Wayne T. Price

FLORIDA TODAY

Harris Corp. engineers Sean Irvin and Don Price are getting back into the ring again. Sort of.

Irvin and Price, along with Monte and Jake Keen of Keen Machine and Sheet Metal will be participants in ABC TV's BattleBots, a contest reality show where teams manufacture robots that battle each other over several days of competition. It's the second season of BattleBots but it's a throwback to a program of the same name and format that first aired on Comedy Central 16 years ago. The Comedy Central show ran for five years before ABC revived it last year

The Harris/Keen team were contestants in Comedy Central's Battlebots about eight years ago. Upon learning of ABC's revival of the program, the gears started turning and the gang regrouped for Battlebots 2.0.

"The second I saw the show was coming back on I got excited and started designing a robot right away," Irvin said.

Harris Corp.'s Space and Intelligence Systems segment, the West Melbourne-based Keen Machine and Sheet Metal, and Welding by Theo, are sponsoring the team, called Carnage Robotics. They bested a number applicants - team members say it was "several hundred" - to be among the 60 teams competing this season.

Their robot, which might best can be described as push lawn mower on steroids, is named Ultimo Destructo. The 250-pound Ultimo Destructo is being shipped to the Los Angeles, California, area on Tuesday. The competition, before a life audience runs April 18-24 and locals can view it in June.

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Harris takes volunteering to HEART with program

The goal in BattleBots is to knock-out or incapacitate the opposing robot within three minutes.If that doesn't happen, judges deem a winner by points. Cash prizes are awarded on winning rounds. It could run from $800 to $40,000 but with the engineers and designers it's more about pride and flexing their technical muscles, not monetary gain..

"I really liked the way our robot was designed before so I incorporated a lot of the same techniques," said Irvin, who holds bachelor's and master's engineering degree from the Florida Institute of Technology.

"We had a good basis for our robot," he said. "Of course the electronics are better now. The motors are better now. This one is faster. "One thing I learned from the other show is that you really need to have good arena control to out maneuver the other robots."

Price also developed a specialized lithium battery system so Ultimo Destructo has plenty of stamina while in the arena.

During the Comedy Central run,over program's final three seasons, Carnage Robotics ended up ranked sixth in the super heavyweight division with a robot, called Techno Destructo, weighing 340 pounds.

What's particularly gratifying for Irvin and Price, an engineering specialist at Harris, with BattleBots is that they get show off their engineering muscle on a national stage. The work they do at Harris is classified and not even close family members know the jobs they do for the company's customers.

Engineering week at Harris

"We can't tell our wives, we can't tell our friends," Irvin said. "We can't show what we're able to do as engineers. This shows the skills that we have."

ABC doesn't allow team members, or Ultimo Destructo, to don sponsorship logos so you won't see Harris or Keen Machine, or the third sponsor/supporter, Welding By Theo in West Melbourne, on any team shirts or the robot. However, the names will be featured on a banner in the team's pit area so there should be ample national exposure for the Brevard County-based businesses.

BattleBots

Taping: Before a live audience April 18-24

Airing: June

Station:ABC, WFTV Channel 9

Hosts: Kenny Florian, Molly McGrath and Chis Rose

To get a flavor of the program: www.abc.go.com/shows/battlebots/episode-guide

The home team: Team Carnage is made up of two Harris Corp. engineers, Sean Irvin, Don Price, Monty and Jake Keen of Keen Machine and Sheet Metal, and Aidin Irvin, Sean's son.

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com.