The robot battle competition happens once a semester and is hosted by the UTC Mechatronics Club.
Sparks flew, saws buzzed and the battle robots saw who was supreme.
On Friday, April 17, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mechatronics Club hosted robot battles on Chamberlain Field with music, food and drinks for all students passing by on campus.
Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu, a professor of mechatronics and head of the Department of Engineering Management and Technology, serves as the club’s faculty advisor.
“The students involved designed the robots,” Kaplanoglu said. “They decided what to do, and then they made good teams as well. I told them that a couple of months ago. ‘Hey, you guys need something to enjoy.’ This is the fun time. They have some technology and good engineering design over there, but they still enjoy the process and the competition.”
The robots were built by club members and varied in design, from stainless steel to an old apple juice bottle.
They were placed in an arena with the rule that the last fighter to move wins.
Kaplanoglu explained that these events showcase concepts they learn in class while bringing their own ideas to the process.
“There were good examples over there, including one robot made from trash,” he said. “One recycled bottle and another one made of steel are competing with each other. We are not looking for very specific materials, so we let them be creative and innovative. That’s our engineering focus, not only for assembling normal materials, but also to find some innovative structures as well.”
The winner of the tournament was a robot named “TBD” and operated by mechatronics majors Spencer Esposito and Jordan Brake.
Jordan Brake holds their team’s winning robot, “TBD,” and Spencer Esposito holds their trophy from winning the competition.
Esposito joined the club to compete.
“I thought it would be a fun event,” Esposito said. “Building something, seeing it get destroyed is just a ton of fun. I wanted to build up some of my skills as well, like CAD (computer-aided design) work and electrical skills and I think that paid off.”
Brake recalled watching the “BattleBots” television show, which inspired him to join. He did much of the assembling during the two-week process from design to final product.
“I tweaked a little, added holes and moved the motor up a bit for the wheels,” Brake said. “The process was fun.”
Sophomore mechatronics major Austin McDade is the president of the Mechatronics Club. McDade came into the role after winning the battle bot competition as a freshman with his robot “Burger Bot.”
He enjoyed this year’s Chamberlain Field crowd.
“There are students coming by and they could see there’s a Mechatronics Club,” McDade said. “We can put robots together. They got to enjoy some destruction from the fights and it just put smiles on everybody’s faces. I call that a successful day.”
He encouraged interested students to consider joining the club.
“You don’t have to be a mechatronics major,” McDade said. “If you want to build a robot, come on in.”
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