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Crashing, Smashing Robots
BY MELDON WEE
As day turned to dusk, our bellies were full of scrumptious éclairs, our hearts full of ambition and our minds full of fluff after a day of much tedium. All this had us well prepared for the activities that were to come this evening: a robotics workshop that would make any child tinkerer leap from their seat.
Working on our robots
With our brief introduction out of the way, the parts we needed to piece together our own creation were made available to us. With quick ease and precision, our assembly lines were set to work. Pages flipped, parts picked and pieces fitted together. In no time, ten beautifully crafted (we all followed the same manual) robots stood proudly on our tables. But what is a robot if it is unable to do anything? It should at least be able to move. So our first test for our eager creations was to give them personality, which meant moving in a straight line. By way of software pre-uploaded into the unit, with names that harken to a time long ago in a galaxy far, far away, our miniature automatons revved into life; startling some of us into dropping them instantly onto the floor. Making slight modifications to design, improving aerodynamics and load, and with preferred personality in hand, our robots were ready to race. Though most of the races were close, some bots proved more willful than expected, choosing to abandon the race just before the finish line and heading straight back the way they came.
And the race begins!
Programming of our very own bots proved to be a very Lego-like affair, with blocks of code appearing as veritable Lego blocks on screen. Where one would normally see a wall of text written in C, what we had at the end were strings of blocks connected to one another, as you would imagine a circuit board. It was truly surreal.
Now with remote control capabilities, our robots were ready to participate in their final challenge: a two-a-side team game with the goal of knocking over flags, balls and retrieving a basket carrying our king. Our gladiators set foot inside the pit, with spectators looking earnestly onwards. At the sound of the whistle, mayhem ensued. Bots deftly maneuvered around obstacles, only to quickly find themselves helplessly stuck in a 1cm deep hole, courtesy of a nudge from an enemy. Plastic smashed against plastic as bots tussled for their king. A limb, which was a wheel, was witnessed rolling away, having been torn out from its axle during a particularly vicious fight. The spectators cheered and roared at the sheer spectacle that unfolded before them. The atmosphere was so intense; you could barely hear yourself think. But very soon, our champion emerged from the rubble and was declared victorious.
Our battlefield with bottomless pits
After the usual fanfare, prize presentations and mandatory group photo taking, we bid our bots farewell. Though it felt like we were just scratching the surface of what we can do, it was undeniable from the smile on everyone’s face how much we all enjoyed putting our bots together and watching them ram headlong into each other.
Group photo with all participants