More Info From BattleBots.Com
Imagine a collesium where gladiators fight to the death in front of a cheering crowd.
Sound sadistic? It's not quite what you think!
Science Specialist Ed Yeates introduces us to a new generation of gladiators and a young man in Provo, Utah who builds them.
Jerome Miles finds himself routinely now in a variety of collesiums. The crowds in the bleachers cheer or taunt him until one of the competitors on the arena floor dies!
The gladiators in this case are robots.
The wheeling concoctions of sawblades, axes, rams and spears are operated via remote control by their human masters. To make competition more challenging, saws and spikes raise intermittently from the floor.
In one lightweight competition with a robot called Zigo, the plastic opponent was shredded. Pieces flew clear outside the arena.
"DRIVERS, ARE YOU READY?" "YES, READY." "DRIVERS ARE READY."
This competition called Battlebots has become one of the most popular,attracting robot builders from around the world - including a 15-year-old teenager from Provo, Utah.
At his home, Jerome Miles is one of the youngest who designs and builds his own machines - working off a shoestring budget from a sponsor he sometimes finds on the internet.
JEROME MILES, ROBOT BUILDER: "THE DESIGNS THAT USUALLY WIN ARE THE ONES THAT EITHER SMACK THE OTHER ONE REALLY HARD OR ONES THAT PICK THE OTHER UP AND TIP IT OVER."
Jerome is designing this latest machine for a Las Vegas Battlebots competition coming up in about two weeks. He uses a lot of ingenuity - making the most of his limited $2,000 funds.
He's using motors from cordless drills. The wheels are solid rubber so they won't pop. This time, he'll use a thousand pound actuator jaw which can both pierce and pick up his opponent.
"MINE RIGHT HERE - I'M PUTTING BULLET PROOF GLASS ON THE OUTSIDE TOO BECAUSE I WANT IT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE AS MANY HITS AS POSSIBLE."
"IN THE BLUE SQUARE - FROM PROVO, UTAH - AND WEIGHING IN AT 126 POUNDS..."
Knome II was Jerome's last robot - his first heavyweight entry. The opponent was a much more expensive machine built and operated by two men from Great Britain.
"I WAS REALLY SCARED AND I LOOKED OVER AT THEIR ROBOT AND IT WAS JUST WAY NICER THAN MINE AND I KNEW MINE WAS GOING TO GET TRASHED SO I WANTED TO LAST AS LONG AS I COULD."
"BLUE DRIVER, ARE YOU READY?" "YEP! BLUE DRIVER IS READY."
The British robot - Killerkurtz - came on fast and knocked Knome II's head off.
"AND THEY HIT ME A COUPLE OF TIMES WITH THEIR AX - POKE SOME HOLES AND SLAMMED IT AGAINST THE WALL. AND AFTER THAT - IT WAS PRETTY MUCH BROKEN."
Jerome has been to five arenas so far - and with each battle - he learns something new about strategy and what modifications to make in his next machine.
"I DO IT MORE FOR FUN THAN FOR WINNING. I'VE WON ONE MATCH IN THE WHOLE TIME I'VE BEEN DOING IT."
Jerome has been building robots all his life. Even in elementary school - he was reading books like this. He now works on his creations in metals class at Timpview High School.
JULIE BABB, JEROME'S MOM: "HE STARTED TAPING THINGS TOGETHER - AND THEN HE STARTED MOTORIZING THINGS. AND THEN IT JUST KEPT GOING FROM THERE."
Jerome"s long-term goal - to become a very creative mechanical engineer. In fact, someday he would like to bypass all these wheeled contraptions and put a walking robot out here.
Incidentally, one of George Lucas' creative genuies from Industrial Light and Magic recently entered a six-legged walking robot in Battlebots. Jerome says it wasn't very competitive but it sure was neat to watch.
