[Wrecked944]

So I'm looking at the rules for the various Robot War tv show contests and I see that some things are expressly forbidden - namely anything fun like projectiles and fire. Okay, that sucks, so I want to know what innovative things can be done to bend the rules - you know, sort of like how Norbert Singer raced the 962 as a "street car" in the 1993 Le Mans. So here are the rules...

SAFETY RESTRICTIONS

All explosives, corrosives, flames, pyrotechnics and untethered projectiles are prohibited.
Sighting/pointing lasers are allowed up to 5 mW. Any laser above 5 mW is prohibited.
Compressed gas is limited to 1000 psi.
Fuel capacity limited to 8 oz. or 6 minutes operating time.
Fuel tanks must be adequately protected against penetration.
Robots will be inspected for safety and reliability before being allowed to compete according to guidelines that require and insure safe construction and operation. This means that tethers, blades, arms, levers, air cylinders and all other mechanical parts and weaponry must be strong and secure.
Contestants must be able to transport the robots to and from the combat arena quickly and safely.

OTHER RESTRICTIONS
The following is a list of materials and practices that are prohibited.

All forms of radio jamming.
All electronic weaponry (stun-guns, tesla coils, etc.)
All liquid weaponry (water, glue, etc.)
All physical interference between contestants. This includes obstruction of sight-line and destruction of equipment.

Here are some starting ideas...


1) Electromagnmets: One of the key tactics in robowars is to control the movement of your opponent so they can't escape your primary weapon. Lots of them try to latch on with teeth, claws etc. But I figure a powerful eletromagnet could do the job and yet remain almost entirely undetectable. A great tactic might be to stand opposite the opponent's robot with a burning pit in between and then switch on the magnet to draw them into the pit.

2) Heat probe: So you aren't allowed to use fire. But what about heat? I'm thinking once the opposing robot is captured with the electromagnet, a superhot probe (like a solder gun but way hotter) can be deployed to carve a hole right through the opponent's armor and into the electronic bits. Or even into the tires. Of course, most of today's bots have titanium armor and so it might require a lot of heat. Any ideas how to develop such a device? Or even better, an arm or blade that was super heated could slice right through the opponent like butta.

3) EMP Pulse: Not sure if this would fall under the category of "electronic weaponry". But I guess it doesn't matter if you don't get caught, right? I like this one a lot because it would disable the opponent's bot without touching them. Of course, you'd need a way to keep your own bot running - maybe a mechanical restart device? Of course, in order to avoid detection, the bot would still need some sort of obvious "primary weapon" as a decoy - like a big hammer. The big hammer can hit the opponent just as you hit the EMP. So when the opponent's bot mysteriously dies, it looks like it was killed by the hammer blow. Then one would hope the physical switch would trip and restart your own bot to capture the glory. Or if that didn't work, there could even be a wind up motor to spin your robot around in a victory dance to pretend it was still functional.

4) Lasers: Okay, this is maybe bending the rules a bit too far but think about it. Again, the trick is to not get caught. Instead of trying to disable the opponent's robot, you disable the DRIVER by firing a laser beam from your robot into his/her eyes. While the person at the controls is (temporarily) blinded you could have your way with their robot. The problem is doing it in such a way as to not get caught. So can one use infrared lasers, perhaps?

5) Impact tools: This seems so obvious to me I am amazed nobody uses them. It says you can have compressed gas up to 1000 psi. This should be more than enough to drive an impact chisel or impact drill clear through any opponent. Again the electromagnet from option 1 would be critical in holding the opponent's bot in place for the assault.

Okay, I know you folks can think of other ideas. Maybe some sort of sonic device? They don't prohibit sound-based weapons. Interesting that they specify "untethered" projectiles as illegal. Does that mean "tethered" projectiles are okay? I've never seen anyone try to use a spear gun. That could be cool. A 1000psi blow gun? BAM. Dead robot. And they say you can't use a high powered laser - but what about a high powered light source and a fresnel lens to burn holes in the opponent's armor? THAT would be exceedingly cool.