K*bots are moving models made from K'Nex Construction kits, built to participate in specific events run by the K*bot World Championships (USA) and K*bots UK (UK).kbotworld.com, Official website of the K*bot World Championships. Events are open to children aged 7–16 years and focus on competitive design and engineering challenges.Centennial View, 08-11-2009, contains lots of information about the 2009 K*bot World Championships. The K*bot World Championships are an annual event in which students from around the World compete to be crowned World Champion across four distinct categories, called divisions, which are explained in detail below.
K*bots events are currently run in the United States and the United Kingdom. Students come together for an event lasting anywhere from two to five days, during which they are guided through a range of simple engineering concepts in a workshop environment, with all students building one or more K*bots for competitive demonstration on the final day. The K*bot World Championships are the ultimate destination for successful builders, at which students compete against each other in each of the divisions.
History
K*bots in America
K*bots were invented by Thomas Vermersch, a former science educator from Texas, in the summer of 1998 at the San Antonio Academy during a holiday Science Camp. During a roller-coaster building session one afternoon, two of his students made simple motorised machines from K'Nex parts and placed them opposite each other on the floor, determining that they must try to push each other back to win their match. Mr. Vermersch saw potential with this idea. The following year he held a K*bots competition for the first time, using a development of these rules which saw K*bots running on a tabletop, as a discrete event which is credited as being the start of K*bots.
In 1999, K*bots in America became more structured with the crystallisation of competition into Division 1 (two-wheel drive) and Division 2 (four-wheel drive). In 2002, a remote control Division 3 was added to the event roster to make use of Cyber K'Nex units. 2002 also saw the first World Championships, which featured solely American competitors in its inaugural year.
From its initial base competitions in Texas and Nevada, K*bots expanded in 2005–06 to include new regional events in the city of North Las Vegas and two regional competitions in Phoenix, Arizona. The number of events then shifted in 2007, with Texas losing its regional events before Phoenix shut down in 2009. However, there is currently a fresh movement abound to restore K*bot events to states outside of Nevada.
K*bots in Britain The first recorded K*bots were built in Britain in early 2001. A group of students, including K*bots UK founding members Toby Wheeler, David Weston and Chris Bowdon, organised the first collective event in April 2002 in Carterton, near Oxford. The first event featured manually operated K*bots only, which would later come to be termed Division M. In 2003, the UK group ran a second event, at which they trialled the American Division 1 format in addition to their own manual-based competition.
In 2004 the event formally became part of the K*bot World Championships, and started running all four divisions in more structured events. With interest gaining momentum, in 2006 the UK started running Regional competitions of its own around the South of the country, leading to the first UK Championships in 2007, though in truth these only served as a qualifying round for the World Championships themselves.K*bots in the UK , a sub-page of kbotworld.com focusing on British events.
In 2010, the K*bots In Schools curriculum enrichment programme was launched, allowing pupils to build K*bots for competition during a workshop based at their own school. Successful entries are retained for the annual UK Championships, so that their builders may improve and compete with them during the finals.
K*bot World Championships
By the Autumn of 2001, regional US K*bots events were running in San Antonio (TX), Corpus Christi (TX), Henderson (NV) and Las Vegas (NV). Mr. Vermersch sought a means to allow regional winners to test their K*bots against those from other events, and devised the K*bot World Championships to allow students from across all regions to come together and compete for trophies in each of Division 1, 2 and 3. The first World Championships were held in July 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Veterans Memorial Leisure Services Centre, which has become their permanent home ever since.
In 2003, the World Championships returned as a far larger and more prestigious event. Considerable expense went into trophies and prizes for the winning students and it started to attract interest from regional television and press media.Las Vegas Review Journal, 15-07-2003, "Elementary Physics" article and photo. The 2003 event also saw Toby Wheeler from the UK group make an appearance for the first time. During the course of the week, it was agreed that UK events would henceforth adopt the same format as K*bot events in America, with a view to becoming an official part of the World Championships in 2004.
Expansion
2004 accordingly saw the World Championships expand to feature students from outside America. Britain sent their first representative to the World Championships, and in addition there were students representing Japan, Austria and the Philippines, as well as several states of America itself.
2004 was also the first year to feature the British-style manual K*bots, re-branded as Division M (for manual), raising the number of divisions at the World Championships to four in total. However, it incredibly took until 2008 for a British student to actually win a World Championship in the division conceived on British soil.Gloucestershire Echo 02-08-2008, "Sam shows steel in robot war win", article detailing Sam Steel's 2008 World Championship success.
With enthusiasm for K*bots gathering pace and returning students becoming ever more inventive, the 2005 World Championships saw the emergence of some very advanced models which started, for the first time, to push the limits of what the K'Nex motors were capable of. The Division 1 World Championship Final, widely regarded as the best K*bot match of all time, involved so much pressure on the materials that damage was caused to both the K'Nex pieces and the motors powering the K*bots.
This prompted a re-drafting of the rulebook in 2006, to allow technology to advance in a more sustainable fashion. The format has remained largely unchanged since that time, though rules have been tweaked in reaction to new technologies.kbotworld.com World Championships rulebook , updated June 2011. The K*bot World Championships today remain a proving ground for the best young engineering minds from around the World, and are looking to expand even further over the coming years.
Rules and regulations Note that the following guidelines are only an outline of the rules of K*bots, and are not exhaustive. A full, detailed set of rules and regulations for the K*bot World Championships can be found on the official website, kbotworld.com
Division 1 and 2
Competition regulations
Division 1 and 2 K*bots are motorised models placed at opposite ends of the competition table and switched on. The aim is to push your opponent's K*bot off the table within a 90-second time limit. If both K*bots remain on the table after 90 seconds, the winner will be the K*bot which has advanced furthest towards or past the centre line on the competition table.Las Vegas Review Journal, 19-07-2008, "Dueling Robots" article and photo.
A K*bot is considered eliminated as soon as any of its wheels are fully off the table. K*bots can also be eliminated if they are flipped completely over during a match, in such a way that they are unable to continue to move independently.
If the two K*bots have locked together and are not moving, after 45 seconds the referee can tap the table by lifting and dropping each end of the competition table in sequence, until the K*bots start moving again.
Build regulations
K*bots can weigh no more than and are limited by their size. In American and World Championship events, the maximum permitted dimensions are length × width × height . In British events, the maximum permitted dimensions are length × width × height .
K*bots are permitted a maximum of four medium-size K'Nex wheels, with an optional specialty Alliance Rubber band around each of the wheels to enhance grip. The sole difference between the divisions is that Division 1 K*bots have only two-wheel drive; Division 2 K*bots must have four-wheel drive.
Division 3 Division 3 has undergone huge changes since its initial introduction into the regulations in 2002. It has appeared in a variety of forms, though always making use of remote-control building kits. The format has historically changed on a two-year basis.
In 2002 and 2003, Division 3 K*bots were constructed using Cyber K'Nex, and ran to similar competition rules to those used in Division 1 and 2. In 2004 and 2005, the K'Nex Ravage infra-red control units were used. K*bots competed for the first time in a tabletop arena enclosed within plexiglas walls, and scored points for their attacks and damage, similar in concept to the Robot Wars TV shows. In 2006 and 2007, Division 3 reverted to a test of pushing power, using programmable computerised motor units. These powerful 2-channel motors allowed for some fearsome weaponry and fast-paced matches, but the software accompanying the units was ultimately unreliable and led to their demise. In 2008 and 2009, the Ravage units were revived as the tabletop arena returned, but with a slightly different format. Emphasis was placed on building an active weapon, as well as building in multi-directional movement, which presented a challenge on only two channels. Since 2010, Division 3 has evolved to make use of custom-made radio control units with 3 channels, built specifically for K*bot competitions. The control hardware consists of a 'black box' battery unit, containing the radio receivers and a 7.2v lithium battery, and three K'Nex motors (two powering the drive, and one powering an active weapon). K*bots continue to do battle in a tabletop arena with Plexiglas walls.
Division M Competition regulations
Division M K*bots are manually operated models which compete in a tabletop arena enclosed within plexiglas walls approximately tall. There are strict rules of engagement, the most important being that a K*bot must be pushed and released to initiate movement; a K*bot cannot be moved or turned directly by hand.
K*bots score points for attacks with an active weapon (e.g. a flipper, hammer or rotary disc) and damage caused to an opponent's K*bot. Operators may also lose penalty points for infringements of the operation regulations. The K*bot amassing the most points during a 90-second match is adjudged to be the winner. If both K*bots are tied for points after 90 seconds, they will enter a short overtime shootout in which the first K*bot to score a point is the winner.
If a K*bot leaves the tabletop arena at any point during the match, it is automatically eliminated. Indeed, some students have developed one-hit-kill weapons designed to achieve exactly this.
Build regulations
K*bots must weigh between and and are subject to the same size restrictions as for Division 1 and 2 K*bots (see above). Builders are permitted more creative freedom within this division, since the range of chassis and mobility types are not restricted.
All moving mechanisms on a K*bot must be mounted on a pivot, or be as a result of movement around or through a fixed point. This includes active weapons, which are generally considered flipper-type and hammer-type weapons. There is currently no provision for spinning disc-type weapons. Moving mechanisms must be operated by a handle or lever; the shafts cannot be directly operated by hand.