ise83tq wrote

And some people think the complete opposite, that destructive spinners are lame and that the rules should be tweaked to make them less powerful and allow bots like flippers and lifters to succeed more. Personally, I also love spinners, but hey, seeing a 250 lbs bot get launched 12 to 15 feet in the air is pretty darn impressive, so I don't mind flippers as long as they actually flip their opponents.

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steelcity91 t1_ise88gg wrote

I miss Robot Wars. "3..2...1... Activate!"

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Jaedos t1_ise8byp wrote

I want to see a bot that uses a magnet like a scrap yard crane. Just pick the opponent up, swing it around, and yeet it out of the arena.

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Molestador t1_ise8g2f wrote

should have gone with the laser-guided bee cannon

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Margravos t1_isec94t wrote

That's the opposite of sticking the landing.

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eggheadking t1_isee5t6 wrote

This reminds me of Big Hero 6 so much lmao

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The_Giant_Lizard t1_iseiu68 wrote

Loved this show. Too bad I don't see it anymore. Does it still exist?

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klingma t1_isejxc4 wrote

I don't know of any show that is this hyped and yet also disappointing when you watch it. Like you think it's going to be rough and tumble combat but instead it's just glorified RC vehicles running into each other.

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Juuna t1_iseqi7l wrote

I miss this kinda tv, do they even make any of these still?

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SheetedOn t1_isesqry wrote

All these years and the fuckin wedge is still the most OP.

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Aaron_Hungwell t1_isesruu wrote

It’s just “battle of the rolling wedges” now

−5

sybrwookie t1_isessfu wrote

Yea, these things are powerful enough that gyroscopic forces are actually a really big deal in designing and driving them. Because if you do it wrong, you lose control of the bot and get destroyed.

It's a ton of fun to see how different teams solve that issue and how some even lean into having those forces at work in how they drive.

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sybrwookie t1_iset7xm wrote

It does, but if the organizers don't have the ability to redo the walls on the fly while the event is going on, all they can do is say, "nope, you can't participate, we can't guarantee the safety of people with a bit that strong."

That's happened quite a few times over the years. Many times, they can work something out with the builders where they tell them they can compete, but only if they can throttle down the power 25% and show they've done so before the event starts in a way where they can't just turn it up again later.

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danielv123 t1_isetap0 wrote

They now also have double spaced half inch plexiglass on the walls. There was a case in one of the lower weight classes when a spinner was launched at the wall and broke through the inner layer.

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smallcoyfish t1_iseusd3 wrote

For the doubters...for whatever reason the new generation of flippers (Blip, Hydra) are deceptively tiny. But they are 250lbs, and they do flip heavy things effortlessly. Here's Hydra flipping a 450lb ATV.

I really wanted to find the clip of Bronco and Hydra competing to flip a refrigerator the highest but I couldn't. I think they both flipped a fridge 30ft?

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Bleedthebeat t1_isewpwh wrote

I did one of these in college. I believe we had a 20 lb limit. We had a front spinner that was 14 pounds and a tiny little bit made out of hdpe plastic. That thing was downright scary. It had so much rotational energy that spinning the weapon at max speed would lift it off the groun and onto its side. Was super fun and we destroyed many many other bots with it.

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Testicular_Genocide t1_isexzut wrote

All the seasons should be available through Discovery streaming (in America at least) and you may be able to access that for free depending on if you have a cable tv account to log into on the website. IIRC it's available on Amazon some places and maybe other streaming services as well, depends on where you're located really.

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Testicular_Genocide t1_iseyh2d wrote

They do! We're currently in the 5th or 6th season of the BattleBots reboot, the first was on ABC and the rest of the seasons have all been with Discovery. It's an absolute blast to watch and the bots are insanely impressive feats of engineering.

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DrSmirnoffe t1_iseysye wrote

This brings me back to the days of Robot Wars. Anyone remember Thermidor or Sir Killalot?

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Ticeben2 t1_isf08pq wrote

Is this old or is this still a thing that people do?

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TrippHazard t1_isf0dzf wrote

The most likely reason for a cameraman to react like that is because that kind of performative amazement is what mammalian brains like to see and feel. Think about how many completely unnecessary “omg”s and “Really? Are you serious? No way!” You hear daily.

You’re not wrong that realistically, if 250 is the weight cap, it shouldn’t be surprising that someone brought a bot that weights that much.

“Wow, this purpose-built machine meets the requirements to enter this competition? Are you being real with me right now or are you pulling my leg. I was not expecting this thing to weigh as much as it should to get in.”

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[deleted] t1_isf0xbb wrote

Dude… I figured no battlebot was more than 10-20 lbs. 250????

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LtlAnalDwlngButtMnky t1_isf5xze wrote

Loved watching this as a kid, but now that I'm older, I'm questioning how much robot they are, and how much more RC car they are...

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darkdragon213 t1_isf9wam wrote

This a quite recent one of season of Battlebots think called battlebots vengance

The scene itself is still very much alive but only Battlebots has a show still in the western tv Scene Through discovery. which should be filming now or soon for the next season

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shadowlarx t1_isfhcns wrote

Yeah, but that dismount was sloppy. He may have to settle for the bronze.

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wtfduud t1_isfi75v wrote

The drones the Ukrainians are using are way more powerful than these things.

Mainly because you're not allowed to equip hellfire missiles to a battlebot.

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Szalkow t1_isfmpg6 wrote

There is very little you can do to make a 250lb robot immune to millions of foot-pounds of kinetic energy.

You're also limited on design or materials if you're a small team with a $5,000 budget up against pro teams who spend six figures a year.

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Szalkow t1_isfnfoj wrote

Additionally, the upper deck shown here)added two seasons ago) has special rules. Even if you're in control, you have 20 seconds to leave the deck before getting rules out, and refs can also declare an immobile robot on the deck immediately knocked out without a countdown.

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bobtheblob6 t1_isfqn5w wrote

I'm imagining a combatant walking through a sandy area, when he spots something shiny buried in the sand at his feet. He bends down to take a closer look, and his face twists into an expression of horror as he realizes its an exposed corner of a robot chassis; but it was too late. The last things he felt were a bolt of fear shooting through him followed shortly by his knees.

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The_real_bandito t1_isft1qx wrote

Even they guy that lost is laughing about it. That was a crazy implementation for the gimmick.

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Testicular_Genocide t1_isfueda wrote

My pleasure, I hope you enjoy watching! The r/battlebots subreddit may have more to say about streaming outside the US or as another commenter mentioned, r/battlebotsraw has edited down cuts of the show with only the fights (I enjoy the fanfare of the show so I watch the full episodes but bbraw can be good if it's not available to stream where you are)

And I'm glad you like the username! I picked it when I was just an edgy teen and now I get a lot of funny responses to it these days

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TerraSollus t1_isfvf32 wrote

There’s no way in hell that tiny robot weighs 250 pounds

−8

klingma t1_isg2zeu wrote

Okay? Baseball is a boring sport to watch and is in a severe need of modernizing (they even admit it) and has had bad luck at connecting with younger fans. I wouldn't really bring them up for any type of comparison unless you're saying BattleBots is treating their audience like the MLB does then yeah, sure, I agree with ya.

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mangosawce9k t1_isg58zw wrote

Never let this show stop, new age awesomeness!

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Rabidpikachuuu t1_isg7f1e wrote

Am I the only one wondering how fun it would be to let that thing flip you?

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jon-in-tha-hood OP t1_isgamzr wrote

Yeah the force needed to launch a 250 hunk of steel 15 feet into the air is ridiculously high, so us humans, with bones made of calcium and not industrial-grade steel, would have our legs and spine launched upwards towards our brains.

tl;dr - no, you would die

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andrempv t1_isgapoc wrote

That’s over 100kg 🤯

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MrGr33n t1_isgbu8y wrote

"I'm kind of a big Dill" -Ben Kissel

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Bob_Chris t1_isgpkvf wrote

I don't mean that - when it's being flipped into the net and flipped end over end, it does not move like something that has 250lbs of mass in a somewhat small and low center of gravity package.

Look at the way it lands upside down and wobbles around - I moves like it weighs 25lbs not 250. Something with that much mass in that type of package doesn't land and flop around that way.

−3

Zathrus1 t1_ish2o8s wrote

There’s a bit of an issue with testing. You might get to drive around in your neighborhood, but you certainly can’t use the weapon. And even driving is dangerous.

Doing actual weapon testing needs a huge amount of space, or a serious test box (Team Whyachi has one, but it’s the only heavyweight box I’ve seen for builders).

The amount of energy involved with these bots is mind boggling. One team had a 1.5” solid titanium shaft bent last season.

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liger03 t1_ish4cnf wrote

It landed like that because the spikes embedded themselves in the steel floor. Another comment here has a link to the fight where they show a closer shot.

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Jaedos t1_ishd1vg wrote

I get what you mean. It should have bounced around or something. What you're not seeing is the wobble happened because it speared the steel floor and got stuck.

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DrSmirnoffe t1_ishi0h9 wrote

Looking back, his head design kinda reminds me of a Space Marine from 40K. Like he could fit in as a mini that you spend half your tuition fees on, because Warhammer tabletop can be pretty expensive.

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Ethel-The-Aardvark t1_isiy38p wrote

That was an amazing moment. I was actually in the front row of the audience for that fight, sitting almost directly behind where Apex's blade went through. The audience just went completely silent in shock when it happened, then started laughing nervously. Dara spent ages looking at the hole, he stuck his head through it and took photos of it on his phone.

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Gaseraki t1_isiy5pw wrote

They are and the sounds, smells and sparks these things make in person is insane.

When I was involved and competing in robotic combat I took my GF to a show. First fight she saw she was next to the box and she couldn't stop swearing for the entire fight.

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Ethel-The-Aardvark t1_isiyzmj wrote

UK Robot Wars heavyweights from the recent reboot were up to 110kg (the weight limits have increased over the years, I think the original limit in the early series was 80kg but I could be wrong). BattleBots is 250lb, and most of them are very close to or at the limit.

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momtodavid t1_isjjrc5 wrote

That was wicked awesome!!! 😀😃

1