MIT has a history in combat robotics going back over 20 years, including multiple teams on the BATTLEBOTS TV show, such as Overhaul, Sawblaze, and Uppercut. However, the Combat Robotics Club has lain dormant for two years after many club members graduated during the COVID pandemic. It wasn’t until August 2023 that team captain Anhad Sawhney ‘25 restarted the club with all-new members and designs, hoping to reignite the passion for this high-octane engineering sport on campus.

On October 26^th, students from MIT’s Combat Robotics Club brought their robot ARES to the NHRL (National Havoc Robot League) Qualifier Competition. Over the course of the event, they racked up 4 consecutive knockouts, culminating in an intense final match filled with kinetic destruction. 

The design of ARES began in January of this year, after the team spent their first semester focused on teaching themselves the fundamentals of combat robotics by building small 3lb robots. They then switched gears and went “all-in” on a 30lb design. After two intense months of designing and building, the team brought ARES to their first competition on March 3rd, advancing to the semifinals where they were knocked out by last year’s reigning world champion. Anhad says the team didn’t consider this a setback. “We did much better than expected, for our first time ever competing with a robot that was nothing more than a napkin sketch a few weeks ago. There’s nothing like a combat robot match to show you the weak points of your design, it literally tears them apart”. 

“This time last year,“ Anhad says, “most of our members had never seen a combat robot before. But through the hard work of our members we were able to build a resilient, reliable, and repairable fighting machine.” All of the fabrication was done on campus at MITERS (a student-run machine shop) and the Edgerton Area 51 shop, a point of pride for the team. 

Taking the knowledge gained from each event, the team made numerous improvements to the design. They competed three more times facing robots from Georgia Tech, WPI, ASU and more. The latest version they brought to NHRL Competition features a solid tool steel “beater bar” that spins at 7000 RPM, delivering huge impact forces when it makes contact with an opponent, flinging the other robot across the arena and cracking parts of its frame. “It emphasizes how multidisciplinary the team is,” Anhad says. “Not only do we do electronics and mechanical engineering, but we actually worked with technical instructors in the DMSE (Department of Material Sciences and Engineering) Breakerspace to hone in on the precise material properties.” 

This year, the club has more than doubled in size, with six new robot designs in the works. Through weekly meetings, machine trainings from more experienced members, and hands-on experimentation, they help new members fabricate their own robots and make improvements on ARES. Next steps for Anhad and Combat Robotics Club include competing in the World Championships in December, hosting their very own competition on campus, pioneering an experimental new 30-lb robot, and opening the door for more members to transform their ideas into reality.