What’s your vision of robot builders? Let me take a shot. You see a geeky, slide-rule using introvert who spends hours on his computer designing web pages. If he’s not on his computer he’s in a basement or garage, alone, hitting on an inhaler for his asthma, trying to figure out how to get his ’bot to move a box from one side of a room to another. Revenge of the Nerds, right?

If that’s what you see, take a second look, because there’s a wave right now of robot enthusiasts who are chic, mainstream entertainers, and who are captivating audiences that mirror your customers.

Perhaps you’ve missed some of the hottest cable TV shows going, but the next time you’re flipping channels, checkout shows like Robot Wars, BattleBots™, Robotica and Junkyard Wars. These shows are generating fans and participants at an amazing rate. Why? Jaw dropping combat and competition that appeals to any DIYer.

“We’re all gear heads and mechanically inclined. A natural thing is to watch mechanical things fight each other,” said Jerry Clarkin, an engine test technician for Johnson Matthey’s Catalyst Systems Division in Coatesville, Pa. Clarkin is also a former GM auto mechanic and owner of Hammertime, a 340-pound robot that competes in the BattleBot circuit.

“As an automotive technician, you have to have a wide background in electronics, a mechanical aptitude for how things work, how gear trains work and the general knowledge of how wiper motors, electric motors and engines work,” says Clarkin. “That all goes into a BattleBot. Mine has a lot of pneumatic parts, which is different. It’s like a brake system if you want to think of it that way. It just shoots a bunch of high pressure into a hydraulic piston and makes the hammer move very fast.”

Blow by blow details

Clarkin is one of more than 600 contestants who recently competed in the latest round of BattleBots (Season 5.0) which began airing Aug. 20 on cable TV’s Comedy Central. The show matches robots against each in a 2,300-sq.-ft. arena. There are four weight classes: lightweight (25 lbs.-60 lbs.), middleweight (60 lbs.-120 lbs.), heavyweight (120 lbs.-220 lbs.) and super heavyweight (220 lbs.-340 lbs.). Each class operates in a tournament format — win and you move on, lose and you go home. The tournament is open to anyone who produces a robot that meets certain specifications. (For rules and details, see www.battlebots.com online.)

The arena is a challenge all its own with four “kill saws” that sport 20-inch, carbide tipped saw blades designed to slice any robots that come in contact with them. There are heavy duty aluminum mallets called “pulverizers,” meant to pound the competitors if they get too close. And there are “ram rods” — six carbide tipped spears that raise from the BattleBox floor with over 60 lbs. of pneumatic force. There are other obstacles in the arena, but these are the more intriguing because of their destructive capabilities.

Organizers of BattleBots have conducted two tournaments a year since they began in 2000, however, they plan to expand to five or six regional events to reduce travel for some competitors and to get more people involved. There is actually talk of an arena/restaurant being built in Pittsburgh by a franchisee. All of the events to this point have taken place in California.

The decision to expand the competition circuit (both in number of events and in locations) is the result of booming popularity with fans and participants. It has almost become the new version of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), with lots of bright lights and groupies cheering on their favorite mechanical contestants.

And, as an auto parts distributor here are a couple hot points to remember:

n Since BattleBots debuted on Comedy Central in 2000, it has become the third highest rated sports program on basic cable, behind only the WWF and ESPN’s NFL Sunday Night Football. An average of 3.5 million viewers tune into the show every week.

n The show is drawing increased interest from women and children, however, the target audience is 72 percent male with a median age of 29.

Meika Rouda, marketing director for BattleBots, said some of the demographics are hard to dicern because they get wrapped up into the typical Comedy Central audience — males 19-29 years old. Since the network broadcasts a variety of other male-oriented shows, those numbers could be skewed somewhat for her audience.

“We do know that kids are big fans of our show, especially high school kids,” said Rouda, who added that her company held a teen tournament in March at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. “A lot of people who watch our show and definitely those who participate are what we call do-it-yourselfers.” These participants have their shops, often in garages or basements, where they work on the robots. “These guys show up to the show and have these full, rolling tool cases. They are set up with every drill and every bit, and every saw. It’s amazing,” she said.

“We’re also finding people are starting these little robotic combat centers. They’re making arenas and starting to do their own competitions as an off-season type of thing.”

A mechanical attraction

By the nature of their interest in mechanical things, these guys seem to be good targets for your ad messages. But the interest isn’t just limited to participants. The fan base certainly has it’s share of automotive enthusiaists and these robots have been used to attract attention in automotive crowds.

Clarkin says he took Hammertime to February’s 2002 Motorsports Trade Show near Philadelphia and the attendees “ate it up.” The robot was on display, but it also performed in a short exhibition match in a makeshift arena. Some of the weaponry had to be removed, though, because of the potential danger involved. These robots are powerful, some capabile of tossing a 340-lb. challenger five feet in the air.

Rouda said she often gets calls from trade show organizers, retailers and manufacturers who want to use these robots to help draw a crowd to their trade show booths or retail outlets. They won’t, however, let the robots wage war like they do on TV. “It’s just too dangerous. We would never want anyone to have robotic combat unless it’s in the proper environment,” she said.

The cost of such an appearance? BattleBots helps coordinate appearances with robots and usually “encourages” retailers to pay an appearance fee of $1,000 to the builder. Cost of shipping a robot can be heavy (even as much as $1,000) depending on the distance involved and the weight of the robot. That cost should be picked up by the retailer, as well as hotel and travel expenses for the builder, who should be on hand to talk technically with anyone interested in the finer points of robot construction. Rouda said BattleBots also can put together a tape of that robots fights to have it playing on a TV near the display. BattleBots does not get a percentage of the money paid for appearances.

“A lot of these builders would like to be building robots as their career. That’s why sponsorship is important to them, so they can afford to do this,” she said. “So we just want to make sure we give them everything we can give them.”

Some of the popular BattleBots have been turned into toys and games through licensing partnerships with Hasbro, Tiger Electronics and Jakks Pacific. You may actually remember a McDonald’s promotion during which these robots were given out with Happy Meals. They’ve also been turned into video games and there’s plenty of apparel tied to the favored characters in this sport.

Perhaps the best way to view this marketing opportunity is to consider sponsorship in much the same way you would auto racing, although it’s far less expensive to fund a team. Each team usually has a crew of two to four members. Sponsors range from those who merely trade ad space for parts; to partial sponsors who pay robot shipping charges; to full sponsors that provide thousands of dollars for team support.

Since builders are paid royalties each time their robot competes on the TV show, there’s a lot of pressure to get to the winner’s circle. Winners in the two heavier classes can receive $8,000 for their achievement, along with the TV royalties.

“We try to hook up sponsors with the robots that usually make it to TV because that’s really what the sponsors want. They want to have that exposure,” said Rouda. BattleBots is seeking a title sponsor for the show, perhaps one involved with building or distributing tools.

“We’re trying to find someone who is a partner that serves as an official resource for BattleBots,” she said. “We’d like to be able to partner with someone where our builders can get great deals on tools and things like that, and that helps our arena get some great stuff. We, in turn, can promote the company on our show and on our website, and to all of our builders and fans.”

Hmmm? Does such a sponsorship make sense? Could you be the official resource for tools, like welding equipment, grinders, drills and other essential items? Why not? Companies like tool manufacturer Cincinnati Machine, Loctite, Lincoln Electric and others have already thrown their hats in the ring as team sponsors.

Clarkin said Johnson Matthey, a manufacturer of cataytic converters among other parts, sponsored his team by paying some travel expenses and allowing him to build his robot on company property, using company tools. Total cost of construction is nearing $10,000, although that includes several variations of the original.

“I wanted the kids to like it and, hopefully, generate some interest from a toy manufacturer,” he said. He plans to offer new sponsors a package complete with pit passes, which gets them on the show floor during competition, and mention as honorary crew members.

Sounds like Clarkin thinks exactly like all those race car drivers who thank sponsors when they’re standing in the winner’s circle. Just excuse the vision of your team holding a giant nut over their heads. The Giant Nut, which is a stainless steel trophy rendered in the shape of a machinist’s nut, is the trophy for each weightclass winner.

It’s not like drinking milk at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it’s a start!