A HUSBAND and wife from Coventry – and their beloved battle robot, which played a crucial part in their wedding – are travelling to the Middle East to compete in the ‘Olympics of the future.’
Tom and Sarah Brewster are jetting off to the United Arab Emirates with the rest of Team Monsoon to compete at the Battle of Robots at The Games of the Future this weekend.
Monsoon in battle against another robot.
Most of the team first met while participating in BBC’s Robot Wars back in 2017, and a year later, their heavyweight robot Monsoon debuted at BattleBots World Championship 3.
Monsoon and the rest of the team have travelled and fought in events across the world, including the USA and the Netherlands.
Monsoon has been part of Sarah and Tom’s lives ever since they met, and when they got married in April 2024, they exchanged rings made from one of Monsoon’s weapon shafts.
The duo have already had a year to remember as they are expecting their first child together – but now their other ‘baby’, Monsoon, will be jetting off to Abu Dhabi to compete in The Games of The Future, where they are one of just 16 teams in the world competing.
Sarah and Tom will be joined by the other members of Team Monsoon – Rory Mangles, Michael Jobson, David Griffin and Karl Asplin – at The Battle of Robots.
Sarah said: “Initially we were a little apprehensive about joining the event as we were contacted in early November.
“That meant we only had a short turnaround of just three and a half weeks until the robot would need to be shipped to Abu Dhabi, but opportunities like this don’t come up very often so we turned our calendars upside down to make it happen.
“We are very excited to be competing alongside some of the best fighting robots from countries across the world.”
In the workshop getting Monsoon the robot battle ready.
Robot fighting events take place in an arena to ensure the safety of the roboteers and spectators.
The fights can last up to three minutes, during which robots can use their weapon to try to damage their opponent and immobilize them or control the fight by being aggressive.
Sarah and Tom’s battle bot Monsoon is a vertical spinner, with other weapon types including hammers, flippers, horizontal spinner and control bots that can lift or crush their opponents.
If a robot can no longer move then they are counted out after 10 seconds, and the fight is won by knockout.
If, after three minutes, both robots are still mobile, judges score the robots on damage, control and aggression.
The Games of the Future looks to blend cutting-edge digital gaming with real-world athletic competition, showcasing 11 ‘sports of the future.’
Tom said: “It is very cool to have been asked to come along to it. There are teams from all over the world competing including from the USA, Chile, Montenegro, Belgium, Russia, Belarus, India and China.
“This event is being treated as ‘the future Olympics’, and it’s the biggest prize pool ever seen for robot fighting.
“It’s becoming more of a legitimate sport as well which is really cool.”
Sarah added: “Robot fighting is a fast paced, engaging sport where engineering meets entertainment.
“We want to prove that Monsoon is a competitive and destructive robot. We’re coming very prepared and ready to go all the way.
“We consider every event an opportunity to prove our design and teams’ capability, whilst enjoying the atmosphere that live events create with the chance to meet fellow roboteers and share the experience.
“Simply put, we love the community; meeting new people and smashing robots is always a good time.”
