Pinoy-made battle bots duke it out in first Robo Rumble Tournament

In a flurry of steel, flying debris, and burnt rubber, robots battled to the death at the first Robo Rumble Tournament, held at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall on July 9.

Organized by GameCon Philippines in partnership with DIY maker groups PhilRobotics, SparkLab, and Thinklab, Robo Rumble is touted as the first lightweight combat robot competition in the country.

The all Pinoy-made battle robots seemed to size each other up before the match. The bots clashed against each other in an elevated arena (seen in the background) surrounded by protective rubber tires, chicken wire, and reinforced plexiglas. Photo: KC Cruz

The battle bots were ingeniously engineered to overpower and outmaneuver their opponents. Photo: KC Cruz

Teams used remote controls to operate their wheeled bots on the arena, and were given the liberty to flip, pound, spin, and grab the opposing team’s creation. Each round was short but intense, as the robots rammed and spun their opponents to submission in a matter of seconds. 

The winning team, Team Unknown, bested their competitors with their robot fondly known as “Pusher”, which incapacitated its challengers with its strength and design. Unknown took home PhP 30,000 and gift items from the sponsors.

The winners, Team Unknown, with their "Pusher" robot made from hacked and reinforced hoverboards. Photo: KC Cruz

Robot combat was in the spotlight in the late 1990s to early 2000s, with shows such as Battle Bots and Robot Wars airing in the US and UK. The Philippines, however, has yet to see mainstream exposure for the sport, despite robotics competitions being a common sight in high schools and colleges.

More Pinoy tinkerers, makers needed

PhilRobotics president Franklin Binos II states that one of the main reasons for their group’s support of robot fighting tournaments is their recognition of the skills honed by these events, especially for young aspiring engineers. “It’s still quite niche at the moment, but it’s nice to encourage students, because we need more tinkerers and makers. In robot combat, they program their own bots. They are the next generation of engineers, start them young and encourage the passion.”

He says that the Philippines is home to many skilled engineers, and while we are not behind internationally, there is still a lot to build on and learn. “Isa sa magandang ituro ang robotics, because it touches multiple fields in STEM: programming, electronics, mechanical design, CAD, logic, AI, and so much more.”

For student competitor John Paul Caballeda, his foray into robot fighting began because of his childhood passion for tinkering and building. An Electronics and Communications Engineering from Rizal Technological University, he started out with building simple, functional robots using Lego blocks. His robot design was made from recycled junkyard scrap, using a CPU case reinforced by angle bars and armored with wooden planks.

Team Unknown member Aldrin Soriano states that he entered the competition originally just for fun, not expecting to come out as champions.  His team, composed of old schoolmates from Pamantasan ng Cabuyao, was a group of electronics enthusiasts.

Winners all. Photo: KC Cruz

GameCon Philippines

GameCon Philippines is a 2-day gaming convention held at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall on July 8 and 9. It’s an event for hobbyists and enthusiasts, with booths set up for a variety of card games, table top, video games, and board games for all ages. GameCon also conducted a Cosplay Competion, where the winning group took home PhP 10,000 in cash and other gift items. — All photos by KC Cruz/TJD, GMA News