Bison Robotics - "Ready to Rumble!"

The Bison Robotics - Combat Robotics was “Ready to Rumble!” during the Spring Semester of 2024! Competing for the first time in two years, a team of seven people and four robots made the trek down to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to compete against Universities from across the nation. This team brought a record-breaking number of robots to competition where they made it all the way to the semi-finals. However, all Combat Robotics records were knocked out of the ring the following year.

In the Fall of 2024, the team quadrupled in size! With more than thirty members eager to design, build, and fight their robots, the club kicked off the year strong! Throughout the first semester, robot design was in full swing with over ten robots being worked on by eight different teams. Veteran members had the opportunity to pass along their knowledge and experience to new members as they learned what Combat Robotics was all about. As competition grew near, eight robots were manufactured, assembled, and tested for combat!

Seven 30 lb. robots were ready to go to competition in early April. K.I.T.T, named after the Knight Rider character, featured a vertically spinning drum weapon. Cowbot also featured a vertical drum weapon, and was given its name during the competition in the Spring of 2024. During the over twenty hours of travel, team members played a car game focused on finding cow fields faster than the others, and it quickly became a running joke in the group. This entertainment source during the drive inspired one team member to design a robot for the next year's competition, and Cowbot was created! A horizontal spinner was the weapon of choice for Barhopper, a robot that was ready for revenge after its defeat the prior year. Trainwreck was another vertically spinning robot, and was humorously named by its team members who referred to it as a “trainwreck” during the design and building phase. Pipe Dream also had a vertical spinner, and was the descendant of the prior years Fire-Hydrant. Both of these robots were made from an old fire extinguisher, and used the large red can as the main body of the robot. Robots Yin and Yang were two 15 lb. robots prepared to fight to the death together, but were unable to compete this past spring. Finally, the team's first ever l lb, 3D-Printed robot competed at competition! Darkwing, named after a Disney character, featured a horizontal spinner styled after Barhoppers. It made its debut with a match win at the competition!

In the Spring of 2025, Bison Robotics attended the 10th annual Robo-Brawl hosted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. This two-day competition featured fights to the death, with robots being thrown eight feet into the air and launched across the room by their opponents. Notably, Barhopper fought to the very end! Down to one wheel, a broken weapon, and exposed electronics, Barhopper drove at his competitor with a fierce determination before being launched into the ceiling of the battle box for the second year in a row. While the battle may have been lost, the cheering and energy at the competition for Barhopper's fight was like no other! Cowbot put up an amazing fight against a robot from UIUC, beating it to a pulp before an unlucky hit left Cowbot turtled on its own back! Despite not performing as well as hoped, the team had an amazing time in Illinois! Team dinners, rock climbing, and Minecraft Movie watch parties filled the downtime after competition.

Now, the team is preparing for this Springs competition and their return to UIUC! As of now, four robots will be traveling to competition, along with one in a brand new category! Yin and Yang will be making a comeback this year to compete as a team of two. This is the first time Bison Robotics will be competing a double robot in the 30 lb competition! Boulder, inspired by the team's love of rock climbing and their adventure during the previous competition, will be a brand new robot this year. Freight train, another brand new robot, will also be making the trip down to Illinois along with the return of Trainwreck! This year's new category will be 3 lb. 3D-printed robots, an expansion upon last year's 1 lb. robot division! While this unnamed robot is still in the works, it is set to leave its mark as the first of its kind from NDSU! With the team deep into the design phase, the possibilities are endless and the robots are just getting ready!