I can see some signs of this in the Robot Wars arena. Many of the parts needed to build a combat robot are available in specialist online shops – meaning competitors are often using the same battery packs, motors and controllers as each other.

“Entrepreneurial teams, who have managed to solve a particular problem or challenge, have taken that solution and are now marketing them to other builders, meaning access to off-the-shelf parts is much easier,” says Hoppitt. “To be at the high end of the sport still takes significant investment, with people spending thousands of pounds,” he adds – but for keen amateurs, it is still easier to get started.

“One of the values of Robot Wars that appealed to Team Storm was that it remains focused on inspiring a new generation,” says Hoppitt. “This means that you won’t just see robots worth tens of thousands, like you might see on some of the other popular shows –particularly in the US.”

Hoppitt’s parting advice to future roboteers is not to give up. “The only way you learn in robot building is when something breaks. In a way, building the robot isn’t the hard part – keeping it running at an event is. When something breaks, you go away and understand why it broke and you make it stronger. Robots are always changing and evolving. Even Storm 2, which looks the same as it did back in the last series of Robot Wars, has evolved under the cover.”

As an eight-year-old, I did give up – because the barrier to entry then was just too high. But it doesn’t have to be that way for the next wave of enterprising roboteers. The resources are there, the technology is available; all that’s needed now is some imagination.

--

William Park is BBC Future's social media producer. He tweets at @williamhpark.

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