Mech Wars

[Tyberius]

Hey guys, just figured I'd drop you a line on a new project/competition that I am organizing.

The premise is a combat competition using bipeds, tripods, and quadrapods in an urban-style arena environment (think 2-3' buildings used for cover) and airsoft based weapons (in the future, more advanced potent weapons will be implemented- microrockets and co2 pellet systems).

Hits will be scored by simple touch sensors plates (targets) on the 'mechs'. Jon Hylands is developing a wireless system for this that will report hits back to a scoreboard PC. There will be a penalty involved for using more than two legs, in the form of having to attach additional targets.

Pilots will be only allowed to view the fight from a first person POV wireless camera mounted in their bot.

More information can be found here:

http://mech-warfare.com (still very much so a work in progress, more content to come)

Complete rules and guidelines so far are listed on the site.

We're shooting for Robogames 2009 to kick off the competition, and we already have a good amount of people planning to participate.

Let me know what you think!

[Robo1]

I really Like the sound of this.

Siting here I can think of some very cool things you could do with this in mind. Any one for vr googles and web cam inter linked so that where you look the head of the robot moves with a cross hire. Will have to think about this and come up with some cool interface.

[AlphA]

This sounds like a lot of fun. The 1st person pov is a cool idea. Wearing video goggles would be pretty neat, especially if one incorporates some sort of hud (MechWarrior style). Or, one could set up a monitor and frame it with readouts, dials, gauges etc... which would display feedback about ammo, balance, fuel(battery) etc.(Steel Battalion cockpit style). I could really get in to something like this. Keep us posted.

[Tyberius]

Hey guys, just an update. We have a decent amount of builders making progress, I have a few projects posted on the site here:

http://mech-warfare.com/mechs.aspx

Also, here are two of the Mechs I am building for the competition. The first is based around a Lynxmotion Scout:





And here is my personal Mech, Hagetaka. It's based on Jon Hyland's Microraptor leg design with a lightweight abs frame upper torso. Custom larger 'toed' feet and lexan armor paneling have yet to be added.

[limor]

We need to have something like this in UK.

[srobot]

I may just enter one!