Campus buzzed with excitement March 9 as Rice University hosted its inaugural battlebots competition, the Rice Robo-Rumble. The event brought together 14 fierce competitors — students, hobbyists and even a high school student — who designed, built and battled their own remote-controlled combat robots in a thrilling test of engineering and strategy.
The competition featured two weight classes: the 1-pound Plastic Antweight division with 11 competitors and the 3-pound Beetleweight division featuring three contenders. Each match took place in a custom-built 8-by-8-foot steel-framed, polycarbonate-enclosed Battle Box, where the robots attempted to disable or destroy their opponents using various mechanical weapons from spinning drums to ramming wedges.
In the 1-pound category, Physique Flak, designed and built by battlebot veteran Ian McMahon, emerged victorious. University of Houston’s Ethan Bush claimed second place with BroBot, while Rice senior Ali Nik-Ahd and junior Giovanna Veras secured third place with their robot Wedge.
The 3-pound Beetleweight title belonged to Rob Ross and his dominant creation, Dreadbot, which steamrolled the competition with precision and power.
Battlebot tournaments follow a double-elimination format featuring three-minute matches. If neither robot is knocked out during a match, judges decide the victor based on damage, aggression and control.
“Every component of the robot must be heavily optimized for performance,” said senior Sam Sarver, co-president of the Rice Robotics Club. “Maximizing the weapon’s mass is crucial. Every detail must be fine-tuned for battle with different strategies and approaches shaping the design.”
Members of the Rice Robotics Club build their battlebots from scratch, starting with brainstorming weapon types, drive systems and body structures. The designs are then created in computer-aided design (CAD) software, 3D-printed in the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) and assembled. The completed robots undergo rigorous testing in a weapon-testing box before being declared battle-ready.
For the Rice team, the competition wasn’t just about destruction — it was a hands-on learning experience. The club, which welcomes students of all experience levels, provides weekly workshops on CAD design, 3D printing, CNC (computer numerical control) machining and electronics. Members gain invaluable engineering and problem-solving skills, making the experience as educational as it is exciting.
“This is so much more than a fun hobby,” said junior Cristiana De Sousa, Rice Robotics Club co-president. “Building battle robots teaches you real-world engineering skills — fabrication, rapid prototyping and working with electrical components. These are skills that translate directly into careers in mechanical, electrical or even project management fields.”
Sophomore Ruiyang Wu, the club’s battlebots electrical and mentorship team lead, highlighted the wealth of learning opportunities gained throughout the experience.
“For me, battlebots specifically has a lot more to it than just technical skills,” Wu said. “You have to know how to counter the competition, and battlebots is a project, meaning you need all the skills that lie under project management, like time management, as well.”
Members of the Rice Robotics Club say they hope to make the Rice Robo-Rumble an annual tradition, joining the ranks of Texas universities like the University of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin, which regularly host similar tournaments. The event was funded through Rice’s OEDK and generous donors, ensuring students had access to cutting-edge resources to bring their robots to life.
Sarver, who has already secured a job with Amazon Robotics in Boston, calls battlebot competitions an invaluable training ground for aspiring engineers.
“This is applied engineering at its finest — design, test, iterate, improve,” Sarver said. “It’s what we’ll be doing in our careers.”