Press Releases

Upland student's 'battlebot" wins big in science competitions
By Wm. Shawn Weigel
Published in The Kennett Paper: Thursday, May 06, 2010

When it came time for Upland ninth grader Alex Horne to choose an independent study project, he had little idea it would go quite so far.

An optional course for ninth grade Upland Country Day School students, the independent study project presents a one-on-one learning opportunity according to school head David Suter, who oversees the projects with the students.

For independent study, students put forth a written project proposal in the spring of their eighth grade year, which they will complete through independent study, work and weekly meetings with the head of school during their ninth grade year.

In the spring of their ninth grade year, students display the results of their work for parents, teachers and friends in a public exposition.

The goal, Suter said, is for the student to explore a personal interest that falls outside of the regular school curriculum. The project completes a year-long course of study in collaboration with Suter and comes in addition to the rest of the full ninth grade schedule.

"It's a really neat thing for our kids that differentiates it from a normal ninth grade year," Suter said. "And Alex took this idea and really ran with it, and that's the glory of this assignment."

Alex decided to create a "battlebot," a specialized remote controlled "robot" with destructive qualities designed to duke it out with similarly designed models in judged competitions.

Alex's battlebot - the "shish-kabot" - is built low to the ground and wide, making it more difficult to flip over. If indeed it does get flipped, the wheels hit the ground no matter which side it's on, allowing it to continue fighting. Alex's bot has a maximum speed of 14 MPH, almost double what the usual bot has.

Specifically, Alex's is a 30-pound Sportsman-class bot. It was built at his home with the help of his father Greg and is made mostly out of UHMW plastic and Lexan glass. Four modified 18-volt drill motors power the Shish-kabot and its primary weapon is a sharpened steel rod that pokes from the front of the bot.

Throughout the construction process, Alex took numerous photos and videos and wrote detailed journal entries for use in his independent study presentation.

He started work on the bot back in October and continued independently throughout the winter months, revising and perfecting the original design which he said he drew out on the back of a piece of cardboard.

And although he was shooting for completion of the independent study process, he wound up with a surprising number of successes along the way.

The Shish-kabot made its debut at the 2010 Motorama battlebot competition in Harrisburg on Feb. 20 and 21. There, Alex and his brand-new bot defeated opponent after opponent until he finally lost in the final match of the Sportsman Division, netting him second place and a 4-1 record.

After scoring enough points at the Upland Science Fair to earn a place in the Chester County Science Fair, Alex took home the first place ribbon in engineering, the overall Excellence in Engineering award for high school students and third place Best in Show for the ninth grade in the county competition.

Because of his success in the county competition, Alex then moved on to the Delaware Valley Science Fair competition in King of Prussia on April 6, where he competed against students from four states .

Again, Alex came home as a double winner with second place in the ninth grade engineering competition and a special award to speak and display his robot at the University of Pennsylvania NANO/BIO Interface Center on Nanoday in October 2010.

Inspired by the now-defunct television show, "Battlebots," Alex said the nexus of the project was very simple.

"Basically, I like to build things," he said.

Although he was initially interested in the bots as a hobby, when his parents balked at the investment of time, money and energy taken from school, Alex had a thought.

"I said, 'well how about for class?'" he said.

And the background that helped decide on what to build?

I like Legos," he said.

Alex and Shish-kabot's next battle is scheduled for October 9 at the Franklin Institute. He's also using his robotics knowledge to help fund his endeavors, as he will be working this summer for a battlebot party business in the area.

To learn more about Shish-kabot visit http://teamcookinwithgas.tripod.com/Shish-Kabot.html. To view videos of the battles, visit YouTube and search "shish kabot spyro."

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