Saskatoon hosts Kilobots, the largest fighting robot event in Canada

Saskatoon’s version of Battlebots took centre stage on Saturday with Kilobots, the largest remote control fighting robot event in the country.

“We fight remote-controlled robots against each other, just like the big TV show Battlebots, but at a much smaller, more accessible scale,” said Kurtis Wanner, event organizer. “There’s robots we haven’t seen for two or three years that are showing up today.”

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Wanner says the city’s robot fighting community is one of the biggest in the country. He was happy to see a great turnout, especially amongst the younger generation.

“Combat robots looks like it’s all smashing, but we like to call it stealth learning … Whether it’s a build from scratch or kit that you’ve purchased and you’re following instructions, you are learning fundamental concepts of engineering, electricity, mechanics, and robotics in general,” he said.

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Kilobots has hosted more than 50 events over the span of 20 years.

Thirty robots made up the field of combatants at Saturday’s tournament. The event is a tune-up for nationals, which take place next month in Calgary.

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