While the majority of makers are unable to afford the fancy equipment and components that go into modern state-of-the-art battle robots, there do exist lesser-known tournaments for more DIY designs, including sumo robot battles. Instructables user noclaf8810373’s design incorporates all of the high-powered components one would expect to find, along with an innovative defense mechanism.

Construction of the robot began by 3D printing nearly everything from ABS filament due to its strength and resistance to high temperatures, whereas nylon was used in the gear. Once cleaned up, a series of strong magnets were set into both the front blade and undercarriage to assist in preventing the robot from flipping over due to an opposing robot. Internally, a pair of motors drive the wheels through several gears for increased torque, and they are both controlled by an Arduino Micro. In this case, the microcontroller’s role is to take incoming data from the radio transmitter, convert it into commands, and set the motors accordingly.

After assembling the electronic components, including the Arduino, motor drivers, and large capacitors onto a piece of perfboard, they were securely fastened inside the robot’s interior compartment. To see more about the build process, you can check out the project’s write-up here on Instructables.