Outside of the Box

NHRL Round 6 (October) Recap on Outside of the Box

Welcome to my #OopsAllVerts episode where I chatted with some of the hard-hitting competitors at the most recent October NHRL qualifying event. I talked to Tristan whose robot Elytra has been tearing it up in the midwest and went nearly all the way for this event, then David whose new massive vert Xenomorph certainly put a scare into some builders and finally got to chat about Maccabot with Max, Jordon and Ilan about their promising new 30lb robot. It is an exciting episode you won't want to miss!

Talking Engineering with LEGO Master Luke Horwath on Outside of the Box

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Luke Horwath, a contestant on the most recent season of LEGO Masters and an engineering student at Notre Dame. We talked about his passion for engineering which was fueled by his love for LEGO and how his mom got to be so involved in that journey culminating in their appearance on the show together. We talked about some of his impressive builds outside of the show and so much more.
You can check out more about Luke at https://www.luke99studios.com/.

NHRL Round 6 (October) Preview w/Nathan and Erbert on Outside of the Box

Welcome back to a brand new episode of Outside of the Box. We preview the October NHRL event with a promising young builder named Nathan who attends Rose Hulman and hopes to bust some brackets with his robot Erbert. This robot has made its presence known at events over the summer in the midwest and is my personal pick as a dark horse contender for this event. Hear about his building and iteration process as well as why he loves antweights. 

SEMO July Jamboree Recap on Outside of the Box

Prepare for an episode full of energy as we broke down the SEMO July Jamboree event at QuadCon in Peoria, Illinois. We first chat with Christopher who is the builder of Fingers Crossed and his team is here to have fun! We talk about his background and why it is so important to keep fun at the top of mind when fighting robots. I also talked to SEMO's Mike Mueller about the growth of his organization, how the July Jamboree went and future events.

All About Hosting Combat Robotics Events on Outside of the Box

Fresh of the heels of Outside of the Box's first event, it is time to do a deeper dive into event organization. We have several perspectives on event hosting in this episode including talking collegiate events with Ryan and Uday from UIUC, a focus on being a brand new event organizer with Emily, George & Jair from MRCA and the journey of becoming an experienced event organizer with Carolina Combat Robotics' father/son duo Chuck and Jeremy. If you ever wanted to know more about hosting, this is the one to watch!

FIRST Tech Challenge Recap on Outside of the Box

As you may have noticed, episodes of late have been geared around events and the FIRST Tech Challenge was a really fun event I had the opportunity to attend. Check out a couple of interviews from that event with teams from Romania and Brazil who travelled very far to compete with other teams from around the country and the world.

Circle City Clash PopCon Panel featuring Brian Boxell & Ellie Clark

To follow up on the PopCon Recap, this episode covers the entire panel that featured Brian Boxell & Ellie Clark who are both seasoned builders at both NHRL and BattleBots. There is so much good commentary during this panel including a really heartwarming moment when Brian was asked about his father Glenn Boxell and his accomplishments.

Circle City Clash at PopCon Recap on Outside of the Box

It was such a fun time down in Indianapolis at the Circle City Clash presented in conjunction with PopCon and Robot Smashing League! Enjoy this brief recap with video highlights from the event including our friends at Witch Doctor and Turnabot as well as clips from the tournament itself!
Thanks again to our sponsors BAIS219, Palm Beach Bots, Fingertech Robotics & Master Control Bot!

Styled For Destruction: Cool Bots From June's NHRL Event on Outside of the Box

If you want an episode that is proof that robots can be beautiful and destructive - look no further. I had the joy of chatting with Boby of Melon Baller as well as the team behind Killswitch about their awesome designs and solid performances at the last event.

NHRL Round 5 (June) Recap on Outside of the Box

As we prepare to take a summer break from NHRL, join me for a great recap with 3 robots that really made a splash at the June event with one of them coming away with a finals win. I chatted with Brian from Murphy's Law about their unexpected run, got into 12 lb talk with Ben from RoboCat and heard from Kevin Milczewski about his speedy robot Red Storm and its run to the Golden Dumpster. Check it out!