---
title: "Robot combat"
chunk: 1/11
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_combat"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:20:55.912995+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Robot combat is a type of robot competition in which custom-built machines fight using various methods to incapacitate each other. The machines have generally been remote-controlled vehicles rather than autonomous robots.
Robot combat competitions have been made into television series, including Robot Wars in the United Kingdom and BattleBots in the United States. These shows were originally broadcast in the late 1990s to early 2000s and experienced revivals in the mid-2010s. As well as televised competitions, smaller robot combat events are staged for live audiences such as those organized by the Robot Fighting League.
Robot builders are generally hobbyists and the complexity and cost of their machines can vary substantially. Robot combat uses weight classes, with the heaviest robots able to exert more power and destructive capabilities. The rules of competitions are designed for the safety of the builders, operators, and spectators while also providing an entertaining spectacle. Robot combat arenas are generally surrounded by a bulletproof screen.
Competitor robots come in a variety of designs, with different strategies for winning fights. Robot designs typically incorporate weapons for attacking opponents, such as axes, hammers, flippers, and spinning devices. Rules almost always prohibit gun-like weapons as well as other strategies not conducive to the safety and enjoyment of participants and spectators.

== History ==

Among the oldest robotic combat competitions extant in the United States are the "Critter Crunch" (founded about 1987) in Denver and "Robot Battles" (founded in 1991) based in the southeastern United States. Both events are run by members of the "Denver Mad Scientists Society".

1987 – The "Denver Mad Scientists Society" organized the first Critter Crunch competition at Denver's MileHiCon science-fiction convention.
1990 – The First Robot Olympics took place in Glasgow, Scotland organized by the Turing Institute and marked a 'peacetime' recreational contest between robots from multiple countries.
1991 – Kelly Lockhart organized the first "Robot Battles" competition at Atlanta's DragonCon science-fiction convention.
1994 – Marc Thorpe organized the first Robot Wars competition in San Francisco. Four annual competitions were held from 1994 to 1997.
1997 – Rights to the Robot Wars name are transferred to British TV production company Mentorn, who produce the Robot Wars television series. Series 1 and 2 feature competitive games and obstacle courses as well as simple combat. In Series 3, the main competition switches to entirely combat. In the United Kingdom, Robot Wars aired 157 episodes across nine series (seven main tournament series and two "Extreme" side-competition series) from 1998 to 2003. Three spin-off series were produced for the United States (2001–2002), two for the Netherlands (2001–2003), and one for Germany (2002).
1999 – Former Robot Wars competitors in the United States organize a new competition, named BattleBots. The first tournament was shown as a webcast, with the second tournament shown as a cable 'Pay-per-view' event.
2000 – BattleBots is picked up as a weekly television program on Comedy Central. It would span five seasons ending in 2002.
2001 – Robotica appears on The Learning Channel as a weekly series. The format features tests of power, speed, and manoeuvrability as well as combat. The show ran for three series, ending in 2002.
2002 – Foundation of the Robot Fighting League (RFL), a regulatory body composed of the organizers of robot combat events in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. The body produces a unified set of regulations and promotes the sport.
2003 – Foundation of the Fighting Robots Association (FRA), a regulatory body managing robot combat events in the United Kingdom and Europe.
2004 – Robot Combat is included as an event at the ROBOlympics in San Francisco, California, with competitors from multiple countries. ROBOlympics competitions including Robot Combat run from 2004 to 2008.
2008 – ROBOlympics changes its name to RoboGames and, while most events are not combat-related, Robot combat is significantly featured. Events run from 2008 to 2013, 2015–2018, and in 2023. Robot combat matches are live streamed to Twitch starting in 2017.
2009 – Three official BattleBots competitions were managed and filmed in the hopes of securing a television sponsorship, though no deals materialized.
2013 – Robot Combat League, a fictional Syfy show themed around robot combat, premieres for one season.
2015 – BattleBots returns to television as a summer series on the ABC television network; it is renewed for a second season, which aired in the summer of 2016.
2016 – Robot Wars returns to British television on BBC2, with two further series in 2017.
2017 – Human-piloted "robot" fight: Eagle Prime (produced by MegaBots) vs. Kuratas (produced by Suidobashi Heavy Industries)
2018 – After a year long hiatus, BattleBots returns to television on the Discovery Channel and The Science Channel. New seasons of BattleBots have been produced for the network yearly as of 2023. The first seasons of King of Bots (KoB), Fighting my Bot, This Is Fighting Robots (TIFR) and Clash Bots are held and broadcast in China. After the cancellation of Robot Wars by the BBC, Bugglebots, a beetleweight competition featuring former BB, RW, and KoB competitors, is broadcast on YouTube. Another season of Bugglebots is broadcast in 2019. Norwalk Havoc Robot League (NHRL) is founded, an organization that hosts and live streams the largest 3lb robot combat competition league in the world.
2021 – BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, a spin-off of BattleBots, premieres on Discovery+. A sequel series, BattleBots: Champions, premieres in 2022. NHRL expands to 12 and 30lb weight classes
2023 – NHRL rebrands as National Havoc Robot League and becomes the biggest robot combat event in the world, with a $2million+ prize pool at their 3lb, 12lb, and 30lb World Championships.