That and my Robots name was "Sponge Bot Titanium Pants" so I had that going for me.
Somewhat related but if you love this stuff a gem of a game that I cannot believe was as good as it was was based on these types of events.
He gave me the keys to his car and drove it up to the storefront and helped him in. I drove him to a parking spot where he could wait for his legs to start moving again. Ended up chatting for a few about neuroscience and the lab I was working in at the time. He gave me his card and told me to look him up sometime.
I looked him up a few days later and was amazed that he was was intimately involved in star wars, indiana jones and robot wars.
I wonder what other interesting circles we can add to this venn diagram.
Among the many highlights, there are Peruvian shamans and backyard alligators!
Rest in peace
Is there any other kind ?
The book looks interesting but i especially enjoy the linked video with the vacuum-bot that started it all.
> You can read more about his life and the tumultuous early history of the sport in Gearheads, considered the definitive history of the early years of robot combat.
https://www.amazon.com/Gearheads-Turbulent-Rise-Robotic-Spor...
> Here is some footage of a watch party hosted at Marc's workshop in 2019, featuring the original robotic vacuum cleaner that inspired the concept.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3020390768032429
(stickied comment from thread to preserve)
BattleBots was started among some Robot Wars competitors after a legal issue -
https://battlebots.fandom.com/wiki/Marc_Thorpe
"Following legal pressure, Marc Thorpe ultimately relinquished ownership of the Robot Wars name to Profile Records co-founder Steve Plotnicki in February 1999, who holds the name to this day. However, among the competitors in Thorpe's events were cousins Greg Munson and Trey Roski, who piloted La Machine with assistance from future championship-winning builder Gage Cauchois. In the face of adversity from legal action taken by Steve Plotnicki, Trey Roski convinced his cousin to close his company Impact Media and join him in developing their own competition in Las Vegas, BattleBots"
https://robotwars.fandom.com/wiki/Marc_Thorpe
Amazing legacy.
RIP, Marc.
My favorite Robot Wars bot would be SPS 2 who was lighter than air - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Y-ERX9kyI (1995)
The original videos had more of the Bloodsport feeling than the later more commercial products - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Robot+Wars+1995... (Includes footage with Marc Thorpe)
We hoped for Bladerunner, instead they decimated global poverty and disease. Maybe there are underground tournaments out there somewhere....
