In the capable hands of their operators, the machines assembled on the carpeted conference-room floor of a Far Northeast hotel buzzed, clicked and whirred as they moved about.
No, the meeting space wasn't being renovated by a team of manual laborers wielding high-powered tools. Rather, the operators held remote-control devices that enabled them to manipulate the movement of another type of heavy machinery -- metallic robots built for destruction.
Those at the session were robot enthusiasts who gathered for a meeting of the newly formed Northeast Robotics Club.
Its goal is to expose local hobbyists -- another way to describe club members is "amateur robotics technicians" -- to a network of resources and venues for their machines to compete.
A friendly-enough group of folks when not battling their "bots," as they like to call them, these aficionados get rather tense when their metal gladiators square off inside an arena.
At the one competitive event hosted by NERC since the group was established last year, March's Hobby Show Robot Conflict in Fort Washington, pleasantries were exchanged for the sounds of metal being dismembered.
These bots are lethal. All are designed with a singular purpose -- destruction.
METAL MAYHEM
Each machine is equipped with its own weapon: a chain saw, spring-loaded hammer, spikes, and a circular chopping blade are some of the deadly devices NERC members have installed on their creations.
"It shreds real good," Chris Hirsch said of the bright yellow "vertical spinner" blade attached to his bot, 911.
The creation is so named, one can safely assume, because an encounter with it would be a true emergency.
Encased in sheet-metal armor, 911 moves around on wheels and shreds at Hirsch's command.
It did just that to a bot named "Dizzy Dragon" in the March 24 championship match at the Fort Washington competition.
"Into a million pieces," Hirsch, a 27-year-old resident of Baltimore, asserted with pride.
Left to pick up the pieces of "Dizzy Dragon" was NERC vice president John Pagano, one of the club's founders.
"Dizzy Dragon" is (or more appropriately was) one of the 10 or so bots in Pagano's Team Dragon.
It was a "spinner bot," a machine that moves and attacks in concentric circles. That motion enables the bot to inflict damage on its opponent.
Dizzy was fitted with two circular stainless-steel aerating blades. Unfortunately, the weapon seemingly was the only effective component on the machine.
"The weapon was great, but the armor, a plastic Tupperware salad bowl, was weak," he admitted.
Like most club members, Pagano, 26, was introduced to the concept of warring robots by watching televised contests between the mechanical combatants.
Two television programs -- British import Robot Wars and Battle Bots on cable's Comedy Central network -- showcase the matches.
BUILD YOUR OWN BOT
First broadcast in America in 1998, the decade-old contests have attracted thousands of viewers and apparently spawned a legion of spin-off clubs.
NERC is one of them, but the group also serves another purpose -- providing access to robotics competition in this area.
"We're really trying to get members and people involved," explained Pagano, a Mount Laurel, N.J., resident. "We have a lot of local East Coast people who want to join but don't know about the opportunities. We can provide them with that support."
Founders of the battling robotics movement are from San Francisco. Thus, most of the competitions are held on the West Coast or in Europe.
Pagano, general manager of the IHOP restaurant on Roosevelt Boulevard, first met NERC co-founder Jim Goeke last year at the Central Jersey Robot Conflict tournament in Cherry Hill, N.J.
At the end of the day, both men agreed that a local organization was needed for robot enthusiasts.
"We wanted someplace local where we could fight bots," said Goeke, a Bustleton resident. "So we formed a club."
At the recent session, Goeke, 36, a computer engineer by profession, demonstrated the abilities of "Phelan" (Gaelic for "little wolf"), a "non-linear walking bot" composed of Plexiglas plates and a steel frame.
The 24-pound creation moves about like a spider on eight legs.
"Phelan" is a member of Goeke's Team Wolf Guard.
Both NERC founders hope to attract more members and generate sponsorships to further establish the club as an official player.
At a June 23 meeting at the Best Western Hotel Northeast, 11580 Roosevelt Blvd., board members were elected and bylaws formulated.
The next area NERC event will be on Sept. 22 in Cherry Hill.
Other club members who brought their bots to the session were:
Provenzano, a Slatington, Pa., resident, said he learned of the hobby "on a Web site. Then I saw it on TV. I thought it was the coolest thing ever."
Most NERC members have a background in electronics or motorized car racing. All club bots weigh between 1 and 24 pounds. Each costs between $100 and $400 to construct.
Robots featured on televised combats are much larger, and more expensive, to build. The club hopes to recruit more members to expand the scope of the club.
"All the money we collect (members pay $60 in annual dues) goes to build the new arena, a thirty-square-foot combat dome, pay for space to hold competitions, and keep the organization running," said Pagano.
For more information, visit www.robotconflict.com