Outside of the Box

Are you hyped about the NHRL Teams event on June 1st? Well, I was joined by the crew from Havoc Rundown including Ashley, Ryan, Justin, Thomas & Tony to break down the groupings in each division to discuss matchups and who we will will win it all! This episode is packed full of fun discussions like theories on how Paws could win it all in the 3lb division as well as some friendly smack talk between Ashley and Thomas. This is de...

Introducing this very important episode on the importance of safety in combat robotics where in the first half I chat with Quantum's James Cooper on the safety fundamentals and everyone's responsibilities to put together a safe event followed by a discussion with Triton's Brad Hanstad and Synthwave builder Kyle Kuffrey about why good safety practices are so essential to the growth of the sport and how event organizers have had to a...

It is another roundtable and this time I gathered together one of the most dominant forces in the NHRL - Team WPI! We talked about many things including the importance of growing combat robotics, the Loophole controversy and how it subsequently promoted more creativity in the sport, what you can expect from Team Too Hot To Handle at NHRL's Teams event and a special conversation with Gabe & Alex about the dominance of Clyde in A...

In one of my biggest episodes to date, I got a bunch of strong performers together from the April NHRL event including the builders of Golden Dumpster winners Chonkiv (30lb) and Ambisbaena (12lb). Hear all about how the RoboJackets of Georgia Tech felt about having to fight each other in the competition and why their bot names usually end in the letter 'i'. Also, hear from Team Stamdamonium who had a great day with many qualifying ...

It is now two years to the day that the first episode of Outside of the Box premiered featuring Zach and Diana from Team Skorpios. The show has come a long way in that time and I have gotten to interview so many wonderful folks within combat robotics and beyond. I chose 20 episodes for this recap that were defining or important to the show in some way and I break them all down for you here. Thank you to everyone who has supported a...

It is time for a chat with Hacksmith Industries about the highly anticipated BattleBots entry - Orbitron! We talked about how Ben, Bogdan and Hacksmith became involved with the University of Waterloo's BattleBots idea which has turned into a super innovative AI robot that may change the landscape of combat robotics. They elaborate on the benefits and challenges of an AI robot and how important it is to continue inspiring others to ...

If you are already feeling high about April's NHRL event, please check out this roundtable featuring Corey, Chris, Gabe, Jaaron, Dan & Kyle where we preview what to expect from their robots and much more! We naturally talked about triple threat Jamison Go who will be competing in every weight class, dug into much of the rest of the field and I got super hype about multibot Barbie & Ken & Tim Hebert's new bot Pretty Fly ...

Prepare to be royally entertained in this episode as I chat with Gillian and Linden of Bot Barons about their court full of regal robots. We dove into how they came up with this amazing theme in the first place, why cam lifters are so hard to fight, their bot Prince's amazing performance at the March RIT event and how Emperor will be changing its "clothes" for the April event and moving away from the live shaft system it has had in...

It is time for the final spotlight on the National STEM Challenge Champions leading up to the National STEM Festival coming up here in mid-April. This time I spoke to Jasmine Lima who has had a longtime passion for STEM and has been working on her project for years which focuses on Tsunamis and T-Sound. She was inspired by a trip to Hawaii which potentially put her in the path of a tsunami and she is working to prevent this terribl...

It is Floor Friday and time for another clip with one of the most vibrant personalities on the show - Sunnie Allen! We talked about how auditioning for a different show led her to eventually be cast on The Floor, a really cool wildcard idea that Sunnie has for a potential next season of The Floor, and the excitement and challenge of taking Steve out of the game who was a well-liked contestant on The Floor. Hear more about Sunnie's ...

This is a very special STEM Spotlight episode as I had the opportunity to speak with two sisters who are both National STEM Champions. Ananya and Advika Vuppala decided to pursue projects that help with early detection and diagnosis of Anemia and MS which are conditions that impact many people globally. Advika's project uses an app prototype to assist with detection of anemia while Ananya's project uses machine learning to diagnose...

I cannot believe it has been TWO years since I took a leap and started this show to put a well-deserved spotlight on the combat robotics community, especially all of the wonderful people in it. In this video, I share some thanks for the people who have helped and supported me along the way, included highlights of some great episodes we've done and a teaser for my BIG Giveaway that is coming in April. Thank you all for the continued...

It is time for another Floor Friday and this time I sat down with Stephanie Ross who went on quite a hot streak early on during her time on The Floor. We talked about how her real specialty is horror movies, which is why she had to adjust her strategy and challenge Tom, her experience in getting case for the Floor and Stephanie talked about they honeymoon she planned with her winnings from The Floor. Stephanie was a delight to talk...

This episode was a very exciting STEM Spotlight as I got to talk about robots with STEM Champion Shiv Vinodshankar whose background in VEX robotics helped him come up with a new option for mobility as an alternative to a wheelchair. He has come up with a quadruped design that can make navigating things like stairs and rough terrain much easier for people like his sister who rely on a wheelchair to get around. We talked about his pr...

For any fans who have asked about Destruct-A-Thon and Proving Grounds and wondered, is it worth going to Vegas for - this is the episode to listen to. Join me for several segments including an opening discussion with Craig Danby and Jason Rogers who have seen massive success at Proving Grounds with Slammo, Chad New who has been making his opponents quake with his new robot Magnitude and finally an amazing discussion with BattleBots...

In this new recurring interview series which I am now calling "Floor Fridays", I chatted with Gene Magee who was dubbed "King of the Floor" and went on one of the greatest runs seen on the show. We talked about how being acquaintances with a fellow Floor contestant led him to being on the show, how being a natural entertainer impacted his performance on the show, a big debate about the level of specificity required in the answers d...