How Much Does a BattleBot Cost?

Have you ever dreamt of kicking butt in breathtaking robot combat? BattleBots, a phenomenal TV show, allows fans and roboticists to satisfy their bloodlust and live out their fantasies in extreme robotic warfare – a large number of robots fight head-to-head in the battle arena without harming the audience. 

The battlebot robots, used for both entertainment and combat, can be of various weights and sizes to function uniquely. However, it is no secret that these high-quality machines come with hefty price tags. 

So how much does a BattleBot cost? Let’s unpack everything you should know about how much you have to spend building your battle robot and participating in the BattleBots show.

What is BattleBots?

BattleBots is an American bot-fight competition-based TV series telecast on the Discovery Channel each year since 2019. It is owned by the Whalerock Industries and BattleBot Productions. This popular TV series is basically an adaptation of the highly-hyped British series Robot Wars and first came on the air in 1997. 

Its consequent five seasons premiered on an American TV channel called Comedy Central started in 2000. After the end of its successful 5th season, the show faced a small hiatus and came back with a bang in 2015. It was the show’s 6th season that was telecast on ABC. 

The rules to partake in this adrenaline-packed show are pretty straightforward – you only have to submit your robot layout, the technical specifications, and CAD designs, as well as the sketches on the official website of BottleBots. Once you are officially selected to participate in the competition, you can start building your long-dreamt fighting bot. Applying for the competition is absolutely free.

Show Rules of BattleBots

Each contemporary round consists of 3-minutes. Two battle bots fight inside a 48’ x 48’ square BattleBox arena to face off and knock down each other and come out as the World BattleBots Champion. The outcome can cause a great deal of mayhem, havoc, massacre, and devastation in each match. If a bot is unresponsive or immobilized after each round, it will get eliminated once a 10-second call ends.

Based on the performance on three distinct categories (strategy, aggression, and damage), each of the three judges marks the bots from 1-5, and the contender hitting the highest point is announced as the winner. 

Robot Design Rules

The BattleBots 2021 season was shot in Las Vegas. It came on the air in January 2022 on the Discovery Channel and will continue until April 2022. Hundred striking combat bots are fighting in this season of ultimate fierceness. This time, the format has been switched to Fight Card matchups from single-round knockout, where the final 16 contenders with their robots are allowed to compete for the awaited Giant Nut trophy.

Mobility

A combat robot can be a front/rear hinging flipper, pusher/ram bot, lifter, flier, vertical/horizontal/drum/full body spinner, or anything you want, but it must include a separately run weapon to act as a decoy. Building a bot that can walk at a ~4mph speed is just fine. But, you should have a well-regulated and responsive control strategy in place to handle the robot remotely.

Weight

In seasons 1-5, the robots were categorized based on weight classes. The design criteria have also changed with the show format for the 2021 season. In the latest BattleBots season, the weight classes no longer prevail, and each combat robot must not overreach the weight limit – 250 lb. There is no obligation on the minimum robot weight. However, the maximum weight is 10lbs for ‘Flybots’. Each ‘death machine’ will be weighed officially before each Tournament gets kicked off. Mammoth is the largest and heaviest combat robot competing in Battlebots so far.  Its owners took two long months to beef it up.

Maximum Voltage

For the 2021 season, the maximum allowed voltage to power up the bot weapons and movement systems is 60V. And the permitted voltage limit is 240V for any low-power supplementary machines in the robot.

Power System – Battery/Pneumatic/Internal combustion system

• Any kind of commercially available battery goes just fine with BattleBots. However, only ‘AGM-type’ marked ones are permitted if you prefer lead-acid batteries.
• Roboticists have to install a self-starter for the ICEs and ensure proper ventilation and safety measures for the fuel system to avert explosions and flare-ups during the battles.
• Engineers must use gaseous Nitrogen if they rely on pneumatic systems to power the bot – allowed reservable pressure is 3000 psi in this case.
• Batteries should be shielded and sealed well.
• No contender can use weapons with explosives.
• Employing rotating weapons is fine, but the weight cannot exceed the limit – 80 lbs and must stop spinning in 1 minute.

All essential safety measures are taken to ensure no audience gets injured by flying shrapnel, blaze, and more while the fight goes on.

How Much Does a BattleBot Cost?

The number of instruments, various electronic and building materials to structure the robot and weapons, and internal parts like motor drives, CPU, speed and radio controllers, etc., rack up the cost involved in designing and building a BattleBots combat robot. 

Although there is no magic bullet answer to how much a battlebot costs, you can effortlessly get some unofficial approximation on the price.  

The unspoken rule of thumb is that each pound of a combat robot will cost you around 100 dollars. So a 250lb bot will come with a price tag of $25,000. 

It is just a rough assessment, and the price can go up when you start working on prototyping and machine testing. For example, the building cost can be as high as $50,000 for roboticists taking it as an expensive hobby. Though you can obviously get sponsorship, it may cover the robot construction expenses, not come out as a profit. 

Let’s have a closer look at the factors that adds up the construction cost:

• You have to spend around $2000 – $8000 on the raw material to structure the bot skeleton and arms. The type of material you pick can significantly drive this cost. For instance, while Aluminum is durable and ensures a sleek exterior, it comes with a higher price point compared to steel. 
• Components like gearboxes, drivetrain, power system, controllers, etc., may cost you around $3500 – $10,000.
• Prototyping involves around $5000 – $10,000+. You can skip the cost if you have your own prototyping instruments or find a sponsorship.

How Much Does The Winner Of Battlebots Get?

Besides offering robot enthusiasts an incredible opportunity to really show their skills, BattleBots also gives prize money to each of the winning teams of each round. The prize money for the Tournament Champions of BattleBots 2016 was $25,0000.