SAN MATEO, California — If one thing is true about the crowd at Maker Faire, it’s that they love robots. If two things are true about Makers, it’s that they love robots fighting.
This year, the event didn’t disappoint with not just one set of robot tussles, but two: RoboGames on land and boat battles in a large pool staged by the Western Warship Combat Club, who remain "dedicated to chaos and carnage in 1/144 scale ship combat."
You’ve undoubtedly seen RoboGames in action, so we went backstage to snap some pictures of the competitors retooling their machines after several rounds of combat. After the jump, you can check out a series of pictures of the bot warriors prepping for battle.
In the video, Stephen Morgret and Rob Wood from the WWCC show off their new hacked PlayStation controller command system for aquatic combat and I make a fool out of myself by getting into the pool with the boats.
Sorry about the speed editing job: all I’ve got is a Flip, a MacBook, and a half an hour. All photos by Kat Wade for Wired.com.
Curt Meyers pushes his robot "Jaws of Death" into position behind the scenes at Robo Games hours before the first battle.
Dave Calkins and Gage Cauchois work on Calkins’ robot, "Vlad the Impaler II" robot.
In the foreground working on "Rutt Factor" are Tim Gendle, left, and Patrick Fischer of Modesto. In the background, you can glimpse a beer keg robot built by Joshua Mehlman, Philip Frances and Susan Reno.
Gage Cauchois gets help from Jim Yeh, as they turn over Dave Calkin’s "Vlad the Impaler II".
Matt Maxham from Sacramento put last minute touches on his robot, "Sewer Snake" while spectators peak through the doorway behind the scenes at RoboGames.
The beer keg robot, a senior project at San Francisco State University built by Joshua Mehlman, Philip Frances and Susan Reno, close up.
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