UC Students Wage War at Battle Bot Competitions with CATastrophy

A senior team, from the Mechanical Engineering Department of UC, designed the CATastrophy bot to participate in the Battle Bot competition at Miami, Florida that was held from February 23 to 27, 2011. The bot had to satisfy many eligibility requirements to participate in the competition.

Every part of the weapon must be designed to travel at a speed less than 450 feet per second. Moreover, bots must not contain explosives, magnets, chemicals, or fire.

CATastrophy, with an eight tooth metal shaft, was capable of shredding an opponent’s armor. The shaft spins at a speed of 4,500 RPM and slices through an enemy at a force of 500 pounds. With a tough armor, CATastrophy was capable of flipping upside down.

The teams secured points based on the number of times the bot flipped and hit its opponent. Each round usually lasted for a duration of three minutes or less.

Each student in the team designed a specific part of CATastrophy. One student designed the transmission system, another designed the weapon. The remaining team members created the frame, the armor, and the electronic system. Heimkreiter donated a huge sum to support the students of this team to compete in this challenge.

Source: http://www.uc.edu/