{"id":32797,"date":"2013-03-09T14:09:13","date_gmt":"2013-03-09T21:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/09\/robot-combat-league-neither-rocksem-nor-socksem.html"},"modified":"2013-03-09T14:09:13","modified_gmt":"2013-03-09T21:09:13","slug":"robot-combat-league-neither-rocksem-nor-socksem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/09\/robot-combat-league-neither-rocksem-nor-socksem.html","title":{"rendered":""Robot Combat League" neither rocks'em nor socks'em"},"content":{"rendered":"
Yeah, it sounded pretty cool. But RCL on Syfy is … 85% hype, 15% substance.<\/p>\n

The robots are not actually robots, but anthropomorphic waldos — connected to the sides of the ring for power and hydraulics, and operated by a team of two, one manning the legs\/bar to move the robot around, one controlling the upper torso, including, of course, the fists.<\/p>\n

The fights is three 2-minute rounds. \u00a0The fights are judged on points by three refs, unless a robot is "knocked out." \u00a0The robots basically go in and batter each other, as (FX-crew-triggered) pyrotechnics go off, bits and pieces get mangled and knocked off, and hydraulic tubes (authentic, but strategically made vulnerable) get torn and spew strength-sapping fluid all over.<\/p>\n

Between the rounds, the players stand around and help the robot tech get their robot back into the ring.<\/p>\n

Each of the robots is fundamentally the same in the internals, but is tricked out differently with different armor, fits, reach, and stage dressing, including thematically dangerous-sounding names.<\/p>\n

The actual competition is a fraction of the time involved. \u00a0There's lots of BIG BOXING\/WRESTLING MATCH ANNOUNCEMENT SHOUTING and flashing lights and cheering crowds. \u00a0There's also lots of profiles of the competitors, trash talking, and flashy computer graphics. \u00a0It's professional sports showmanship writ small.<\/p>\n

When the robots are in the ring, it's moderately more exciting, though it's still unclear how much the actual piloting is having a tactical effect much as lucky blows do. \u00a0Just like the original "Rock'em-Sock'em Robots", it's as much about vigorous button pushing and happenstance.<\/p>\n

We watched the first episode — which was waaaaay too much setup and only one match — and then the second ep — which had two fights.<\/p>\n

There won't be a third, as far as we're concerned.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\n \n <\/div>\n

\u2018Robot Combat League\u2019: Bot designer talks Syfy\u2019s new \u2018Real Steel\u2019-eqsue reality competition show | EW.com<\/a>
\n Robot boxing isn\u2019t just for your little Rock\u2019em Sock\u2019em game anymore. In the new Syfy series Robot Combat League, metal giants dole out powerful punches…\n <\/p>\n

View this post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yeah, it sounded pretty cool. But RCL on Syfy is … 85% hype, 15% substance. The robots are not actually robots, but anthropomorphic waldos — connected to the sides of the ring for power and hydraulics, and operated by a team of two, one manning the legs\/bar to move the robot around, one controlling the … Continue reading “"Robot Combat League" neither rocks'em nor socks'em”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33730,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/13\/do-the-robot.html","url_meta":{"origin":32797,"position":0},"title":"Do the Robot!","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 13-May-13 9:50pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Nice article (with some great sound\/video clips). But no mention of Robbie? \u00a0Or (just) The Robot? \u00a0Oh, the pain!Reshared post from +George WimanFor extra nerd points, what's the connection between Rossum's Universal Robots and Batman?\u00a0http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/media\/2013\/05\/robots-modern-unimate-watson-roomba-timeline A Brief History of Awesome Robots From futuristic cities to a 1980s Chinese restaurant, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9995,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/09\/29\/mmmmm_bacon.html","url_meta":{"origin":32797,"position":1},"title":"“MMMMM … BACON ….”","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 29-Sep-06 9:57am","format":false,"excerpt":"We're all doomed, doomed, I tell you. Robots think we taste like bacon. Researchers at NEC System Technologies and Mie University have designed a robot that can taste \u2014 an...","rel":"","context":"In "Food & Drink"","block_context":{"text":"Food & Drink","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/food-drink"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/t2-endo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":137315,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/10\/12\/you-can-run-but-so-can-the-killer-robot-chasing-you.html","url_meta":{"origin":32797,"position":2},"title":"You can run … but so can the killer robot chasing you","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 12-Oct-18 9:17am","format":false,"excerpt":"\"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop ... ever, until you are dead!\"-- Kyle Reese, in The Terminator (1984)Teaching robots how to jump over and climb things ... what could go wrong?Full story:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27768,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/gir.html","url_meta":{"origin":32797,"position":3},"title":"GIR!","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 6-May-12 10:05am","format":false,"excerpt":"A nice look back at the zaniness of \"Invader Zim\" and Zim's robot, GIR. Zim was an idiosyncratic taste, but I liked it, darkness and all. Embedded Link Why Invader Zim's GIR should be your favorite robot sidekick Science fiction has portrayed its fair share of glitchy and bumbling robots\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":133494,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/17\/the-robot-invasion-and-the-sidewalks-of-san-francisco.html","url_meta":{"origin":32797,"position":4},"title":"The Robot Invasion and the Sidewalks of San Francisco","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 17-May-17 8:09am","format":false,"excerpt":"While Silicon Valley has a rep as the tech capital of the world, a San Francisco city councillor is trying to get sidewalk delivery robots banned.The ostensible reasons -- concerns about interactions with people who have mobility problems -- seem completely amenable to testing and control. Putting a clear owner\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49266,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/01\/16\/him-robots.html","url_meta":{"origin":32797,"position":5},"title":"Him, Robots","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 16-Jan-15 5:17am","format":false,"excerpt":"Design one incredibly iconic robot in Hollywood? That grants you legendary status.Design two of the most famous robots ever in visual media? That's damned fine work.RIP, Mr. Kinoshita. And may Robby and B9 guide you to your rest. Originally shared by +Scott Randel: Danger! Danger! Look out, Robert Kinoshita!100 years\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32797\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}