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About
The Robotics Society (RoboSoc) is for students of any discipline and skill level, to get involved in building robots for fun, research, and competition.
Our annual membership fee is £20, for which you get you own Combat Bot build kit, weekly workshops, and the opportunity to get involved in our projects, listed below.
- Combat Bots. Easy, cheap, fun for anyone, run by RoboSoc. A competition at the end of each semester.
- Tempest, our Robot Fighting League team. A 5.4kg robot to compete against other Universities in April 2022.
- Sea++, our Autonomous Sailboat team, developing a high performance boat with robust navigation, for entry into two international competitions in 2023.
- Plymouth RoboSoc, our flagship bipedal humanoid team, developing a world class robot entry for two international competitions in 2023, and academic research.
Weekly Workshop - Wednesday 1pm - 4pm, Smeaton Building, Room 303
We provide all the tools, equipment, and support you need!
Combat Bots
Anyone can build a Combat Bot, even you!
Combat Bots is a destructive robot competition, essentially a mini robot wars, and the core activity of RoboSoc. Ant weight division robots weigh less than 150 grams and fit within a 10cm cube, fighting to the death in a 30cm^2 arena, under remote control, in 3 minute matches.
Membership purchase will buy you:
- A Combat Bots kit of parts* with everything you need to get a robot up and running, and entry to our competition.
- Access to our weekly workshops, Smeaton Building 303, 1-4pm.
- Access to our Discord server
* which is worth £25-£30. If that's not bargain then I don't know what is.
The Combat Bot competition and rules https://www.robotwars101.org/ants/rules.htm
Tempest
Robot Fighting League Team
The IET on Campus in partnership with Leeds University are launching a UK university wide combat robot competition, to be held April 2022. Robots must weigh less than 5.4kg & otherwise follow Fighting Robot Association rules. The Robot Fighting League (RFL) is a great project for students with a passion for CAD design, mechanical engineering, and control electronics.
RoboSoc has recieved financial support from UPSU (University of Plymouth Student Union) to build a robot for this competiton and represent both the society and the university. The IET on Campus will provide travel and accommodation. We have a team of undergraduates taking over this semester from students who are now focused on their final year projects.
The Competition http://www.theiet.org/career/routes-to-engineering/student-hub/on-campus/iet-on-campus-and-leeds-university-robot-fighting-league/
The Rules http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/documents/Build-Rules.pdf
Sea++
Autonomous Sailboat Team
In keeping with Plymouth's expertise and heritage in marine engineering, we are developing an autonomous sailboat for the World Robotic Sailing Championship (WRSC) and International Robotic Sailing Regatta (IRSR). The team has grown from three to nearly fifteen members, including both postgraduates & undergraduates studying a wide range of subjects, and with varying sailing ability. The team has been able to seek world leading experts for support within the university and externally, and is planning to announce RoboSoc's first sponsor by the end of the semester.
This is a great opportunity for students keen to develop sensors and navigation algorithms, using embedded C++, or alternatviley to explore high performance design & manufacture through boat development, as part of this exciting project.
Autonomous Marine Systems Group (AMSG) http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/autonomous-marine-systems
AMSG Sailboat project http://plymouth-sailboat.github.io/
World Robotic Sailing Championship (WRSC) https://www.roboticsailing.org/
International Robotic Sailing Regatta (IRSR) https://www.sailbot.org/
Humanoids
International Football and Olympics Style Competitions
The University of Plymouth has a history of building robot humanoids for the FIRA and RoboCup international competitions, which compete in Olympics style events and play football. In 2015 a new 1m tall humanoid “Scott” was built, but never saw competition, as the project was cut. In 2019 PhD student and RoboSoc chair Olly Smith led team of students in a revival of the project, and in January 2020 Scott stood for the first time in five years.
The humanoids project was paused during the coronavirus, but has now resumed with a team of five. This semester they are working on a new head, "backpack" to manage hardware, and joint control.
We intend to compete in the RoboCup Virtual Humanoid Competition, and use Scott as a development platform, ahead of building a brand new humanoid in 2022/23.
FIRA competition http://www.firaworldcup.org/VisitorPages/default.aspx?itemid=3
RoboCup competition http://humanoid.robocup.org/
Plymouth Robot Football 2004-2014 https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools/school-of-engineering-computing-and-mathematics/electronics-robotics/robot-football
2021/22 Calender
Activities and Events we will be participating in this academic year.
- 23.09.21 Freshers Societies Fair
- 25.09.21 Futures2021: Voyage of Discovery
- 01-05.11.21 Low Carbon Hackathon
- Technology and Art students working together to create interactive art pieces for the Illuminate Festival
- 01.12.21 Combat Bots in the SU!
- 04.12.21 - 02.02.22 Hiatus
- Time for family & friends, plus coursework & exam revision!
- 26.01.22 UoP Technology Showcase
- 30.03.22 - 01.04.22 Robot Fighting League
- 25.05.22 Combat Bots on Campus
- 28 - 31.07.22 WOMAD Festival
- Regional Public Demonstration
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