Video: MIT students build battle-ready robots that smash rivals in high-impact fights

MIT’s Combat Robotics Club is upgrading its ARES and KRATOS fighting robots while developing a new generation of machines for competitive robot battles.

ARES, a 30-pound (13.6 kilograms) combat robot equipped with a vertical spinning weapon, placed second at an April competition and third in October after failing to win the 2025 National Havoc Robot League (NHRL) World Championships.

The team is using lessons from those losses to strengthen its armor against similar weapon systems.

Recently, a 44-second video showed internet personality Frankie LaPenna facing a six-foot humanoid robot in an octagonal cage during an event organized by REK.

Rebuilds fighting robots

The club is upgrading its ARES and KRATOS fighting robots while developing a new generation of machines designed for competitive robot battles. The student-built machines combine high-speed rotating weapons, lightweight structural materials, and compact mechanical systems to withstand repeated impacts while attempting to disable opposing robots.

ARES is the club’s 30-pound (13.6 kilograms)combat robot and features a vertical spinning weapon known as a beater bar. Its weapon system uses a compact, dual-redundant brushless motor arrangement powered through a poly-V belt drive. The robot also features a high-performance, brushless four-wheel-drive system designed to deliver mobility and maneuverability inside the competition arena.

Its chassis combines aluminum, titanium, and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a lightweight engineering plastic known for its strength and resistance to impact and abrasion. The combination allows the team to balance structural protection with the need to keep the robot within its designated weight class.

The vertical spinner is designed to deliver powerful impacts against opposing machines. In combat robotics, these weapons can damage exposed components, deform armor, and potentially disable an opponent’s drive or weapon systems. However, the robot must also withstand similar attacks, making armor design and the protection of internal components important engineering considerations.

ARES entered the 2025 NHRL World Championships as a top seed but suffered two defeats against opponents using similar weapon configurations. The encounters exposed weaknesses in its armor, particularly its ability to withstand attacks from comparable vertical spinning weapons.

The team has since been working to improve the robot’s protection and overall performance. ARES subsequently secured second place at an April competition and third place in October. These results have helped inform the ongoing development work, with the team continuing to refine the existing machine rather than treating competition losses as the end of a design cycle.

The club is also upgrading KRATOS while progressing toward a new generation of combat robots. The parallel development effort allows students to experiment with different mechanical configurations, structural designs, and weapon systems.

Robot combat workshop

The club also uses smaller robots to introduce new members to the engineering and manufacturing processes involved in competitive robot development.

According to MIT, the club welcomed 54 new members during the fall semester, who are building one-pound combat robots in teams of three. These machines belong to the antweight category, one of several weight classes used in combat robotics competitions. The National Havoc Robot League also features 3-pound and 12-pound categories, alongside the 30-pound class in which ARES competes.

The smaller projects provide an opportunity to work through the complete development process, from initial computer-aided design (CAD) and component selection to manufacturing, assembly, and testing. Students also gain experience with engineering tools and processes such as finite element analysis, computer numerical control (CNC) machining, and welding.

Combat robotics places particular demands on these skills because components must remain functional under repeated impacts, vibration, and sudden changes in direction. Weapon systems, drive mechanisms, batteries, and electronic components must also fit within strict weight and dimensional limits.

The club was founded in 2001 and restarted in 2023 with new members and robot designs. Its teams compete in NHRL events held approximately every two months, while also organizing smaller battles on campus.