The occasional exception to this is a gas-based flamethrower, which is permitted in BattleBots, but you’ll never be allowed to pour water on opponents, set off explosives, or jam their control signals.Greetings Bot Builders. No electrical, chemical, or other non-mechanical types of weapons are allowed.

Weaponry Constraintsįinally, most combat robotics competitions have an exhaustive list of banned weapons. So, combat robotics competitions enforce weight limits - in BattleBots, the weight limit is 250lbs. And there is almost always a strategic benefit to adding weight to the armor, weapon, or other systems of a robot. Just as a lightweight boxer would have little hope withstanding punches from heavyweight, a lighter robot will struggle against a much larger one.

No matter your skill as a driver, size matters. Weight LimitsĪnother important aspect of combat robotics tournaments is robot weight. If aggression is staying on top of your opponent and affording them no respite from your armaments, control is attacking the opponent’s weak spot while avoiding their main weapon. Where aggression is sheer ferocity, control is finesse. Torching them with your flamethrower and setting them on fire? Super fun, and also, damage! You get the idea.Īggression and control are a little more difficult to parse, and scoring well in these categories requires a responsive, quick robot and a well-practiced driver. Leave a large gash in the side of your opponent’s robot? More damage. Your robot hits the opponent so hard that a wheel flies off? That’s damage. A panel of three judges will allot points in the following manner: up to 5 points for damage, 3 points for aggression, and 3 points for control.ĭamage is fairly intuitive. In BattleBots, each match can last up to three minutes before going to a judge’s decision. Just like in other combat sports, such as boxing or MMA, a match may go the distance without either competitor achieving a knockout, which is when the judges step in. That means it must be able to intentionally move towards its opponent - spinning around in circles with one wheel doesn’t cut it. However, a robot can be missing a wheel, be on fire, or suffer other extreme damage and still be considered “in the fight.” A BattleBot is only truly knocked-out if it can’t demonstrate controlled movement.

The more straightforward, and arguably more exciting path to victory is a TKO. Definition of a TKO - Uppercut vs Knockout

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