Third Annual Spring Showdown @ Texas A&M University

The Texas Aimbots' insect-weight combat robotics tournament is back, for the first time in the Fall! 

With a great venue provided by our university, a great location, and a permanent field setup, we believe that we can provide what many builders across the state are missing: a regularly scheduled, safe, well-located, and well-organized tournament. Our university is located in a prime spot between Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, and alleviates the need for builders to make long drives between major cities to compete in events.

Join our discord if you are interested!

 

Event Specifics:

This year's Fall Frenzy will be hosted on Saturday, March 16th at Texas A&M’s Student Recreation Center (Room 2400).

The available weight classes at this event will be 1lb Plastic Ant, 1lb Metal Ant, and 3lb Beetle. 

Registration is open to anyone interested in attending.

We’re capping registration at 16 Plastic Ants, 16 Metal Ants, and 16 Beetles (subject to change). If you didn’t make it to the registration, email us! We can work something out.

Matches will be 2 minutes long and will be judged using the SPARC ruleset.

Fire/Flame-based robots are not allowed, as our venue is indoors and we can not risk tripping the fire alarms.

We’ll be running a standard double-elimination bracket for all our weight classes. Hourly paid parking is available in Stallings Blvd Garage or University Center Garage or Lot 100. See the TAMU Visitor Parking Map for more information.

Unloading/Loading is available in Rec Circle on Corrington Drive with a 15-minute time limit.

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Registration:

1lb Plastic Ant -        $20 if you pay before February 29th

            $25 if you pay between March 1st and March 15th

            $30 if you pay on March 16th (The day of the competition)

1lb  Metal Ant-          $25 if you pay before February 29th

            $30 if you pay between March 1st and March 15th

            $35 if you pay on March 16th (The day of the competition)

3lb  Beetle -              $35 if you pay before February 29th

            $40 if you pay between March 1st and March 15th

            $45 if you pay on March 16th (The day of the competition)

 

Register here on robotcombatevents.com and pay through our online marketplace here. Make sure to add your team name and robot name to the "details" section when you pay for your registration so that we can link your registration to your payment. We do not permit refunds as the process for reimbursing funds is long & largely out of our control as a student-run organization. 

For further updates, join our Discord server!

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Schedule:

09:00 AM: Safety and Check-in Opens

10:00 AM: Last call for competitors to arrive at the venue and check in.

11:00 AM: Last call for competitors to pass inspection. (Lunch begins)

12:00 PM: Matches Begin (Lunch ends)

6:00 PM: Matches End, Prize Ceremony

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Prizes:

We’ll make sure every participant leaves with something to remember this event with. We'll also have trophies, and the chance for additional prizes, for those that place in the top three spots in their event.

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Field Setup:

The 1lb and 3lb arena will be 6 ft x 6 ft with a wooden floor and sufficient ventilation for internal combustion engines.

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Robot Specifics:

All robots are to meet SPARC robot construction requirements. We will not specifically require a power light, but there needs to be some means of identifying when the robot is powered on such as noise or light. Additionally, robots that can’t be disabled without taking the top off during safety will not pass inspection.

Robot Construction Specifications

More General SPARC Guidelines

The scale will be +/- 2 gram precision with calibration weights available.

We’ll be providing a 50% weight bonus for non-wheeled drivetrains. Examples include Droopy, non-wheeled versions of No-Fly-Zone, bristlebots, etc. Shufflers do not qualify for this weight bonus.

Modular robots can change no more than 50% of their weight between configurations, and all configurations must pass safety/inspection.

As an engineering-focused university, we actively encourage competitors to think outside the box and innovate to push the sport forward. If you build something that you think is riding the edge of the rules, email us and we’ll likely approve it!

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Ready Time and Postponements:

As the number of robots remaining in the competition drops, the ready time between your robots’ matches will get shorter. All robots will be guaranteed a minimum of 20 minutes between fights. This time is per bot, not per builder. If you are entering multiple bots, it is on you to manage your time. Robots that are not ready will forfeit their matches.

You will be allowed one postponement per robot, which will grant you an extra 20 minutes. Bots that aren’t ready within 2 minutes of the previous match, or that can’t make weight within 2 minutes of their weight check will be forced to use their postponement. If their postponement has already been used, they will forfeit the match.

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Volunteers:

If you’re interested in volunteering, please let us know on our discord or emailing texasaimbots.cr@gmail.com! Our event is powered by college students with a love for the sport, which essentially means we’re broke.