‘China’s BattleBots’ tournament eyes global domination (2)

(Two Ganker robots ready for a fight Photo: People's Daily Online/Jiang Jie)

Seeking fresh blood

Such violent competitions are different from other robot competitions in China, according to Zhang.

“What we provide is more like ‘pan-entertainment.’ Experts can observe and analyze the cutting-edge technology, but it does not take an expert to enjoy a FMB game. That’s one reason why we organize the competition to arouse public interest, so that more people pay attention and maybe even join the industry,” he told the People’s Daily Online.

It is currently quite difficult to organize a combat robot club in China. Most teams come from research institutes, unlike in the West where many combat robots are designed and made by ordinary robot enthusiasts, according to Fang, who hopes to see fresh blood injected into the industry.

During the primary competition on April 8 and 9, two open competitions were also held on the sidelines, allowing audiences to try their hands at robot combat. The company additionally runs a one-month robot camp for anyone interested in designing combat robots.

“Apart from educating people about robots, the robot camp can also train more players for FMB Championships in the future. As a commercial competition, participants are crucial to us. Hence, a cycle must be created; we are prepared to train an ordinary iPad player into a professional competitor,” Zhang said.