Outside of the Box

It is once again that time of year for the National STEM Festival and this episode is all about incorporating recycling into 3D Printing technology. I sat down with Champion Levi Dunn whose passion for both recycling and 3D printing came together in his amazing project to reduce waste. Kari Byron joined us to give her thoughts on this project and share insights about the upcoming National STEM Festival.

This is a golden episode featuring all of the Golden Dumpster winners from NHRL's April Open Event! I talked to those builders who all came with designs they had put time and iteration into which led to success in this very entertaining and competitive event. Check out my conversations with Corey Nason of Synthesis, David Dreyer of Xenomorph and Evan Rosenblatt of Blunder!

Get ready for an amazing lesson on combat robotics as I was joined by Brandon Young, Liam King, Brian Jackson & Matt Lantry to celebrate the many types of robots in the sport. Learn about the differences between similar archetypes and why certain robots aren't as common. This is an extremely educational episode whether you're new to the sport or just want to learn about other archetypes.

For this episode, I sat down with Sean Becker whose Thagomizer robot design has introduced a new archetype to combat robotics. We talked about his capstone project that led to the introduction of this type of robot, why we don't see more thagomizer style robots right now and thoughts on where he might take his designs in the future.

For this episode, I sat down with Ben Howard of Team WPI whose robot Showtime! went all the way at the March NHRL event to claim the 3lb division Golden Dumpster. He spoke about exceeding his expectations at this event and we went through every fight including the very close final versus Chainsaw Kitty.

Bonus mini episode for you featuring an interview from combat robotics fan JediTrainee aka Norma with Team USA! Hear all about their amazing first run at Robot Rampage!

During the Olympics, robot builders from across the globe also gathered for their own international event in beautiful New Zealand called Robot Rampage! I was able to chat with representatives from every team about their experiences and the friendships they built during this amazing event. Hear from Team New Zealand, Team Australia, Team USA & tournament winner Team Brazil!

In this episode I am joined by some amazing people in the community - Ariel, TJ, Myles and Jamison to talk about the importance of a community mindset and good sportsmanship. We talk about staying humble, having fun and being a good example for new members of the community.

If you happened to catch the February NHRL event, you may have seen a crab dancing in the box. Crab Rangoon firmly cemented itself in the hearts of combat robotics fans and I talked to builder Eli Davis about his amazing design. We also talked about the importance of innovation and creativity in the sport at all levels.

We're going international in this episode and with the Olympics currently going on, it is a great time to talk about the Robot Rampage World Cup event coming up in New Zealand February 19-22. I spoke to Jack Barker and Connor Benton about this unique team-based event where design diversity is a key component of the matches. Hear all about what you can expect from this event both this year and plans for the future.
For more information visit https://www.robotrampage.co.nz/