Macleans Robots Compete in Rumble

During the July holidays the Macleans Combat Robotics team took to the combat arena in the First AURA Mini Robot Rumble held at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Auckland.

Two beetleweight (less than 1.4 kg) robots were entered – the Macleans Mantis (an imaginatively designed robot that sprang a trap on unwary opponents who ventured too near) and the Macleans Minotaur (a robust wedge robot). Both robots performed very well and finished in the top ten of this national competition.

The Minotaur was a resilient robot that defied the worst that could be thrown against it in the three minute combat fights, and the Mantis bowed out after an epic ebb and flow quarter-final elimination bout against the robot later voted the Most Destructive Robot in the competition.

Thanks go to the organisers AURA (Auckland University Robotics Association) and Vodafone, who generously sponsored the competition. Many new friends were made during the whole day event, and development work is already under way for next year’s Rumble!