This week on the podcast, we sit down with surprise guest John Flaacke, the 17-year-old captain of Extinguisher, the fire engine-themed modular heavyweight that made its debut on the 2019 season of BattleBots. John talks about his high school capstone project (an autonomous firefighting robot), why he decided to build a heavyweight first, and how he chopped 35 pounds off his robot’s emergency siren.

This week’s combat robotics event calendar:

Jan. 25

Las Vegas, NV

Desert Dust Up

Fairyweights, antweights and beetleweights

Organized by Vegas Combat Robotics

robotcombatevents.com/events/451

Jan. 25

Miami, FL

Robot Riot at RoboSLAM 2020

Fairyweights, antweights and beetleweights

Organized by Robot Riot

buildersdb.com/eventdetail.asp?eventid=605

Jan. 25

Fullerton, CA

Sparklecon Smash VII

Fairyweights, antweights, plastic antweights and beetleweights

Organized by Bad Kitty

facebook.com/events/2418538445075996

Jan. 25 and 26

Monroe, WA

WAR Hobby Expo 2020

Fairyweights, antweights, plastic antweights, beetleweights, 12-pound hobbyweight and 30-pound sportsman

Organized by Western Allied Robotics

robotcombatevents.com/events/472

Jan. 26

Sherburn in Elmet, UK

RoboDojo Feathers Full Combat and Sportsman

Featherweights

Organized by RoboDojo

facebook.com/events/1220535418334975

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