An Cosantóir

February 2014

An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.

Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/251143

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8| ROBOTS OF DESTRUCTION! by Cpl Paul Millar Photos by Cpl Neville Coughlan T he 50th BT Young Scientist Exhibition took place from January 6th to 11th in the RDS, Dublin, at which a six-man Air Corps team put on another of their popular robot displays. The team were in the first episode of the TV show Robot Wars and have been regular attendees at the exhibition for over 12 years. During this time their role has changed from building the fighting robots to organising the Robots of Destruction display, in which teams from the UK compete; setting up the fighting arena; erecting the tent, which was supplied by Fossett's Circus; and entertaining the crowds on the day. The attraction has increased in popularity, meaning that the fighting arena had to change location to a 1,000-seater venue within the grounds of the RDS. There were seven shows per day over four days, entertaining close to 28,000 spectators. Apart from the fighting robots, which have the power to flip a car, the team had functional recreations from Dr Who, Star Wars and even a humanlike robot that could climb a rope. The team consisted of Sgt Ciaran 'Zulu' Byrne, Airmen Aidan Ennis, Colm O'Malley and Joe Gavin, Mr Noel Lennon (all from No 4 Sp Wing) and Cpl Will Sweeney (No 3 Ops Wing). Working as a tightknit group they built up the crowd using radios and microphones to co-ordinate the civilian staff, cameramen and school groups, providing the most entertaining and popular part of the exhibition. Sgt Byrne said about the team's decade-long involvement in the exhibition: "For many currently serving members of the Defence Forces, the presence of the team at the Young Scientist Exhibition was their first introduction to the work and skill levels that could be achieved by signing up." An Cosantóir February 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie

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