Enter your robot in RoboGames 2009 at San Francisco

Anyone, including kids, who can build a robot can compete in the RoboGames. The sixth annual competition begins June 12 in San Francisco. Your robot can be automonous, or remote controlled. Enter your combat robot, walking humanoid, soccer bot, sumo bot, or whatever robot your imagination and tools can construct.

If you aren’t up to building your own from scratch, HiTec offers their robo-kits. Choose from either a ready-to-build android, or a fully functional, assembled RoboNova that can walk, run, flip, do cartwheels, sing, and dance. All it needs is your program to tell it what to do. It comes with 16 servos, a fully articulated gold anodized modular 12” skeleton, flexible programming interface, and blue head LED. It runs for one hour on a five cell, NiMH rechargeable battery, with other power options available. The RoboNova kit robots have won in 2006, 2007, and 2008 at the Games, in Kung Fu, Soccer, Free Style, and BiPed Race categories.

Last year, the Games had 31 events. This year you can take your chances in 43 events. Soccer is said to be the most difficult, as it requires artificial intelligence, as well as sensors to find the ball.

In addition to cash prizes you can earn gold, silver and bronze medals engraved with your name. Entry fees range from free to $340 per event. They even have a junior section that includes the Lego Open where contestants must “create a Lego Mindstorms powered robot that demonstrates originality, useful functionality, and aesthetics.”

Examples of events includes weight lifting where the goal is to encourage research in actively balancing and carrying robots. At the start line, the robot must lift the weighted bar above its head, then maintain it in that position as it carries the bar over the finish line. The NatCar event calls for autonomous race cars that can negotiate a preset course in the shortest time possible. The car must be electric powered and measure 14” x 14” square or less, axel to axel, wheel to wheel.

The event, however, isn’t all fun and games – safety considerations are stressed in the rules. Combat bots are a category unto themselves with many disclaimers and regulations beginning with the reminder that “Combat robotics is inherently dangerous.”