There's a backpackers right on Central station, not sure on prices. Lots of pubs in the area offer accommodation too.
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I stay at the YHA just on central station when i have to overnight it in the city. Cheap and decent enough.
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www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz

Ok so more tedious update:
First of all for people who want to know, the exact location of serial space is:

33 Wellington St
Chippendale, NSW 2008

You'll see that it's really close to central station.

Some people have offered to help which is really awesometastic, if you're serious... here's my list of things I need to do, feel free to assist in any of them:

Make highdef poster and organise banner printing. Serial space is down a laneway so we'll need a biiig poster at the entrance to entice people in, maybe two... They're cheap as on vistaprint but still need to be designed up.

Spam rfl and rc forums about event. Just, everywhere you can name drop robotcombat.pozible.com.au XD

Filming: Basically they'll have to be dedicated to film the whole event, so competitors can't really do it... I'll be talking to some people at UNI but again, if you have connections! Also, the footage needs to be fairly detailed, so I can produce a decent DVD...

Design funky bot stickers. Bit of promotional gear here, you know robot jokes etc... would love help on this front.

That's it for now... there'll be more down the track.
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Setup a Facebook page for this event, it's the best way to spam it to people and it's a great way for connections to be made through likes/posts.
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https://www.halfdonethings.com/

Some updates;
Facebook page is up, spread the word!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125428507540798



Printed off a few of these to leave in the local library community area, will also seek out some other locations. Feel free to distribute (sif anyone will).

Yesterday was heaps fun at glens and proof that antweights can be damn entertaining! I was thinking of doing a 'how to build an antweight' series every week to update the pozible page, starting with the components, how to modify the servos, program the hobbyking radio etc to generate some consistent interest. Lots of the info is already there just needs collating. Will be an epic resource at the end of it in any case.

Jaemus is working on a highlights video for the page, which will be sick.
Of to uni again tomorrow for more arena fabrication...
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In case anyone's interested, here's some pics of the space:

Entrance, toilet on left, storage on right. There's a big out door area leading up to this where people can mingle.


Where we'll be putting the arena, the spot lights will do a good job illuminating the arena up.


Pits area here:



Bar... xD



Lots of powerpoints, and a few tables... we'll probably need 4 from Jeffs to make it enough for all the builders.
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Hi,

I'm Michael from RoboteShop. Having met your group in person a couple of times now, I understand your goal is attracting new members.

While, I'm not large enough yet to meet your sponsorship requirements (I'm still working on budgets to attend events like Supanova and School expo's myself), I may be able to help you promote your hobby.

We have a product line from a company called RoboRobo who are based in Korea. In Korea, battle robots are quite popular. So much so, that in their student workbooks they sometimes mention battle robots as one type of robot.

And in level two of their student guides, the final lesson is to build a battlebot using the kit from the knowledge they have gained so far in the course.

And just recently, RoboRobo have released a Battle Weapons Set (
http://www.roboteshop.com/robot-catalogue/roborobo/parts/battle-weapons.html ) which is designed to compliment their robot kits (you can check the images on that page to see the various designs they have thought of).

Now these systems are no way in any shape or form at the same level as any of your systems - the fact you can stop these with a finger (not encased in chain mail) is a testimony to that. However, they do represent the toe in the water into the world of combat robots.

My thought...if you had a RoboRobo class in future events, then my customers would be attracted to participate in your events. They would get to see your robots in action and take up your hobby if so interested.

Actually you could have two classes, one is wireless remote, the other autonomous. Each would challenge the competitors. In regards to the upcoming event on the 14th, maybe for this round I could put together a simple demonstration match.

Or if you like, arrange a meeting so you can check these systems out in person before making your decision?

Regards
Michael

Hey Michael

That roborobo kit looks really interesting, like the kind of thing I would have liked to have when I was in high school, from the looks of it the programming method is similar to the original mindstorms 'brick' layout.

Currently the serial space event is looking to be quite busy running the two combat robot classes, however depending on how many robots you may have you could register as a participant and use the arena to put on some demonstrations throughout the day.

How many people currently use the roborobo system? If a suitable weight limit was drawn up to keep it fair and there was enough competitors for a wireless and autonomous class then they would be most welcome.

You have a lot of different kits available, what sort of cost would a kit setup for 'robot combat' with the wireless remote be?

Cheers

Angus
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interesting! im certainly liking that there seems to be alot of legged robots
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<Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls

Im very impressed with the kits, personally i wouldnt buy them as i prefer more creative solutions but for somebody new to electronics they would be terrific.

Hi,

I've been selling RoboRobo all over Australia, which means, not as many as I would like in Sydney. My goal is, if I can demonstrate that there are places where customers can meet other RoboRobo users, then word of mouth would spread.

I would like to see the kind of robot gatherings I've seen in Taiwan and Japan, here in Australia. Even when I went to see the International Robot Olympiad in the Gold Coast last October, 99% of the competitors were from overseas. So I'm all for anything that will boost interest in robotics.

In regards to a wireless remote control combat robot, kit #2 ( http://www.roboteshop.com/robot-catalogue/roborobo/robots/robot-kit-no-2.html ) includes an IR wireless remote, two DC motors and a servo. With this you could;

• use each DC motor to drive two separate drive wheels to move forward, backward, spin left, spin right and the servo to operate a manipulator

@ Michael - They are very interesting kits indeed, if you would like to put on a demonstration during the Serial Space please register on the pozible event page, that'll be the only way to manage it at this stage. Can see how it progresses in future and if other classes are possible.


Serial space – Still to be done :

Large, High Definition Poster.

We'll need something big and impressive to get peoples attention and direct them into the laneway where serial space is located. Can be printed using vistaprint (cheap) and club funds, we can make one specific and a few generic ones to reuse at later events. Worst case, A1 black and white plan printing is like $4, could do loads.

Spam:

everywhere possible about the event. So far, I've posted on hobbyking, a few RC forums and given out some small fairly crappy postcards about the event. The facebook event page has gained a bit of interest but really, we need word of mouth to get out there about the event, that way people keen on the idea can seek out the relevant info. We need to direct more of the general public to the pozible event page and get some more funding happening urgently.

Filming:

I've arranged a few people who can handle the task, however will need a camera to use. We can easily setup static gopro's however someone wandering around filming all day would be good (pits footage too is great for the compilations). I have a shitty early HD camera... if anyone else has something better it'd be great if it could be used on the day, and we'll upload all the footage to a portable HDD at the event to consolidate it.

Stickers:

Again, promotional. I have files for the beetle and antweight vector designs which could be used, or perhaps some fun silly ones might be more appropriate, burshless inside lol. Anyone keen ? Vistaprint again has lots of cheap options in various sizes.

Judging:

Would very much prefer that there is a few people who will be there all day but 'not' competing, to do judging... I'm not sure this is possible, however if anyone's interested would be great. At this stage I can't offer anything in return.

Doorsman/security:

Someone at serial space might be able to do this, but we'll need someone at the door collecting donations, giving out information and keeping the general public out of the pits area.

So, who can help out where? PM me.
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Hi,

Will do.

Have you thought of contacting the http://sydneyrobotworkshop.com/ to see if they are interested in bringing along some robot eye candy?

Or, have you thought of challenging a Uni to create an autonomous battlebot to compete.

Regards
Michael

Autonomy is something which is very difficult to get to work reliably. I have contemplated it but its much easier and more interesting to just build RC ones.

In a combat context the autonomous robot really doesn't do too well. To do anything semi intelligent onboard requires reasonable processing power or expensive sensors. And even then it will probably fail 50% of the time which isn't very interesting to watch.

Autonomy is really only a gimmick as far as combat robots are concerned. Although a good one if you can get it to work.

Ah dont think I can really help out too much with any of those.

Have you thought about scales?
What about a whiteboard to put draw up on?
Also what are you going to use for time? Even just a buzzer hooked up to PA would do though a screen with a time might be better.

Steve
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Have you thought about scales?

Yep, all bots will be weighed before going into the ant arena for safety testing. Thinking of having them weighed before the finals too, not that I should have to..

What about a whiteboard to put draw up on?

Whiteboard with the draws drawn up will definitely be needed, just copied from the laptop running the system.

Also what are you going to use for time? Even just a buzzer hooked up to PA would do though a screen with a time might be better.

Not sure yet on time, whatever best we can get on the day I guess, would be nice to have a visible timer but might not be feesable.

EDIT: ahh the r2d2 guys, yeah I think they're aware of the event, perhaps Andrew or Nick if you attend one of their weekly events see if they're keen to get involved? Sadly the venue won't really have room for roaming droids but one or two as a static display is welcome... bit of cross promotion is always good.
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