For Kids! Überbots Humanoid Sumo Fun

by Tom Atwood

Überbots Humanoid Sumo Video Windows Media Video, 19MB

Überbots humanoid biped toy robots, offered by Überstix, www.uberstix.com, offer kids a chance to be mechanical engineers. Überstix  is a company that has created sets of interchangeable plastic building pieces that can be used to build buildings, towers, bridges and other structures. Überbots have hard points to which mechanical “weapons systems” made out of Überstix can be attached—weapons systems that the child hobbyist designs.

The primary goal in an Überbots competition is to push the opponent out of a defined space, which can be indicated by a one meter diameter circle, a square made out of black tape applied to a smooth floor, or other landmarks, such as a wall or the end of a piece of furniture. Push your opponent over the line or against the wall or other item, and you win.

There are four lights on the upper chest of these robots, and a touch sensor on the chest. Hit that sensor with a punch and the lights on the attacked robot will sequentially go out. This enables you to keep score by chest punches.

Perhaps the most gratifying victory occurs when you topple the opponent Überbot. Some have devised the equivalent of grapnel hooks using the Überstix pieces to snag the top of the opponent and pull it over. The options for weapons systems design are limited only by one’s imagination. This is what distinguishes this toy robot—it offers a child the chance to creatively engineer the fighting gear taken into battle by his or her Überbot. 

The video is a simple demonstration of the functionality of the Überbot. Click here to see Überbots in action!

For more information, visit www.uberstix.com.

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