OP getting this robot working in about 3 months was insanely impressive.

- guy whose back yard the scrimmages took place in

what is the no gimmicks rule?

I can't quote it offhand, but it's stuff like:

- Don't stick your camera on an arm and poke it around corners to see the opponent

- No detachable parts? It's more nuanced than this. Not leaving "mines" I think is a case of this.

Basically there's a few goals to the rules (this has been an on and off competition for about 15 years now): keep the spirit of "pilots in giant mech robots" (loosely 90s era stuff), and homogenize the competition slightly for competitiveness.

Melee is still allowed! If you walk into the other robot and trigger one of their 4 score panels, that still counts.

It's a hard competition to prep for. Numerous bespoke HW subsystems, software, budgets that grow quickly with the size/weight of your bot... and being reliable.

Excellent write-up. This is one of those side projects that has been on my list since forever and this seems about the level of accomplishment and tech that is within reach. Good effort! I'm looking forward to further refinements.

Thanks!