starbots is an educational program thats affiliated with dade county public schools, fiu, and u of m.

two of the 120lb bots where featured in battlebots on discovery channel. "norm" and the red bot with the metal disc in the center where both on battlebots. the pvc pipe around the edge of norm is there to protect people, not the bot. inside the pvc are solid steel spikes! i believe he mentioned norm was built by the coral reef school team.

the 120lb bot named "manta ray" uses the spike to impale. it was built by an all girls team. its actuated by two pneumatic cylinders. the top of manta ray is welded steel plate and the spike is solid steel rod.

the smaller bots are in the 15lb class and built by school teams but still capable of smashing eachother. the ramp looking bot is rather humble compared to the one that looks like an upside down lawmower. the spikes have been removed from the blade on that one to make it more people friendly while in the shop. the sheet of 8.5x11 paper gives you an idea of the size of the 15lb bots.

the diamond plate bot with the arm is also a 15lb bot. it uses the arm to violently flip its opponent using a pneumatic cylinder.

all these bots use radio remotes to control them and have safety shutoff circuits incase things get out of hand. they fight inside a custom made aluminum and lexan rectangle that keeps any debris from flying out and hurting anyone.

robert
ke4mcl