AI infrastructure built on dense graphics processing unit clusters and high-speed AI networking is no longer reserved for frontier model labs. The same compute behind the industry’s push into physical AI is now reaching engineers designing machines for competitive combat.

That shift is visible in robot combat, where CoreWeave Inc. was named the official AI cloud partner of BattleBots Inc.. Builders are using simulation to settle design questions long before a robot reaches the arena, according to Rob Bahr (pictured), senior engineer at BattleBots.

“What a lot of guys have started to do is run simulations on their computers of what type of weapon they want to use. Do they want to use a bar? Do they want to use a circle? Do they want a single tooth?” Bahr said. “They start using and running those simulations in each one of these scenarios to figure out what’s their best defense, what’s their best offense.”

Bahr spoke with theCUBE Research’s Dave Vellante and John Furrier at the Fully Connected event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed AI simulation for robot combat design, CoreWeave’s partnership with BattleBots and the potential for AI-driven robot autonomy. (* Disclosure below.)

Robot simulation and safety in the age of AI networking

Simulation matters more now because the materials are changing. Builders who once relied on rivets, wood and stainless-steel sheet metal are now experimenting with 3D printing, plastics and rubbers, each of which needs testing, Bahr noted.

“There’s actually been a couple [of] teams that have started to try to do new designs. Especially with 3D printing and material changing so fast, people are starting to run simulations on different types of plastics, different types of rubbers,” he said.

Robot combat puts engineering designs to the test in competition. Bahr, known among builders as “Safety Rob,” described BattleBots engineers as the cream of the crop.

“If you know something fails in BattleBots, you know that it failed. It’s broken. It’s in pieces or it’s on fire or something like that,” Bahr said.

Safety still sets the boundaries, especially around lithium battery fires. BattleBots has handled so many of them that it gave the National Fire Protection Association pointers on its NFPA 800 standard, Bahr noted.

“I really think AI is going to play a key role in computing and simulation and possibly in the autonomy, which is going to push the hardware further than it’s already been,” Bahr said. “It’s kind of like this leapfrog effect. You have good hardware, then you have good software. It’s going to definitely push the sport forward.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Fully Connected event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Fully Connected event. Neither CoreWeave, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE