A Look at a Project
Following is information about the third project presented in Competitive MINDSTORMS: Zip-Bam-Bot
Version XK2 (see Figure 1-1). As its name implies, there is more than one version of the Zip-Bam-Bot
design. There is XK1, XK2, and XK3, of which the first two are covered in Part Two of
Competitive
MINDSTORMS
.
*Note: All sumo-bot
images in Competitive
MINDSTORMS are in gray
scale and do not have a
wooden floor; these
elements are included in
these images on this web
site only for illustrative
purposes.
*Figure 1-1: Zip-Bam-Bot Version XK2
We'll begin by examining the construction of XK2. First, there is the chassis (see Figure 1-2); this
chassis is featured in Chapter 3 of
Competitive MINDSTORMS with complete building instructions.
Then there are three subassemblies for XK2: the head subassembly (see Figure 1-3), back skid
subassembly (see Figure 1-4), and the light sensor subassembly (see Figure 1-5). Each of these
subassemblies are attached in a final assembly section with additional pieces, including two touch
sensors. And, of course, there are complete building instructions for everything.
The Zip-Bam-Bot Chassis
Figure 1-2: The Zip-Bam-Bot Chassis
Head Subassembly
Figure 1-3: Head Subassembly
Back Skid Subassembly
Figure 1-4: Back Skid Subassembly
Light Sensor Subassembly
Figure 1-5: Light Sensor Subassembly
Once everything has been attached and the sumo-bot's construction has been completed,
programming commences.
Competitive MINDSTORMS uses the NQC programming language, created
by Dave Baum and now maintained by John Hansen, and the BricxCC IDE to program all the
sumo-bots. Complete descriptions of all the programs and how to run them are given, and instructions
on how to obtain these (free) programming tools are given as well. How to download programs to the
RCX microcomputer is detailed in a section in Chapter 3.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of my book, you can order a copy through places such as
Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
LEGO(R) and MINDSTORMS(R) are registered trademarks of the LEGO
Group, which does not sponsor, endorse, or authorize this site. The
Competitive MINDSTORMS web site is unofficial and is used to
promote the book Competitive MINDSTORMS Copyright (C) 2004
David J. Perdue.   


Zip-Bam-Bot Version XK2
A Sumo-Bot
What's a sumo-bot? What
do they do? How do you
make one? Is it difficult to
make a sumo-bot? If you
have questions like these,
a great place to find out
more about not only
sumo-bots but how robotic
sumo in general works is
the
FAQ section.
Zip-Bam-Bot Version ZR2
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