Motorbike rider Grace is in the driving seat as she introduces the pre-school audience to some of the biggest, fastest and most amazing machines in the world along with her side kick Speedy!
Speedy is a remote controlled character designed, created & puppeteer-ed in house here at Robo Challenge. This cute & friendly character guides Grace through each episode & reveals the special challenges.
We are really excited to have been the authors for the brand new Robot Wars – Build Your Own Robot book published by Haynes. To celebrate, we are releasing an exclusive limited edition print of the blueprints for the Challenger robot featured in the Robot Wars book. The blueprints will be printed on archival paper using traditional printing methods. Each print, measuring 75cm x 56cm, will be signed by the authors James & Grant Cooper and will come with a signed copy of the Robot Wars book.
Robo Challenge were commissioned to write the official Robot Wars book as we are the builders of the infamous house robots & the robotics team behind the new era of the show. This Manual will provide a unique behind-the-scenes look at the show – the arena, and both house and competitors’ robots, and will provide step-by-step extensively illustrated instructions for building three project robots, from a simple ‘self-navigating’ robot, to a fully controllable Robot Wars challenger. Essential reading for all Robot Wars fans.
These Challenger blueprints along with a signed copy of the book is £75 + £10 delivery. The prints will be dispatched as soon as they are printed and released at the end of October.
To inspire people at home to get involved in Sport Relief, Blue Peter presenter Lindsay Russell became the Wave Runner. In a feat never attempted before, Lindsay set about preparing to cross the Irish Sea in nothing more than an inflatable zorb ball.
Being such an ambitious project Blue Peter needed a crack team of experts who could not only design and create a custom zorb ball but could develop something unique to cope with the rigours of crossing an ocean. Robo Challenge were immediately brought in to consult on the project to ensure the unique challenge could be successfully completed safely. We developed a special rig which was tested with the RNLI to ensure the ball couldn’t roll over or sink in heavy seas.
The results were amazing. Despite weather conditions not being suitable Lindsay managed an incredible 30km before the wind took her too far off course. It was an amazing achievement which inspired Blue Peter views to get involved in Sport Relief and we were very proud to have helped Lindsay make the challenge possible.
Reverse Engineers is an amazing show on Channel 4 which sees Rachel Riley, joined by Alex Brooker & Jamie Laing, design and create some incredible future tech using innovative green energy.
To make the show possible Lemonade Money TV contacted Robo Challenge to talk through this ambitious new show and develop ideas that might just work. We were then tasked with modifying existing green technologies such as Bio Beans & Pavgen’s energy producing tiles to develop some innovative new products for the show which might just take off in todays world. Behold the Kinetic Staircase, the Bio Beans furniture & Coffee paint!
This was such a fun project to work on which required lots of creative thinking, problem solving and most importantly, big tech builds!
2016 saw the return of the iconic robot battling show ‘Robot Wars‘ on BBC 2. Presented by Dara O’Brain & Angela Scanlon, this exhilarating show sees amateur builders create their own fighting robots at home. Each team brings their creation to the bullet proof Robot Wars Arena in an all out contest to be crowned Robot Wars Champions.
With such groundbreaking advances in technology and specialist know-how required to make the show possible, Mentorn TV needed a partner to help make this reboot a reality. We jumped at the opportunity to help bring back the show which was a huge inspiration to our team. Our headline project though was to design and create the iconic House Robots. These included Sir Killalot, Matilda, Shunt & Dead Metal which were all created in house at Robo Challenge. All hugely upgraded, modernised and more brutal than ever, these giant guardians of the arena are ready to take on any competitors that stray into their zones! Robo Challenge also provided key consultancy services to help design the new arena, develop how the format works and create new rules & safety regulations for teams appearing on the show. Our experienced team also ran the technical side of the event during filming to ensure the battles ran smoothly and to the highest safety standards.
We were delighted to be part of such an iconic show which returned to BBC 2 for three series and 4 special episodes. A show that enlivens, inspires, teaches and entertains.
FIVE’s hit TV show, The Gadget Show, has been the benchmark technology program for over 10 years. Each week the team behind the show showcase and review the latest gadgets & technology available to consumers. One exciting element of the show has been challenging the presenters to break world records and invent gadgets of the future. With a new episode each week, keeping the show creative & new is a huge challenge. This is where our expertise has really supported the show. Since 2007 Robo Challenge has worked closely with the Gadget Show as consultants to help develop new & innovative ideas, H&S requirements and project feasibility studies. To this day we have designed & produced over 60 amazing and individual projects for the show. We have created all manner of gadgets and technology from a web controlled lifelike robot & steampunk style coffee machine to a chainsaw powered dragster and a personal fitness drone! The list of incredible gadgets goes on..
I genuinely think that our Robot Wars episode was one of the best projects we have worked on at the Gadget Show. This was mainly down to the professionalism and ‘never say no’ attitude of the Robo Challenge team. When presented with problems, they just kept on going until they were solved, without fuss and always being on hand to answer any questions we had.
Grant, James and Nick took a hugely ambitious project and carried it out with enthusiasm and hard work, achieving fantastic results which were above and beyond what we expected when we started out. Plus, we even won the challenge! Without doubt, I’ll be giving them first option to help me out on future builds for the show.
– Tom Norton, North One TV
Technology – 3D cad design & rendering, 3D printing, CNC machining, custom software, airbrushing, remote control and electronic systems, model making, web control, arduino, jet engines, composites, drones.
Outcomes – The Gadget Show sees a consistent viewer audience of approximately 1 million viewers per week. Our projects have not only been a great source of creative entertainment but have helped explain to the audience how gadgets & technology work. These special projects have earned the team 2 Guinness World Records and are seen by tens of thousand of people each year at The Gadget Show Live.
SO Television recently had an idea to create an innovative new TV show based on the latest exciting technology, Drones. The biggest issue was they needed an experienced team to work out how to create this new show and make sure it was feasible. With our unparalleled experience in creating and operating stunt model helicopters & drones we were brought on board as consultants to help develop the exciting new idea right from the first concept. Our team also created the futuristic ‘Hero Drone’, developed the health & safety documents for operating & maintaining the drones, and our experienced stunt pilots ensured SOTV were able to capture the best footage when it came to creating a pilot for the BBC.
Robo Challenge are just amazing to work with – Steve Plum, BBC.
Technology – Consultancy, 3D cad design & rendering, 3D printing, drones, custom software, airbrushing, remote control and electronic systems, aerial stunt piloting.
Outcomes – An incredible, first of its kind, 1 hour pilot was created to show the BBC what was possible when it comes to creating a drone based TV show. This was the first real test of a drones based show with a great format and incredible stunts. The high tech house drone shoot used all genuine footage which really pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved.
Dick & Dom’s Absolute Genius is an amazingly entertaining educational show on CBBC. Each week Dick & Dom delve into and celebrate ingenious inventions, and more importantly, the genius minds behind them. During the show Dick & Dom are challenged to recreate some of these amazing inventions along with our team. Ever since the first series our team have helped bring these inventions to life and have clocked up an amazing array of projects which include racing bath tubs, a combat robot, a floating train and a fire breathing machine!
Robo Challenge are absolute genius as always!
Dick & Dom, TV Presenters
Technology – 3D CAD design & rendering, 3D printing, CNC machining, arduino, airbrushing, , hydraulics, pyrotechnics, custom vehicles, motors & electronic systems.