Please join us at our next meeting on ???.

Magazines we read:

cclogo_2013_header

Stores we frequent:

     

new_orange_bars

Donations in any amount are gratefully accepted. Thanks!

 

Competitions

This page showcases the different events that the club participates in, or knows about and would like to participate in. The Bot Brawl is CIRC’s main contest that we put on every year, so it warrants a page unto itself. This page is for everything else. There are all sorts of contests going on that the club would like to know about, so if a great contest is not shown here, let the webmaster know about it. The “About Us” page has his contact information.

bot(brawl && build)[2026, Fall] Planning

We are further along with planning for our Bot Brawl and Build for October 24, 2026.  Our Brawl & Builds are competitions and build sessions that are focused on satisfaction and enjoyment.  In the morning we compete against each other for bragging rights with trophies awarded for the top three finishers.  In the afternoon we work on our projects and talk robotics.

The events that we will have will be finalized from the following list at our October meeting on Wednesday, October 14th.    If you would like to enter one or more events listed below, let me know at president@circpeoria.org to ensure that we have it.  The likelihood that an event is offered is shown.

  • Mini Sumo: probable
  • Line Follow: probable
  • Line Maze: maybe
  • Line Drag Racing: definite
  • Circle Touch: definite

The final list of events will be posted in mid-October.

If you’re not going to compete and are interested in attending, by all means attend.  Attendance is free.  We will host this event in the Metamora, Illinois area.  

Contact Bruce with your questions at president@circpeoria.org

 

September 18, 2026 at 3:21 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Build Sessions, Competitions | No comment

October Monthly Meeting

The October monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 14th, at 5:00 PM at River City Labs [RCL]. Visitors are welcome to attend and check us out. Our meeting format will be: 1) Planning and Business- Choose the events to host at our Bot Brawl && Build on Saturday, October 24; 2) Tech Talk- “How to use a remote to adjust values in a robot’s onboard programming using the SONY infrared remote.”; 3) Show & Tell lasting as long as we can make it; and 4) Mini Build Session.  

The Meetings tab has more information on our meetings.

 

September 18, 2026 at 11:23 am | Announcements, Competitions | No comment

bot(brawl && build)[2026, Spring] Events Finalized

We are hosting the following events for this year’s Spring Bot Brawl and Build on Saturday, April 25.  Our Brawl and Build’s are a competition in the morning and a Build Session in the afternoon.  Non-members are welcome to enter and to watch.  There is no charge for attendance.

Competitions

  • Mini Sumo
  • Line Follow
  • Line Maze
  • Line Drag Racing
  • Circle Touch

Demonstrations

  • Autonomous Drone
  • Autonomous Lawn Moving

Possible Future Events

  • Cone Stalking
  • Robomagellan
  • Pick-n-haul (Rules being developed)
  • Drone
  • Micromouse Wall Maze
  • Mega Sumo (3 kg)

Our Bot Brawl and Build Sessions are designed to be fun and induce us to build hobby robots.  The competitions are held in the morning, with trophies awarded to the top three competitors in each event and congratulations awarded to all the competitors.  The Build Session is held in the afternoon.  This is a time to work on bots and talk bots and generate fantastical ideas for bots.

We request that people let us know at least two weeks beforehand of what events they plan to enter.  If you are not certain you will be ready in time, let us know anyways of your hopes to compete so we can plan accordingly.  Do this by emailing Bruce at president@circpeoria.  Thank you.

The cost to enter is $10 per bot per event to be paid at check-in.  Lunch will be ordered from a local restaurant and a donation jar will be used to cover the cost for those interested.  The location will be the clubhouse at Izaak Walton Lake on 725 Seven Hills Road, Metamora, Illinois.  Visitors are welcome and there will be no cost to watch.

These competitions will be run with the emphasis on comradery, learning, and the general enjoyment of hobby robotics.

If you have questions or suggestions, email Bruce at president@circpeoria.org.

March 11, 2026 at 10:08 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Build Sessions, Competitions | No comment

bot(brawl && build)[2026, Spring]

We are getting organized for our Spring Bot Brawl and Build on Saturday, April 25, 2026.  Our Brawl & Builds are competitions and build sessions that are focused on fun.  This will be the second one of 2026.  In the morning we compete against each other and in the afternoon we build and talk robotics.

The events that we will have will be selected from the following list at our March meeting on Wednesday, March 11th.  If you would like to enter an event listed below, let me know at president@circpeoria.org so we make sure to have it:

      • Mini Sumo:
      • Line Follow:
      • Line Maze:
      • Line Drag Racing:
      • Circle Touch:
      • Drone: Demo
      • Cone Stalking:
      • Robomagellan:
      • Pick-n-haul (Rules being developed):
      • Lawn Mowing:
      • Other one?

The final list of events will be posted Wednesday, March 11th.

March 4, 2026 at 10:32 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Build Sessions, Competitions | No comment

CIRC Bot Brawl and Build Session for January 24th

We will be hosting the CIRC Bot Brawl and Build Session 2026 Winter on Saturday, January 24, 2026 at the Izaak Walton Lake clubhouse located at 725 Seven Hills Road, Metamora, IL 61548.  Registration will begin at 9:00 AM.  We will start events at 10:00 AM.  Competitions will be over about noon.

Our Bot Brawl and Build Sessions are designed to be fun and induce us & you to build hobby robots. The competitions are held in the morning.  Trophies are awarded afterwards. The Build Session is held in the afternoon and is a time to work on bots and talk bots and generate fantastical ideas for bots.

We request that people let us know beforehand of what events they plan to enter. Even if you are not certain you will be ready in time, let us know of your hopes to compete.  We ask this so we can plan properly.  Do this by emailing Bruce at president@circpeoria.org. The sooner the better.

Below is the final list of events. The cost to enter will be $10 per bot per event to be paid at check-in. Lunch will be ordered from a local restaurant and a donation jar will be used to cover the cost for those interested. The location will be the clubhouse at Izaak Walton Lake on 725 Seven Hills Road, Metamora, Illinois. Visitors are welcome and there will be no cost to watch.

These competitions will be run with the emphasis on comradery, learning, and the general enjoyment of hobby robotics.

If you have questions or suggestions, email Bruce at president@circpeoria.org.

Events:

  • Mini Sumo
  • Line Follow
  • Line Maze
  • Line Drag Racing
  • Circle Touch

Rules can be found on our Brawls webpage.

January 15, 2026 at 12:41 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Build Sessions, Competitions | No comment

Competition Plans for 2026

We are planning to hold three Bot Brawl and Build Sessions in 2026.  The tentative dates are January 24, April 25, and October 24.  Based on interest, we will choose events from the following list based on interest and preparedness:

  • Mini Sumo
  • Line Follow
  • Line Maze
  • Cone Stalking
  • Robomagellan
  • Pick-n-haul (Rules being developed)
  • Lawn Mowing
  • Drone
  • Line Drag Racing
  • Circle Touch

Some events that would be nice to host are as follows.  To have these events we’ll need to develop rules, buy the parts, build the robots, and find the time to do the work.  One step at a time with a little luck and perseverance, we’ll offer them at some point in 2026.

  • Mobile Platform Pull – RC or autonomous yard-wagons pull loads under different conditions.
  • Autonomous Lawn Mowing
  • Mega Sumo (3 kg)
  • Hockey Sumo – Mini sumos on a ring push randomly placed pucks into their respective goals.
  • Micromouse Wall Maze – Standard sized micromouse robots and course.  Need to build the course.
  • Something else we haven’t dreamed about yet.  If you have an idea, let us know at president@circpeoria.org.

Our Bot Brawl and Build Sessions are designed to be fun and induce us & you to build hobby robots.  The competitions are held in the morning, with trophies awarded to the top three competitors in each event and congratulations awarded to all the competitors.  The Build Session is held in the afternoon and is a time to work on bots and talk bots and generate fantastical ideas for bots.

We request that people let us know two weeks beforehand of what events they plan to compete in.  Even if you are not certain you will be ready in time, let us know of your hopes to compete so we can plan accordingly and host the event you want.  Do this by emailing Bruce at president@circpeoria.  The sooner the better.

We will post the final list of events on our web and Facebook pages 2 weeks before each Brawl and Build.  The cost to enter will be $10 per bot per event to be paid at check-in.  Lunch will be ordered from a local restaurant and a donation jar will be used to cover the cost for those interested.  The location will be the clubhouse at Izaak Walton Lake on 725 Seven Hills Road, Metamora, Illinois.  Visitors are welcome and there will be no cost to watch.

These competitions will be run with the emphasis on comradery, learning, and the general enjoyment of hobby robotics.

If you have questions or suggestions, email Bruce at president@circpeoria.org.

December 11, 2025 at 10:12 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Build Sessions, Competitions | No comment

Final Lineup Tweaked for Bot Boogaloo 2025 Spring

We have tweaked the lineup of events that we will have at our Bot Boogaloo 2025 Spring. Here’s the list:
  • Line Follow
  • Line Maze
  • Mini Sumo
Demonstrations and fun competitions.  (No registration required, fee charged, or trophies awarded.):
  • Circle Touch – New contest.  Run this event to have fun and see how rules stand up.
  • Line Drag Race – New contest.  Run this event to have fun and see how rules stand up.
  • New competition idea demonstrations – Members share new contest idea and demonstrate.
  • Pick-n-haul: Plan next steps
  • Robomagellan – Maybe discuss club robomagellan bot.
This competition will be held on Saturday, June 21.  If you have any questions, please contact president@circpeoria.org

If you plan on attending to watch or participate, please contact president@circpeoria.org so we can plan accordingly.
 

June 11, 2025 at 8:42 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Build Sessions, Competitions | No comment

Bot Boogaloo 2025 Spring Date Moved

The date for Bot Boogaloo 2025 Spring has been moved to June 21. 

The events will be:

  • Line Follow
  • Line Maze
  • Cone Stalking
  • Robomagellan –
  • Demonstrations or competitions
    • Circle Touch – New event.  Tabletop competition similar to Cone Stalking.  Developing rules and course.
    • Lawn mowing – Demonstration possibly.
    • Drag Race – Developing rules and course.
    • Inverted pendulum demonstration.

The line up of events may change depending on interest and preparedness.  The final line up will be finalized May 14th.  If you will be competing, let us know so we can plan accordingly.  Contact president@circpeoria.org with questions or registration.  Details will be posted here and on our Facebook page.

April 25, 2025 at 3:38 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Build Sessions, Competitions | No comment

Bot Boogaloo 2025 Winter

The first of our three Bot Boogaloos 2025 is fast approaching.  Saturday, February 22nd is the date.  The confirmed events for Bot Boogaloo 2025 Winter will be –

  • Mini Sumo
  • Line Follow
  • Line Maze
  • Cone Stalking

We hope to have some robotic demonstrations. 

We may have a head-to-head line follow drag race competition.  We’re still figuring out if we’ll have enough time to get bots and a drag strip ready.  Time time time.

Details for the event are posted below.  If you have questions, contact Bruce at president@circpeoria.org.

Non-members are welcome to compete or just watch.  No charge for admission.  There will be a registration fee for each bot entered of $10.  Lunch will be provided for a charge to cover the cost.

January 16, 2025 at 9:53 pm | Announcements, Brawls & Build Sessions, Competitions | No comment

January Challenge on Sunday 28, 2024

UPDATE:  Location changed to Tom’s house in Peoria, IL.  If you would like to attend, email president@circpeoria.org. 

ORIGINAL:  We will be hosting a Challenge on Sunday, January 28th. A Challenge is an informal competition and Build Session all in one. We’ll be competing against each other in an informal manner, working on our bots, and collaborating. One can think of it as a day to build robots and see how well they work. The events we’ll be focusing on this time are Line Follow, Line Maze, Mini Sumo, Cone Stalking, and Drone Racing.  Registration is not required. There are no prizes. Anyone is welcome to attend. You can bring a hobby bot or not. Questions are welcomed. We’ll start at 10 AM and stop sometime in the late afternoon. There is no schedule of events. Note: If you have some other bot you want to bring, work on, test, or talk about, then bring it with you. We don’t mind being distracted.  If you have questions, contact president@circpeoria.org

SUMMARY:  The first Challenge & Build Session went well. We dusted off some of our bots that had not been used in a while, sometimes years, and set to figuring out their needs and capabilities. More than one battery was found to be corroded and all hope those bots are not destroyed. We had some very casual contests and discussed methods to make improvements. In between these Challenges, much building and testing went on with the sharing of expertise.

  • Line Follow – Mike, Matt and Bruce were able to get their line followers functioning. Bruce had installed faster motors in his Zumo and was able to produce times that were about half of its previous times. This time, about 12 seconds, was close to Matt’s time with his 3pi. Mike’s self made bot was faster than both by about 5 seconds. We didn’t worry about exact times.

  • Line Maze – Matt’s 3pi was able to solve the Line Maze course in a admirable manner, though we did not time it. The struggle for the bot was finding nodes that were not there. We weren’t sure what was causing this, but guessed that it was seeing lines on the course laying under the mat or was thrown off by ripples in the course surface. After removing perceived problems, the bot completed the course.

  • Cone Stalker – Matt and Karl were able to get their bots to touch the 3 cones. Both bots were given the way points and moved to the cones following a self derived course that avoided cardboard boxes used as obstacles.

  • Robomagellan – Davide brought the club Robomagellan bot, Wheel-E, and shared his understanding and plans for the lovable bot. After having it for only a couple of weeks, his model in Gazebo is nearly ready to test the operating system. Karl was able to spend a lot of time with Davide to explain different details of the Wheel-E operating system.

All in all, the Challenge & Build Session was a success.

 

January 21, 2024 at 12:58 pm | Announcements, Competitions | No comment

Next Page »