The following press release about BattleBots '99 appeared on the comp.robotics.misc newsgroup on 8/4/99:

========
Newsgroups: comp.robotics.misc
Subject: BattleBots: Live Robotic Combat (Long Beach, CA - Aug. 14-15)
From: orie@earthlink.net
Date: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 01:55:05 -0700

Blast-Off With BattleBots: Robotic Combat At The Long Beach Pyramid

Saturday, August 14th and Sunday August 15th

Long Beach, CA - The first ever competition of BattleBots(tm), the emerging sport of robotic combat, comes to life Saturday, August 14th and Sunday, August 15th, 1999 at the Long Beach Pyramid on the California State University Long Beach campus at 1250 Bellflower Blvd. There will be two sessions each day: a 9:00am morning and a 3:00pm afternoon program, each approximately 4 - 5 hours. See the BattleBots website at www.battlebots.com for all the details. Tickets for each day or individual sessions can be purchased separately starting at $25 or other various package and pricing options are available. Call the Long Beach box office for all ticket options at 562-985-4949. Or for single session tickets only call Entertainment Network at 888-ETM-TIXS or go to www.etm.com . The BattleBots infoline is 415-558-8385.

Over 70 of the worlds finest robots from as far away as Israel and the UK will participate in this inaugural BattleBots competition. Following this California competition, there will be four BattleBots events this year and further opportunity to compete for cash, prizes and glory in the world's fastest growing competitive sport.

Part SRL (Survival Research Laboratories), part Burning Man, BattleBots celebrate the burgeoning sport of robotic combat through a contest of battling machines. Utilizing destructive weapons such as saws, drills, hammers and spikes, competitors design and build "BattleBots". This is the ultimate contest of engineering, strategy and creativity, and the goal is survival. BattleBots is great entertainment for the entire family and an exhilarating experience you'll never forget.

The remote-controlled gladiators, with their malicious weapons of mass destruction fight their way through various opponents while spectators are protected by the "BattleBox(tm)," a cleverly engineered, menacing 2500 square foot arena equipped with obstacles like saws and spikes. Each robot must survive not only the attacks by the other Bots, but also the hazards provided by the contest organizers.

Three classes of robots, sorted by weight, and reaching up to three hundred pounds, will make the event a marvel for the fans and the ultimate challenge for the participants. "This new and exciting event is a way to capture the minds of young scientists and engineers all over the world and to show people the amazing technology that can be accomplished by putting your mind to the test," said BattleBot's founder Trey Roski.

These robotic machines are separated into three weight classes of robots. Lightweight Kilobots range from 25 - 83 pounds, Megabots weigh between 84 - 164 pounds and in the heavyweight division, Gigabots minimum weight requirement is 165 pounds and can reach up to 300 pounds.

There are two match-type events that the BattleBots may enter. The first event is the Robot Duel. This is a five-minute, action-packed one-on-one battle between contestants from the same weight division. The second match that a BattleBot may enter is the Robot Rumble. This is a free-for-all combat between all BattleBots of the same weight division. Robot Rumble is a no holds barred contest to try to eliminate enough BattleBots to advance to the next round.

BattleBots Inc. will award over $25,000 in cash and prizes to various winners from both the Robot Duel and the Robot Rumble in each of the three weight categories. Top prize in the heavyweight GigaBot class is $5,000 and $4,000 respectively.

The complete BattleBot tournament will be televised on Ziff-Davis' ZDTV cable channel as well as cybercasted on their website http://www.zdtv.com.

The diversity of Bot makers is as wide and varied as the names they dream up for their precious Robots. Everything from the painful (Deathtrap, Dr. Inferno, Executioner and Vlad The Impaler) to the playful (Harvey Wall Banger, Ginsu, Killerhurtz, Son of Smashy and Ronin) are scheduled participants this year. Lisa Winter, a 12 year old girl from Wisconsin wins the "youngest competitor" award for her Bot Tentoumushi who will battle it out in the KiloBot division.

Fans will be amazed by the imagination and ingenuity of each BattleBot, and will walk away with a thirst for more. Lucky for the fans, there will be more BattleBots challenges in the months to come.

# # #

For more information please contact Lynn Hasty at 323-466-5141 or lynn@greengalactic.com . Please let me know if you would like an extensive "Robot Information Links List" that I've compiled for your research and entertainment pleasure.