Behind the Bots

BattleBots Postseason Interview with Co-Creator Greg Munson

On our first postseason episode of Behind the Bots, we chat with BattleBots co-creator Greg Munson about the history of the sport, its current state, and where he thinks it’s headed next.

 

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

 

> Oct. 12: Bot'Geddon 2019 at the Rocklin Mini Maker Faire, Rocklin CA

> Oct. 12: Antweight Open, Basingstoke UK

> Oct. 13: Robodojo Featherweight Championships Round 5, Sherburn in Elmet UK

 

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots

Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts

Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

BattleBots S4E16 Recap (With Special Co-host Paul Ventimiglia!)

We recap S4E16 of BattleBots, which featured Round of 8 matches Bite Force versus Lock Jaw, Tombstone versus Whiplash, Witch Doctor versus SawBlaze and Minotaur versus Death Roll. The Round of 4—Bite Force versus Tombstone and Witch Doctor versus Death Roll—and the Finals: Bite Force versus Witch Doctor.

 

We’re joined this week by a very special cohost, Bite Force captain Paul Ventimiglia.

 

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

 

> Oct. 5: NERC Franklin Institute, Philadelphia PA
> Oct. 5: Robothon 2019, Seattle WA
> Oct. 5: Harper Experience Day Bot Brawl 2019, Palatine IL
> Oct. 5: FRA Beetleweight Championships, Marlow UK

 

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots

Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts

Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

BattleBots S4E15 Recap (With Shatter! Captain Adam Wrigley)

We recap S4E15 of BattleBots, which featured Bite Force versus Uppercut, Black Dragon versus Lock Jaw, Tombstone versus Quantum, Whiplash versus HUGE, Witch Doctor versus Blacksmith, SawBlaze versus Son of Whyachi, Hydra versus Minotaur and Death Roll versus Yeti.

 

We interview Shatter! captain Adam Wrigley, who talks about his experience in China, how that stacks up against BattleBots, and why he’s so bullish about hammer bots.

 

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

 

> Friday, Sept. 27: BattleBots Watch Party, Orlando FL

> Saturday, Sept. 28: Norwalk Havoc, Norwalk CT

> Saturday, Sept. 28: CROK at Tinkerfest, Oklahoma City OK

> Saturday, Sept. 28 + Sunday, Sept. 29: Robots Live! Stevenage, Stevevenage UK

 

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots

Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts

Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

BattleBots S4E14 Recap (With the Sarah Malyan, the Big Bonking Captain of Nelly)

We recap S4E14 of BattleBots, which featured Quantum versus Valkyrie, Yeti versus Duck, Lock Jaw versus Skorpios, HUGE versus HyperShock, Uppercut, RailGun MAX and Bloodsport in a rumble, Blacksmith versus Rotator, Son of Whyachi versus Copperhead and the main event: Minotaur versus Cobalt.

 

We interview Nelly the Ellybot captain Sarah Malyan, who talks about her introduction to combat robotics, the design thinking behind this season’s most colorful bonkerbot, and why she’s inspired by Mrs. Jumbo the elephant.

 

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

 

> Friday, Sept. 20: BattleBots watch party with Witch Doctor, HyperShock and Rotator, Miami FL

> Saturday, Sept. 21: Bay Area Bot Battles, Richmond CA

> Saturday, Sept. 21: Antweight World Series 59, Sheffield UK

 

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots

Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts

Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

BattleBots S4E13 Recap (Plus our Ribboting Interview with David Jin, Captain of Ribbot)

We recap S4E13 of BattleBots, which featured HyperShock/Breaker Box, Yeti/Tantrum, WAR Hawk/Copperhead, Bite Force/Monsoon, RailGun Max/Free Shipping, Uppercut/Skorpios, and the main event: Hydra versus Bronco.

After the recap, we interview David Jin, captain of the the impressive rookie bot Ribbot. He tells us about the rollercoaster journey getting Ribbot on BattleBots, what it felt like competing in the box for the first time, and his embarrassing first encounter with SawBlaze captain, Jamison Go!

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

September 12 - 15: Winter Challenge Concordia in Concordia, Brazil
September 14: Raymour & Flanigan Robot Fight in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 
September 14: Rumble in the North in Saint Albans, Vermont

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts
Check out our website at www.behindthebots.com
Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

BattleBots S4E12 Recap (Plus, our Flipping Awesome Interview with Hydra Captain Jake Ewert)

We recap S4E12 of BattleBots, which featured Minotaur/Shatter, Son of Whyachi/Kraken, RailGun Max/WanHoo, Witch Doctor/Gigabtye, Breaker Box/Bloodsport, Whiplash/Texas Twister, and the main event: HUGE versus Bronco.

After the recap, we interview Jake Ewert, captain of the the hottest flipper bot this season, Hydra. He tells us about his family's infamous shop, making Thor's Hammer for the Marvel movies, and gives a deep dive into hydraulic equipment. 

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

September 7: Portland Bot Battles in Portland, Oregon
September 7 + 8: Extreme Robots Live in Colchester, England

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts
Check out our website at www.behindthebots.com
Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

BattleBots S4E11 Recap (From Drag Racing to Bot Battling, an Interview with Bob Girardi of Daisy Cutter)

We recap S4E11 of BattleBots, which featured Duck/Quantum, Blacksmith/Captain Shrederator, Bombshell/Lock-Jaw, Tombstone/Gruff, End Game/Cobalt, SawBlaze/Ribbot, and the main event: Rotator versus Death Roll.

After the recap, we interview Bob Girardi, captain of the elusive bot Daisy Cutter. He tells us about his life in drag racing, his quest to knock out a competitor in 3/10ths of a second, and shares incredible behind the scenes stories about his bot. He's a fascinating character!

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

August 30: Team Kraken Watch Party at Buffalo Wild Wings in Melbourne, FL
August 30: Bots FC/Shatter! Watch Party at Brooklyn DSK in Brooklyn, NY
August 30: Team SawBlaze Watch Party at DragonCon in Atlanta, GA
August 31: Barn Battles 5 in Meshoppin, PE
August 31: RoboNerd 2019 in Wolverhampton, UK
August 31: August Antics in Ipswich, Queensland, AUS

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts
Check out our website at www.behindthebots.com
Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

BattleBots S4E10 Recap (A Thousand Ways to Swine, an Interview with Bradley Hanstad of Chronos)

We recap S4E10 of BattleBots, which featured Hydra/Petunia, Yeti/Rainbow, Skorpios/Tantrum, Free Shipping/Bronco, Valkyrie/Monsoon, Chronos/Copperhead, and the main event: Bite Force vs. Hypershock.

After the recap, we interview Chronos teammate Bradley Hanstad, who tells us about what it's like building robots for TV shows, the experience of competing in China's King of Bots as an American, and shares a whole bunch of fun stories and anecdotes from BattleBots.

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

August 24: 2019 Rocky Mountain Gear Jam in Denver, Colorado
August 24: Dangerzone Fight and Flight 2019 in Alameda, California
August 18: Maker Faire Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma
August 24 - 26: FRA Featherweight Championship 2019 in Leeds, England

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts
Check out our website at www.behindthebots.com
Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

BattleBots S4E9 Recap (Enter the Eggbeater: An Interview With Elaine Wu of Railgun Max)

We recap S4E9 of BattleBots, which featured HUGE/Gigabyte, Breaker Box/Uppercut, Wan Hoo/Mammoth, Son of Whyachi/Texas Twister, SubZero/P1, Nelly the Ellybot/Deep Six, and the main event: Whiplash versus Witch Doctor.

We interview the manager of Railgun Max, Elaine Wu, who tells us about the unique experience of being a manager for a BattleBots team, what it's like competing America, and why she would choose Bruce Lee as Railgun Max's crime-fighting partner.

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:
> August 16 + 17: Hickory Bot Battle in Hickory, North Carolina
> August 17 + 18: Mad Metal Machines: Volume 26 at the Hannover Maker Faire in Hannover, Germany
> August 18: Robowars: Robotronica Rebellion in Brisbane, Australia

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts
Check out our website at www.behindthebots.com
Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!

Shark Week Recap (With Sword-Swallowing Sharkoprion Captain Ed Robinson)

On this special, Shark Week episode of Behind the Bots, Chris talks about his fear of sharks and tells some terrible shark jokes.

We interview Sharkoprion captain Ed Robinson, who tells us about the design thinking behind Sharkoprion, his newest bot, Excelsior, his history with large robots (Robotica! RoboGames! RoboJoust!), sword-swallowing, his early career as a clown, touring with Renaissance faires and armor-making.

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:
> Aug. 10: Norwalk Havoc, Norwalk CT
> Aug. 10: Central Illinois Bot Brawl, Peoria IL
> Aug. 10: RoboShowdown, Milton Keynes UK
> Aug. 10+11: Canadian National Championships, Saskatoon, CAN
> Aug. 10+11: Meet BattleSaw at ICT ComicCon, Wichita KS

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts
Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!