ABC’s BattleBots pits a horde of 250-pound robots against each other in gear-grinding, fire-spewing combat, but Lisa Winter brings her ladybug doppelganger, Mega Tento, to the match. Created with the help of a Tormach PCNC 1100, Winter’s cutesy robot of doom is more than meets the eye, but this fierce competitor’s story started more than a decade ago.

Last week was quite busy around here. We spent a week meeting some of our customers in the San Francisco and Northern California region, and hearing about how they use their machines building everything from BattleBots to incubating start-up businesses.

There have been a fair number of articles lately touching on the increased use of robots and AI in various industries and what that future means for the job market. In the fabrication industry, we’ve long known about the value of robots in the workplace. CNC is a form of robotics, and it only exemplifies the value in automation. Beyond the workplace, though, robots serve an entirely different purpose.

In case you missed it, the old TV show that pitted highly-engineered machines against one another in a ring of metal-mangling death has returned – BattleBots. Robotics are one of the first elements of science and technology that comes to mind when discussing STEM and its benefits – and what better way to discuss robotics than to have the machines fight to destruction?

Combat robots undoubtedly satisfy a deep boyish urge to wreck stuff. But a closer look into the sport of combat robotics reveals something more. The escalating war of robots produces some surprising spoils. As you enter a technological future dominated by satellites, wireless gadgets, and hybrid cars, you may have these evil-natured robots to thank.