Bot Wars: The arms race, SEAS-style

Here is Auburn Schwartzmeyer’s answer — without a moment of hesitation — when asked if steering her Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) club through the latest edition of Bot Wars, Engineers Week’s marquee event, is any fun.

“Ohmygosh,” says Schwartzmeyer, club president and a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, making no attempt to tone down her joy and happiness. “It’s so much fun.”

Then ask Schwartzmeyer to explain the object of Bot Wars.

“Just fight,” she says. “Your robot has to destroy another robot.

“We have been using a boom stick. It spins. It’s a very large piece of metal. It’s very heavy. It rotates very, very fast.”

Consider this, in precise engineering/math-speak, the essence of what is now a hot UB tradition. The spring semester brings Engineers Week, six days of events — this year from Feb. 19-25 — that promote interaction among participating student engineering clubs and the campus community.

Among the activities are the ever-popular Egg Drop, Newspaper Bridges, Derby Race and Giant Jenga. (The full schedule of events is available online.)

And topping off the week on Feb. 24 — like a timed explosion — is Bot Wars.

Schwartzmeyer and her band of SAE engineers is one of several clubs competing in Engineers Week. One member will navigate the SAE’s Bot Wars creation through a wooden maze and then set up inside the “battle arena.”

To calm concerns about any … overexuberance during the war itself, every contestant must abide by the Official Rulebook, specifically under the subhead “Weapons.”

“Judges may disqualify robots if they deem them to be of danger to bystanders or participants,” states Design Rule 2a. To dispel any ambiguity, consider the tenets under “approved” and “banned” weapons.

Approved: impaling weapons (spikes, nails, etc.), carbide or abrasive blades, tethered projectiles (limited to a range of 3 feet).

Banned weapons: flammable liquid, flame-based weapons, “any kind of” explosive or intentionally ignited solid, radio jammers, tasers, tesla coils or any other high-voltage device.

Clearly, reason has prevailed.

As does a fierce sense of camaraderie and ownership among the 35 or so members of Schwartzmeyer’s group. They hang out and tinker in the Jarvis Hall workspace, designing their clean snowmobile, mini baja, bot of choice and other activities.

Schwartzmeyer’s description of 104 Jarvis, which resembles a fantasy garage for the DIY crowd:

“Cramped,” she says, with clear understatement. “But we have by far the most space of any club. So ‘cramped’ but grateful for the space we have.”

Then there is that academic esprit de corps.

“You have all your friends there,” Schwartzmeyer says of Engineers Week. “From the beginning of the week, we have these little events we run, and games, and we all get to play them and compete, and you earn these points. The Bot War is the big cherry on top. It’s the finale you worked so hard for.”

Schwartzmeyer loves the common bond.

“Some of these people live together,” Schwartzmeyer says. “I lived next door to one of them for a while. The vice president of the club is my roommate. These bonds last a long time. We have alumni who are still very close.”

Being the team lead has taught her leadership skills she probably never would have otherwise.

“I’m beyond grateful for that,” she says.

Although Schwartzmeyer was ensconced in Engineering Week preparations, she didn’t mind describing at least two examples of when that SAE cohesion spilled past Jarvis Hall.

Virgile Besognet is a senior with a “super-awesome” 1976 Volkswagen Beetle, Schwartzmeyer says. Besognet is also French, with a thick accent. So when the group orders fast food from a drive-through, the others normally relay his order through the outdoor speaker.

Recently, Besognet drove his Beetle to Wendy’s, while the others faced the thought of him having to communicate all orders from his driver’s seat. No problem. He ended up driving his Beetle backwards through the order line so his SAE brethren could order from their side as they faced the speaker.

“With there being a meme going around at the time of people in imported left-hand drive cars going through drive-throughs backwards — so they could reach the window — we thought that Virgile’s accent was enough of an excuse to try this,” says Riley Pauldine, a passenger in the turned-around Beetle. “We ordered Frosties and I had to hold them outside because of how fast they were melting.”

Before Schwartzmeyer stops smiling about this, she thinks of another.

The club threw a “Super Soft” birthday party inspired by the Canadian TV sitcom “Letterkenny” for SAE member Ivan Ristow.

“We actually threw one of these for Ivan, who is doing much of the work on our battle bot,” Schwartzmeyer says. “It’s pretty much what the name says. It was all guys, except for myself and another female. We’re grilling and they are all wearing these pink frilly boas and pink party hats, and they had these princess birthday sashes.

“It was a surprise party outside. It was super cool.”

These experiences are common, Pauldine says. They watch movies in their workspace and take on well-documented “mini-quests” exploring campuses.

“No one plans for these moments to be memorable, but with everyone in SAE always looking to enjoy their time at school more, if the right people are at SAE at the right time, stories are bound to be written,” Pauldine says.

“SAE is a great place to learn skills not taught in the classroom. There have been times that I learned something in SAE and then walked into lecture, and have already known the material from SAE.”