Brawls & Boogaloos
CIRC has hosted some of the largest hobby robotics competitions in the country featuring RC Combat, autonomous Sumo, Line Following, and more. This page contains information about past & future Bot Brawls & Bot Boogaloos including pictures, video, competition results, and more.
In the past, CIRC held RC Combat and autonomous Sumo, Line Following, Line Maze Solving, and other events together. Due to increased interest in RC Combat, it was determined best to separate events into different competitions. The Bot Brawl will include Ant and Beetle RC Combat events. The Bot Boogaloo will include Sumo, Line Following, Line Maze Solving, Cone Stalking, Art Bot and other autonomous events. This split has been successful and makes each competition better.
Below you will find the most up-to-date rules for the various events that may be featured at our competitions. If you have any questions about the rules please contact our club officers or bring your question to one of our monthly meetings.
RC Combat (example video):
1 lb (Antweight)
3 lb (Beetleweight)
Sumo (example video):
500 gram
3 kg
Line Course (example video):
Line Following
Line Maze
Other Events:
Cone Stalking
Art Bot
RoboMagellan
Past Events:
Checkers on a Sumo Ring
Best in Show
LEGO Sumo
NOTE (1/7/12): Pages for previous Bot Brawls all the way back to 2002 will be added as we continue the move to our new website. Thank you for your patience.
Competition Plans for 2025
CIRC will host three Bot Boogaloos in 2025! They will be held about 4 months apart. The starting time will be 10:00 AM. The extra time in the afternoons will be used as a Build Session.
Planned dates and events are as follows:
February 22 (Saturday after President’s Day weekend)
- Mini Sumo
- Line Follow
- Line Maze
- Cone Stalking
- Demonstrations
May 17 (Saturday before Memorial Day weekend)
- Line Follow
- Line Maze
- Cone Stalking
- Robomagellan
- Demonstrations
September 27 (Saturday about halfway between Labor and Columbus Days)
- Mini Sumo
- Pick-n-haul (Rules being developed)
- Robomagellan
- Lawn Mowing
- Drone
- Demonstrations
The events may change from the list above based on interest, preparedness, and the season. Some additional events that the club has interest in and may add are:
- Mobile Platform Pull – RC or autonomous yard-wagons pull loads under different conditions
- Line Racing – Head-to-head racing of bots on a course of parallel lines
- Mega Sumo (3 kg)
- Hockey Sumo – Mini sumos on a ring push randomly placed pucks into their respective goals
- Micromouse Wall Maze – Standard sized micromouse. Need to build the course.
We request that competitors pre-register one month beforehand by emailing president@circpeoria.org. The final list of events will be finalized one month before each Boogaloo. The cost to enter will be $10 per bot per event to be paid at check-in. Lunch will be ordered from a local restaurant and a donation jar will be used to cover the cost for those interested. The location will be the clubhouse at Izaak Walton Lake on 725 Seven Hills Road, Metamora, Illinois. Visitors are welcome and there will be no cost to watch.
These competitions will be run with the emphasis on comradery, learning, and the general enjoyment of hobby robotics.
If you have questions or suggestions, email Bruce at president@circpeoria.org.
November 24, 2024 at 4:02 pm | Brawls & Boogaloos | No comment
Bot Boogaloo 2024 Update
As our Bot Boogaloo 2024 approaches we are wrapping up our final planning and organizing. We have heard from some competitors that they will be attending. If you plan to attend, please email us at president@circpeoria.org. This will help us ensure we have what we need to make this a fun competition.
The address for Izaak Walton Lake clubhouse is 725 Seven Hills Road. The clubhouse is at the end of the road.
For more details, see the post below.
October 15, 2024 at 12:41 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Boogaloos | No comment
Announcing Bot Boogaloo 2024
Central Illinois Robotics Club [CIRC] will be hosting their Bot Boogaloo 2024 on Saturday, October 19, 2024. Start time will be 10:00 AM. The end time will be determined by the number of contestants. The location will be at the clubhouse for Izaak Walton Lake, Metamora, IL.
All the events are autonomous unless indicated otherwise. Rules are available for each event via the links below. If the event does not have a link, the rules have not been finalized yet and will be finalized at the competition.
Mail-in entries will be accepted. Live streaming of all events is planned.
If you have questions or suggestions, email president@circpeoria.org.
Registration will be the day of or in advance. If you plan on competing, please let us know at the email above so we can plan appropriately.
After the competitions, we will have a Build Session where people work on their projects as they see fit. The Build Sessions are very informal and fun.
Events planned are:
-
Line
-
Sumo
-
Way Point
-
Lawn Mowing
-
RC Drone competition
Demonstrations possible:
-
ROxX
-
Hockey Sumo
- Line Racing
-
Wall Maze (simple)
-
Inverted Pendulum
February 10, 2024 at 2:54 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Boogaloos | No comment
Bot Brawl Cancelled for 2021
We will not be hosting a Bot Brawl in 2021. We had hoped that the global pandemic would have settled down enough by now, but there is still too much uncertainty. Hopefully by August 2022, conditions will allow for us to again have fun hosting one of the best and biggest RC Combat competitions for Ant and Beetle weights.
July 7, 2021 at 12:54 pm | Brawls & Boogaloos | No comment
Bot Brawl 2020 is Canceled
Sorry to announce, but we have canceled Bot Brawl 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. We hope to see you in 2021.
June 3, 2020 at 8:07 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Boogaloos | No comment
Bot Boogaloo 2020 is on Cancelled
Conditions never got right for a contest in 2020.
Below is what we hope to do in 2021.
It will be similar to our past events with only slight modifications. We hope to again have it at Illinois Central College in East Peoria, Illinois, in room 212/213 of the Academic Building. It has worked out well to host it there, so we’ll do it again.
Parking will be available in Lot V. If it is full, Lot C will work well. Note that College Drive is a one way road going counter clockwise around the campus.
The competition will start around 10:00 AM and finish in the early afternoon. People can arrive as early as 8:30 AM. Contestant check in is from 9:00 AM to 9:40 AM. The order of events will be weather dependent. We will have the indoor events when rain is most expected and the RoboMagellan will be held outdoors when rain is least expected. The final decision will be made Saturday morning between the organizers and contestants.
We will accept mail-in entries. If you are mailing in an entry, email me so we can anticipate your robot(s). Bruce at president@circpeoria.org
Registration will be opened once we make a final decision in mid-May. You will be able to register via BuildersDB. Walk ins are welcome Saturday morning during the check in time. Please email me if you plan on entering Saturday morning. It’s not mandatory, but it will help us plan and get better organized. Bruce at president@circpeoria.org
Events
An entry fee of $20 is charged for each robot preregistered, or $30 if not preregistered. Day of the competition walk ins are welcome. Art Bot entrants are not charged. There is no charge for people just watching. It’s only the robots that we charge.
Sumo: Autonomous sumo bots (example video):
Mini Sumo (500 g)
Mega Sumo (3 kg)
Line Course: Autonomous line following bots (example video):
Line Following
Line Maze
Cone Stalking: Autonomous indoor cone touching bots Cone Stalking rules
Art Bot: Something fun and free form that does not require a registration fee. Art Bot rules
RoboMagellan: We’ll use Seattle Robotics Society’s RoboMagellan rules
April 8, 2020 at 8:04 pm | Brawls & Boogaloos, Competitions | No comment
Bot Boogaloo Fall 2019 Results
Our Bot Boogaloo was a lot of fun this Fall. We had some new faces along with all the contestants from last Spring. Some of the old rivalries got to go at it again to settle scores and some new rivalries were surely started. Plenty of us had sensor and/or program logic issues to give us more humble pie then we wanted. Still, we all had a great time competing and talking robotics.
When the competitions were over, a group sat down to have a build session and talk more robotics. This worked out well and we will make it more of a part of our next Boogaloo in the Spring 2020.
Sumo Results:
Timed event results with times:
November 9, 2019 at 7:00 pm | Brawls & Boogaloos | No comment
Harper Experience Day Bot Brawl 19
CIRC hosted their second Bot Brawl of the year! Harper Experience Day Bot Brawl 19 was held on Saturday, October 5, 2019 at Harper College in Palatine, IL. We were located in the cafeteria located on the first floor of building A. This event was held as part of Harper Experience Day and Harper Maker Fest. This was the first time that CIRC hosted a Bot Brawl as a part of these events and it was a great time for all. There were maker demonstrations and maker exhibits going on all day long in addition to the Bot Brawl.
The only event with an award was Antweight (1 lb) RC Combat. We also had fun and exhibition matches based on what contestants brought.
Rules: RC Combat Rules
Competition Schedule:
Combat Results: We ran a round robin bracket where robots were scored 1 for a win, 0 for a loss, and 0.5 for a tie. Ties were decided by the judges. For the rumble, Shenzou was the last robot standing. Great job everyone.
August 28, 2019 at 1:11 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Boogaloos | No comment
Bot Boogaloo Fall 2019 Announcement
We will host our second Boogaloo of the year, Bot Boogaloo Fall 2019!! It will be similar to our Spring event with the addition of a RoboMagellan contest. The date is set for Saturday, November 9, 2019. We will have it at Illinois Central College in East Peoria, Illinois, in room 212/213 of the Academic Building, same place as last Spring. Parking will be in Lot V. If it is full, Lot C will work well. Note that College Drive is a one way road going counter clockwise.
The competition will start around 10:00 AM and finish in the early afternoon. People can arrive as early as 8:30 AM. Contestant check in is from 9:00 AM to 9:40 AM. The order of events will be weather dependent. We will have the indoor events when rain and/or snow is most expected and the RoboMagellan outdoors when rain and/or snow is least expected. If there is snow, we’ll shovel or get clever or go inside. The final decision will be made Saturday morning.
What is a Bot Boogaloo? Last Spring it was a lot of fun and with the addition of RoboMagellan, it should be better. The events with links to their respective rules are listed below. Two of the events are of our own making.
We will accept mail-in entries. If you are mailing in an entry, email me so we can anticipate your robot(s).
Registration via BuildersDB is closed. Walk ins are welcome Saturday morning during the check in time. Please email me if you plan on entering Saturday morning. It’s not mandatory, but will help us plan and get better organized. president@circpeoria.org
Events
Sumo: Autonomous sumo bots (example video):
Mini Sumo (500 g)
Mega Sumo (3 kg)
Line Course: Autonomous line following bots (example video):
Line Following
Line Maze
Cone Stalking: Autonomous indoor cone touching bots Cone Stalking rules
Art Bot: Something fun and free form. Art Bot rules
RoboMagellan: We’ll use Seattle Robotics Society’s RoboMagellan rules
Schedule This schedule is approximate.
August 19, 2019 at 4:32 pm | Brawls & Boogaloos, Uncategorized | No comment
Bot Brawl 19 Results & Videos
Bot Brawl 19 was another great time!! Ignite Peoria and the Midwest MakerFest were loads of fun, again and as usual. We want to thank the Ingnite Peoria, Midwest MakerFest, competitors and sponsors. You make if fun and easy to work together. This year we saw lots of old faces, some new faces and a lot of true brawls! It was great fun. The day is long, but always worth the effort. We look forward to next year. Pencil in the date of Saturday, August 9, 2020. That is our guess of when it will be held.
Full videos.
Ant Rumble. It’s nuts.
Beetle Rumble. Great fun.
The final results have been added to the rankings on SPARC’s BotRank.com. Individual robot rankings can be found at this page of BotRank.com One thing to note is that if you type in www.botrank.com you will be taken to a listing that is no longer updated, which is something I always forget. Just one of those internet things. Here is the table for our final results.
Thanks again to our sponsors!!!
And last but definitely not least, SPECIAL THANKS to Ricky for taking the video and streaming it online!!!
August 18, 2019 at 1:16 pm | Brawls & Boogaloos | No comment
