Best Kit to get for Combat?

[rudukai13]

Ok, one last question. If I was looking for the best kit to use for combat, what would I look for? A couple of requirements:

1. English insturction manuals included with kit or somewhere easily accessable on internet.

2. Minimal modifications after building the kit.

3. Price is not an issue.

Thanks again for this awesome site! It's really helping me figure all this stuff out!

[Robo1]

Hi there

After organizing the UK Robo One events I would say the Bioloid, as it has won twice (BILL ) very stable and has some good moves. But it all depends on what you want to do. Just fight straight out of the box or take the moding path.

Bren

[rudukai13]

I'd rather not have to modify it too much but I understand that in order to do well in combat you have to modify some things. I guess another question would be what is the most common mod for combat from a stock kit-servos, control board, etc.?

[Robo1]

It should work well out of the box, where are you planing on fighting will also effect what you do. If it's for out side of Japan then a stock robot that's programmed well with some good moves will do well.

Bren

[rudukai13]

Ok thanks! I'll look into some videos and study some of the most effective moves out there and see what I can do. I guess my next step would be to buy a kit

[BillB]

I have the Bioloid and Robonova and have competed in both the UK competitions. I have found that the 2 key factors in a successful humanoid robot are:

1. An extensive variety of moves - It is amazing how much time it takes to create these.

2. Able to do quick repairs - during intensive combat limbs rattle loose, batteries drain fast, and servos overheat.

Personally I have had most most success with my Bioloid. I have found it much easier to reconfigure the limbs and add extra servos to suit my combat style (I prefer longer arms). The Robonova is much lighter, with a lower centre of gravity and so has the potential to be more nimble and a faster mover - but I have not had the time to create the moves to make use of this advantage.

The trouble with Combat is that it is expensive - servos break. The other humanoid robot events like the dash and stair climb are far more technically challenging than the raw fight (and far cheaper in terms of broken servos etc.). Of the Robonova and Bioloid, the Robonova has proved much better at these disciplines (see the video of Novaone's tricked out Robonova climbing down the stairs).

[JonHylands]

One thing to note about Bioloid servos - in general, they are much harder to break than most others. One reason is the piles of torque they have (16.5 kg-cm), and the other is their built-in protection against over-torquing and over-temperature.

When an AX-12 servo gets too hot, or has too much torque applied to it, instead of breaking the servo, it switches to zero torque mode and blinks the LED. You can set what the upper limits are that you want, or disable this feature if you're really brave.

- Jon

[NovaOne]

Am I imagining things, but when my Hitec servos get warm they have less power? Don't they have any internal protection circuits as well?

I'm am so convinced of this I am considering upgrading my knee servos (they get the warmest) Am i daft?
Of course it may be just my batteries?

[rudukai13]

Thanks guys! I know that combat is gonna be more costly, but I think it's a very interesting aspect of robotics sports, and obviously much less destructive then battlebots. I just need to do a little bit more research, and figure out which kit I want to get.

[BillB]

Jon - your comment about the AX12 servos is very true and it is a great advantage that Robotis have over all the other manufacturers.

The servos that I have broken are due to a sudden external force being applied to the servo horns. Typically, after a heavy fall there will be a lot of torque suddenly applied to the servo. The servo electronics do a good job at maintaining the servo position - but unfortunately the plastic gears in the AX12 Servo's give way and loose a tooth or two. Interestingly, the only ones that I have broken this way are the shoulder servos (I guess they get the greatest torque when an outstretched arm hits the ground).

The solution will be use the some servos with metal gears in the shoulders.

I am not picking on Robotis here - because I am sure that this will be a problem with servos from all manufacturers with plastic gears. My point is that the standard kits (Bioloid, Robonova, KHR etc.) will all suffer during humanoid robot combat.

[JonHylands]

Going back to your original post, you said "price is not an issue". If that is truly the case, then I would advise you build a custom bot using RX-28 servos from Robotis. They have twice the torque of an AX-12, metal gears, and are much better quality-wise. They cost four times as much, however...

- Jon

[Droid Works]

KHR-1HV no question about it:)

[rudukai13]

Going back to your original post, you said "price is not an issue". If that is truly the case, then I would advise you build a custom bot using RX-28 servos from Robotis. They have twice the torque of an AX-12, metal gears, and are much better quality-wise. They cost four times as much, however...

- Jon

I think I want to start off with a kit, as I would have no idea and have none of the tools it would take to build from scratch. I would probably look into replacing servos with higher-end servos once I bought a kit though.

[BillB]

Yeah - the RX-28 and RX-64 servos are definately the way to go. If they prove to be durable then perhaps in the long term they will be worth while.

It is just a shame that you can not interchange them with the AX12's used in the Bioloid Kits.