Preliminary Rounds photo by Team Litewav Speedway The Speedway is a figure eight track in which the robots race for two minutes. The winner is the robot with the most laps completed during that time limit. No weapons are allowed to be used during this time but head to head collisions are encouraged. Both speed and agility are the primary ingredients for the robot that will do the best in this challenge. Scoring: 10 points are given for each lap completed and the winner gets an extra 20. The Maze The Maze course if one of the more difficult challenges in that it requires a robot to be fast, strong and agile. The maze has several obstacles the robot must cross before reaching the center winner's platform. The obstacles include a teeter-totter ramp, a 20lb block that must be pushed out of the way, spiked swinging walls, a set of speed bumps, a guillotine and finally a waterfall of death. After crossing all of these obstacles the winner is crowned atop the main platform. Scoring: 15 points are given for each obstacle crossed and the winner gets an extra 25. photo by Team Litewav photo by Team Kritical Mass The Gauntlet The Gauntlet is the final challenge prior to crowning the winner which will then move on to the Sumo round. The robots race in a straight-away track while breaking through walls of increasing difficulty. The first is a pane of glass, followed by a wall of paint cans. If the robots make it this far they must then break through a wall of brinks followed by a wall of cinder blocks. The last obstacle is a 100lb safe which the robots must push out of the way to be considered the winner. Scoring: 15 points are given for each ostacle crossed and 25 for the winner. The Sumo - Battle to the Death! The Sumo is the final round of competition. It pits the winners of the show preliminary rounds and is simply a Battle to the Death! The robots are placed atop a platform that is 8 feet of the ground. For the first minute of the match these robots fight it out in relative safety since gates protect them from falling off the platform. After 1 minute the gates fall and the robots now face a fall to their death if they make even one wrong move. The winner of this competition has to be strong enough to be able to push his competitor off leaving him as the the champion. Scoring: The winner is the last robot standing on the platform. photo by Scott Ellis Robotica Show Hosts (Left to Right) Tanika Ray, Ahmet Zappa, Tanya Memme Ahmet Zappa Often outrageous and always unique, Ahmet Zappa has been a popular guest on shows such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien and MTV Live, usually appearing with his brother Dweezil. Together, they hosted USA Network's eclectic variety show, Happy Hour. A musician and actor, Zappa - like his father, the late Frank Zappa - is without question multi-talented, and his personality and wit will undoubtedly add a touch of humor to the tense competitive atmosphere of Robotica. Tanika Ray Tanika Ray has extensive training in acting and dance, earning a degree in Theater Arts from Spelman College, all of which will serve her well playing the more straightforward host role for Robotica. Her experiences in television and new media include hosting The Big Help on Nickelodeon and Limozeno on The Den. She has appeared as a co-host on Wheel of Fortune 2000, and Rude Awakenings, and appeared in Wayans Brothers, NYPD Blue and Living Single. Tanya Memme ( www.tanyamemme.com ) Currently hosting KCBS-TV's Sports Central - Fan Cam, Tanya Memme is a former Miss World Canada (1993/94) who has made a home for herself in L.A. She will, in effect, bring the sports element home for Robotica, approximating the role of a color analyst. She has appeared in Melrose Place, FX the Series, Saturday Night Live (segment with Sylvester Stallone), Another World and Hollywood East. Her film work includes Two Hearts One Soul, Below Zero, Lost Soul and Sandals, all independent productions.