Fighting robots have made their long awaited return to national television with a new season of Battlebots.

After 13 years, Battlebots, made a triumphant return to prime time television. This season had twenty-four 220 pound combat robots in a tournament to the death. Some new and familiar faces can be seen as ABC gives you an inside look to this ultimate tournament of man and machine. Learn more here:

http://battlebots.com/

Battlebots was created by Greg Munson and Trey Roski 1999. Their event drew competitors from all across the globe. Many of the east coast builders that had gone out west had returned inspired, creating more local events and affordable means as a way for everyone to enjoy this new sport. The Northeast Robotics Club ( NERC ) was one of these original groups and after 15 years of consistent competitions, continues to make robotics accessible to all interests. With the return of Battlebots, we hope this will once again bring combat robotics back the national stage.

If you are interested in building and competing with your own combat robot, you have come to the right place. The Northeast Robotics Club is a non-profit organization that promotes fun and education through the hobby of combat robotics.

 

What is combat robotics?

You may have seen robot fighting before on the past TV shows "Battlebots" and "Robot Wars". The competitions continue through NERC and other organizations throughout the world. Robot builders design and build their own remote control machines to enter in double elimination tournaments. Two bots enter the fully enclosed arena for a 3 minute battle and attempt to incapacitate their competition with saws, hammers, lifters and anything else their builders can devise.


Who builds combat robots?

What you may not realize is that every day people of all ages and backgrounds can and do build these machines in their garages and basements. There are many different weight class options which can accommodate a wide range of skills and budgets. Robot builders range from 8 (with supervision) to 80 years old and can start with years of experience in related areas or none at all. Individuals can go it alone or team up with friends or family members.

 

What can you learn from this hobby?

As much as you want!

In a matter of weeks, you can learn enough of the basics to build your own bot. As you learn and increase your capabilities you can delve into limitless fields including math, physics, electronics, engineering, machining, and computer aided design.

 

How do I get started?

There are many resources to help you.

Review the
http://www.nerc.us/rules.html

Start with the tutorials and explanations on these sites:

Once you work through those, you can check out what other builders have done.

The best resource is other builders.
Most communication between our builders happens in a very active online community.

 

Other resources include:

Other tools to help you.
Finally some websites that builders have found useful when designing their bots.