Antimov Competition
Introducing the Antimov competition! Who can build the robot that does the most insignificant task, fail spectacularly, and then self destruct?
When BattleBots and mechanical cage matches went mainstream some years ago, I was into it. I mean, yeah, what's not to like? No-holds-barred mechanical destruction? I'm all over that action! Chainsaws, clubs, drills... you could get your fix of medieval siege warfare, mechanical craftsmanship, RC and electronics, all in a creative physical expression that stuck fear in the hearts of all that bore witness. I was powerless to look away.
But as the years wore on, you'd see the same old tricks. Oh, that one's a wedge. Yeah, this one's got a club. And EM weapons weren't legal. What's up with that? Ho hum. You're boring me. Can't we do something else for a while? Tie an inflatable doll on top or something.
Well, around about the last AVC, our own Chris Taylor came up with an idea that made everybody stop and consider. What if instead of a robot doing something complicated in the most efficient way possible, we had a contest for robots that did the most menial task in the most laborious way possible? And then they had to destroy themselves?
OK, go back and read that again, as I'm sure some of you are thinking we're off our gourds. He then gave us an example that had us rolling on the ground: imagine a robotic teddy bear trying to dunk a cookie in a glass of milk, but because it doesn't have any fingers it spills the milk and begins to cry, then sets itself on fire.
That poor, poor teddy bear.
Still think I'm kidding? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Antimov competition.
Scheduled for October 16 of 2010, this event will test your engineering skills, your creativity, your humor and your very character as you explore your human side in a way never done before. Come and indulge yourself with us in a fest of technological irony and destruction!
