HOWARDS GROVE, Wis (NBC 26) -- In Howards Grove, Wisconsin a mechanical engineer by trade is licking his wounds, so to speak, after taking a thrashing in a steel cage fight.
"They hit so hard. It's hard to say, yes, I can take one of those hits," says Ben Davidson a combat robot engineer.
Davidson doesn't have any physical bruises from the bout, but he does have a couple of buddies, teammates, who feel his pain.
"It definitely hurts. It did not feel good," says Michael Stroy part of Davidson's robotic team.
Collectively, Davidson and his team built the Grabot, a robot designed to take a licking but also go toe to toe with some of the most destructive machines to make it onto the hit show Battlebots.
Team Grabot made its television debut last week on Battlebots. A chance for Davidson, his buddies, and son to showoff what two years of hard work can accomplish.
"I was able to live a lifelong dream and be on Battlebots," says Davidson.
"It's like the Superbowl of robotics. It's teams from NASA and MIT and people who have put years of effort into building these things," says fellow teammate Matt Stroy.
The invite may not have played out as planned, with a loss. But it absolutely gave them some food for thought for their next design. It also reinforced some of their beliefs heading home from the tourney that Grabot was one tough robot.
"My second loss my machine was still flailing, trying to get going and it was on fire. I was like, that's why I made this machine was for that experience," says Davidson.
"When you're getting a big piece of steel like this cut, you know, you kind of want to see what it can take," adds Stroy describing the thick piece of steel that protected their robot during battle.
The hardened steel and mechanical arms of Grabot may not have any of the bruises some of the teams' egos may have endured, but through the experience, this group of guys learned they still have more work to do to continue learning and growing as a team.
"As far as I can tell there is not actual limits in people's lives except the ones that they put there. So if you want something try hard to learn what you don't know, just keep reaching," says Davidson.
Next up for Davidson, he plans on using the technology used to create the Grabot, to help people who could benefit from the arm manipulation design he has created. He says it could benefit those who are in wheelchairs who do not have the use of their arms or legs. To check out his prototype and the multiple uses he says it could be implemented for, check out his website here.
