Sacramento State mechanical engineering students in conjunction with Sacbots hosted the first robot war competition on Sunday in the University Union Ballroom.

-The competition was open not only to students, but anyone who was interested in creating and fighting robots. It was presented by a mechanical engineering club on campus called Competitive Robotics Club.

-There was a 1-pound weight limit for all of the robots which followed “sozbot” rules. “Sozbot” means 16-ounce robots. Legged robots could be up to 2 pounds. To comply with this weight limit, competitors used lightweight materials for the body such as cardboard and aluminum.

-The best materials to use, said Graham Ryland, the president of competitive robots at Sac State, are polycarbonate and titanium because of their strength and lightweight.

-The robots used many methods to attack their opponents. Some robots used saws to damage and flip opponents while others simply tried to ram counterparts into the pit surrounding the fighting platform, thereby eliminating them from contention. Another used its own body, attached to a motor, to hit its opponent continuously by spinning.

-The arena was a small 6 feet by 6 feet box, which was totally enclosed, and made out of polycarbonate. Steel was used for the floor.

-There was a double elimination format with two-minute rounds and a robot melee at the halfway point of the event.

-During the event, six robots were put into the ring at one time to battle in a last man standing melee.

-Nicholas Haviland, the event coordinator and mechanical engineering student at Sac State, was really excited about this year’s event. He hopes it becomes more popular in the coming years.

-“We have volleyball, football and basketball,” Haviland said. “We hope this will become just as big.”

-Although the event may not have had the same draw as a football game, the turnout was better than expected.

-“I think that the turnout is actually overwhelming,” said Chris Bastian, another Sac State student who helped organize the event. “I didn’t think there would be quite as many people here today.”

-The club expected about 150 people to attend, but there were more than 200 at the event. The competitive robotics club used the robot war competition to promote a mechanical engineering exposition called “Ant-weight challenge and engineering expo.”

-In addition to the robot competitions there were many other exhibits on display including a formula-one racecar, solar cells and a computer numeric control machine.

-That machine, also called a CNC machine, takes chunks of metal and turns them into usable parts automatically.

-The club itself was started in the fall of 2002 by a group of engineering students who were more interested in building robots than cars like the F-1 racer. “We’re hoping to do one of these every semester,” Ryland said.

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