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The BBC Announces Robot Wars' Return To TV (bbc.co.uk)

Posted by Soulskill on from the watching-machines-fight-for-our-entertainment dept.

Blacklaw writes: The BBC has announced that Robot Wars, the classic metal-mashing amateur robotics competition, is returning for a new series. They are building an all-new battle arena — following the sale of the original for scrap in 2005. "The new series includes a raft of technological advances since the show first aired over a decade ago, and viewers can expect to see more innovative fighting machines as teams of amateur roboteers battle it out to win the coveted Robot Wars title."

7 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Didn't it sort of get bogged down? by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Didn't it get tedious towards the end with all the robots being a sort of wedge with a flipper?

    What I'd like to see is more autonomous bots, rather than what are effectively RC tanks.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:Didn't it sort of get bogged down? by Macdude · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The floor should at least be contoured, with hills and valleys. That brings up one of the problems with this type of competition, as long as the arena is fixed, the arena will determine what kind of specific robot is the best.

      I'd like to see various arenas and each bot has to battle in each arena, say each level of a elimination competition is in a different arena and the specific arenas vary by episode.

      Some examples:
      1. Flat metal floor
      1a. Flat metal floor with fixed obstacles.
      1a. Flat metal floor with moving obstacles.
      2. Undulating metal floor.
      2a. Undulating metal floor with fixed obstacles.
      2b. Undulating metal floor with moving obstacles.
      3. Packed earthen floor.
      3a. Packed earthen floor with fixed obstacles.
      3b. Packed earthen floor with moving obstacles.
      4. Undulating metal and packed earth floor combination with fixed obstacles.
      4a. Undulating metal and packed earth floor combination with fixed obstacles.
      4b. Undulating metal and packed earth floor combination with moving obstacles.

      --
      "Grab them by the pussy" -- President of the United States of America
    2. Re:Didn't it sort of get bogged down? by IWantMoreSpamPlease · · Score: 4, Interesting

      There was a series long time ago called "Robotica" that had for their host one of the Zappa offspring.
      They had just that, all kinds of obstacles, so really low to the ground bots often were hung up. It forced designers to really think about what they were doing.
      Best show of the bunch IMO.

      --
      So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
  2. Re:Battlebots rip-off by Richard_at_work · · Score: 5, Informative

    Uh, Robot Wars first aired in the UK in 1998, two years before Battlebots first aired in the US.

    Robot Wars also has the non-broadcast event history behind it dating back to 1994.

  3. Re:Not my kind of robot war by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 3, Informative

    Pink hair is the best!

  4. Quadcopters by rlp · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'd like to see them include quadcopter vs quadcopter battles.

    --
    [Insert pithy quote here]
  5. Re:Battlebots rip-off by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Funny

    Nah the Brits love to rip off 'merica.
    Cricket is a cheap ripoff of Baseball.
    Dr. Who is a cheap ripoff of Star Trek
    They even double down by making a Red Dwarf a cheap ripoff of Voyager.
    The Office is a cheap ripoff of The Office
    And British football vs Football.

    Facts just get in the way of a closed world view.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.