Photos by Alexis Lowe
What is that? Actually, it’s a weapon. A robot weapon.
It might not look that dangerous until you picture it spinning on the front of a robot. That’s what’s going to happen during this year’s Tin- Man Competition.
The event takes place May 3 at the Reese Campus Building 6 at 6:30 p.m. And it’s a battle to the death competition.
Students in the Industrial Manufacturing and Emerging Technology building on the SPC Levelland campus are preparing their robots. Billy Tackett, SPC assistant professor of IMET, says there will be at least 11 teams in the competition all with hopes of destroying each other’s creations.
“Be prepared” Tackett says. “Oil will be spilled.”
These robots aren’t exactly normal. Tackett says this year students can build their robots out of any material they want. They are also all equipped with weapons. Tackett says in years past some of these have been saw blades and flame throwers.
Student Xavair Jackson says that today he and his partner are working on building the main body of their robot. He says they are cutting wood to build a base, and that’s what the robot’s motor will sit on.
Other students are using PVC pipe to build their robot base. They hold a heat gun to soften the pipe so that they can smash the edges and build a layer.
In the end, it’s the last robot standing on May 3 that wins.
Jackson says his team’s battle tactic is to place an 18-inch aluminum blade on their robot’s front. If that fails, he says, their robot will have to become a ram bot and rely on saw blades surrounding the robot’s sides.
The event is free and open to the public. And with this many weapons, there’s bound to be a lot of action. Don’t miss it.
“It’s going to be kinda crazy,” Tackett says.
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