U of T Engineering Robot Takes Gold at Robogames

TSA Inspected smashes nemesis The Mortician for victory gold.

Take heed when crossing King’s road between the Galbraith building and the Engineering Annex. A killer robot has been spotted, not least of all by reporters from The Toronto Star, who dropped by a couple weeks back to interview team Combat Robotics of The University of Toronto Robotics Association (UTRA). They were repairing TSA Inspected, the robot in question, who had just returned home after winning gold in the combat event at Robogames, the world’s largest robotics competition held in San Meteo, California. Fortunately, the repairs were minor, so the team had time to tell the story of their colossal victory.
 
The competition, upheld as North America’s preeminent combat robotics event, was one of 59 events at Robogames, which hosted approximately 17 countries, 181 teams, 508 robots and 667 engineers.

UTRA vice-president and Combat Robotics team member Brendan Wong (ECE 1T0) said, “it was a tremendous thrill to win after consistently placing third for the past two years.”

TSA Inspected, a pugnacious 120-pound robot with a thick skin of 3mm AR500 steel armour (what the U.S. Army uses to shield against improvised explosive devises), battled 21 other robots in its weight class. Most of the other entries were from academic institutions.

Designed by Paul Giampuzzi (MIE, 0T9), TSA Inspected has a bullish resemblance, with newly equipped small horns atop a wedge of metal that slopes forward, driven by two thick wheels. The robot’s ability to scoop up and bulldoze whatever may lie in its path is a key part of its combative advantage.

“Our relatively limited budget forced us to design a robot that could fight through the entire competition without needing replacement parts, which is virtually unheard of in this type of competition. Our team took what is a fairly complex machine and simplified it without compromising its effectiveness or robustness,” said Giampuzzi. “The robot is an outstanding example of constraint-based innovation by Canadian engineers.”

And it has definitely worked. TSA Inspected is the number-one ranked combat robot in the world. With a record of five wins and no losses this year at Robogames, TSA Inspected stands with a record of 10-2 over the past 18 month, and a lifetime record of 14-4. Victory in California is due in part to a design overhaul. The electrical sub-system now uses lighter, lithium iron nanophosphate (LiFeP04) batteries to increase current output and to compensate for the heavier load of the new steel armour.

In the triumphant battle against the Californian robot known as The Mortician, TSA inspected suffered only minor damage: a small hole pierced through its amour. But in the decisive moment of glory, TSA Inspected scooped up the Mortician and smashed it against a wall.

Team Combat Robotics members include: Wen Chong (EngSci), Ramy Ghattas (MIE), Paul Giampuzzi (MIE, 0T9), Yuanji Li (MIE), Soren Massoumi (ECE), Rehman Merali (UTIAS), UTRA president Arian Omidzohour (ECE),  Wilson Tan (MIE), UTRA vice-president Brendan Wong (ECE) and team leader Merrick Zoubeiri (ECE).