Press Release: September 17, 2008
Fighting Robots Invade Austin! Maker Faire 2008 and RoboGames Bring Battling Bots to Austin for the First Ever Texas Cup!
Take the best parts of a monster truck rally, the thrill of NASCAR, and the evil genius of the maddest scientist you can find, infuse that with lashings of machine oil and garage-mechanic knowhow and you have the Maker Faire RoboGames. The best fighting robot competitors from USA and Canada will be on hand at MakerFaire Austin to smash, bash, crash and trash their way to victory inside a 1600-square foot bulletproof battle arena!
"It's really awesome to be doing a show in Austin," says RoboGames President David Calkins. "This will be the largest venue we've ever played to, so we're really looking forward to a good crowd. I imagine the Texans are really going to enjoy our San Francisco robot destruction. For everyone who loves watching car wrecks at NASCAR, they're in for a treat. These robots TRY to destroy each other. Fire and crashes each and every match."
Battling robot competitors to keep an eye out for include crowd favorite and RoboGames dominator, 340lb Canadian robot Ziggy, who will have to beat out Austin favorite The Judge in order to fight his way to the Texas Cup in the Super Heavyweight category. Texas Heat is the fire-breathing, award-winning barbecuer of bots who is coming all the way from Canada to flame his way to Combot glory in the Lightweight category.
These battling bots will round out Maker Faire's robotics focus, which will also include robotic warships, Capital BEST Robotics, The Robot Group and more. Maker Faire, the two-day family-friendly event that celebrates arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset, will also include alternative energy vehicles, the life-sized Mousetrap, Eepy Bird Diet Coke & Mentos Fountains, fire acts, rockets, Tesla coils, a blacksmith village, art and crafts, Edible Austin's Food Pavilion and much more. Maker Faire is for resourceful folks who like to tinker and love to make things. We call them Makers.
Your competitors for the 2008 Maker Faire RoboGames Texas Cup:
| 340 lb. Super Heavyweight: | 220 lb. Heavyweight: |
120 lb. Middleweight: |
60 lb. Lightweight: |
30 lb. Featherweight: |
| Ziggy | Original Sin | Warsaw | Spinnerbait Jr. | Pint Sized Chaos |
| Vladiator | Sewer Snake | Pipe Wrench | Cornholio | Relic |
| Gerlad | The Defyer | Tetracide | Guillotine | Retic Bot |
| Steel Reign | Gerald | Emily | The Rutt Factor | Totally Offensive |
| The Judge | Vlad IIVan Helsing | Ice Cube | Texas Heat | |
| Dark Disk | ||||
| Big B | ||||
| Rotato |
All your favorite competitors will be on hand to sign autographs and answer questions about their robots. Get a birds-eye view into the pits as the robots are serviced and repaired. Find out how the builders are going to do it better next time, and learn how to make your own bot from the ground up.
For the RoboGames Texas Cup schedule and more information on Maker Faire, please visit www.makerfaire.com.
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