Have you ever heard of the TV show “Robot Wars”?

Do you want to inspire students to work harder in their science, engineering and mathematics lessons?

Do you have students with an artistic gift?

Xbotz is currently recruiting for the Xbotz challenge.

This is an educationally focused robot competition specifically aimed at schools and colleges.

How much is this going to cost?

£20. This covers the sign-up for the competition and the cost of producing and sending you copies of the rules. It should be quite easily to acquire the parts needed to build a robot for free, as donated or sponsored parts, but all parts, including ready built robots, are available in the Xbotz shop. The rules are specifically designed to keep costs to a minimum.

What is the competition about?

Anyone who has seen Robot Wars will know exactly what they need to do to succeed in this competition. There are 3 side-by-side competitions with 3 prize funds and trophies. The first competition looks at the design studies and engineering solutions used in creating your robot concept. The final construction standard is also assessed. The second part of the competition is the maze. Robots must negotiate an assault course as quickly as possible, avoiding obstacles and hazards, on flat and rough surfaces. Finally, the robots must compete in combat. The overall winner will be the team that scored highest in all 3 competitions. Teams may opt to avoid the combat competition, or any other part if they wish.

Where and when?

The competition venues and dates will depend on the number of schools from each area entering the competition, and will be made public on May 1^st 2007. Registration closes for the 2007 competition on April 1^st 2007. If your school/college would like to host one of the regional competitions, please contact us.

What are the rules?

Sign up to the competition, and receive full rules, safety guidelines, and hints and tips

Can we have flame-throwers?

It’s amazing how often we are asked this! No, you cannot have flame-throwers because the flammable gas/liquid needed is dangerous. You also cannot have electronic jamming, water jets, plasma cutters, lasers, guns or bombs. The simplest way to think of what is allowed is to imagine what you can do to damage a robot (without tools). You can hit it, throw it, flip it, crush it, jump on it, smash it against walls, chew it, and generally batter it into submission. The robot you build must rely on these methods, commonly referred to as “kinetic energy weapons”. Tip. You will not need weapons for the maze, and design awards rely on method and execution of the design process, not the power of the weapon.