Robot Wars

How we built a battle bot

Tux

Heavily Inspired by BattleBot legend Bite Force

Specifications

● 70kg

● 2WD

● 70m/s Max weapon tip speed 

● Rolled steel body

● Aluminium weapon

Design and Building

● Vertical kinetic spinner

● Low center of gravity

● Hinged ramps as a defense

● Armour focused on sides and center

● All parts manufactured locally, 

aside from motors

● Programmed with an Arduino

● Controlled via 2.4GHz RF

● Digital and analogue killswitch

Constraints

● 3 months from concept to delivery

● 50kg limit (middleweight) 

● Later raised to 100kg (heavyweight)

●

R25 000

 budget

● Spectator safety

Budget Breakdown

● Motors: 

R10 000

● Armour and chassis: 

R6 000

● Electronics: 

R7 000

● Assorted fixtures: 

R2 000

Why Build a Battle Bot?

STEM Education in SA

The path forward

Role of STEM in Schools

● Greatest mental gym available

● Imparts valuable skills as well as content that will have a 

lasting use

Role of Competitions in STEM

● Provides a concrete reason to learn abstract concepts 

● Creates a healthy culture of competition and humility 

● Provides exciting opportunities, present and future 

FIRST Lego League

● Ages 9 to 16 years

● LEGO Mindstorms

● Research project

FIRST Tech Challenge

● Ages 13 to 18 years

● “Proper” robots, with metal parts

● Higher costs, bigger competition

World Robotics Olympiad

● Robot Soccer

● Explorer Category

● Open Category

● Regular Category 

Gear Up

Where we fit in

Thank You

See you in the pits next year!