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September 17, 2007 12:40 PM PDT

Vote: Battle of the nonviolent robots (The Elite 1000)

by Tim Moynihan
  • 1 comment

Get your printer-friendly bracket and start your own high-stakes office pool. For you, free.

Voting is now closed for this round. See the results of these battles here and vote on the Final Four matchups here.

Get it now! Your updated, printer-friendly tournament bracket.

This is why they call it Late September Lack-of-Sanity. Upsets, upsets, upsets were the theme of last week's nonviolent robot vote-battles, and only two No. 1 seeds are still in the mix.

Which nonviolent robots will win their division finals and go on to the Final Four? Vote for the winners right now; you have until Sept. 23 to vote on these Elite 1000 matchups.

============================
PROTOTYPE DIVISION FINALS
============================

(Credit: Honda.com)

(Credit: John W. Cornwell)

(1) Asimo vs. (4) Beer-Launching Fridge
In the most intriguing matchup of the Elite 1000, Honda's amazingly smooth astronaut-looking robot takes on a mini-fridge that launches frosty cans of beer. This one really could go either way. Asimo should take the lion's share of robotics enthusiasts' votes, while the Beer-Launching Fridge should capture the hearts and minds of beer aficionados. Like the Rams-Patriots Super Bowl and the Lakers-Pistons NBA Finals, this is a classic finesse vs. blue-collar grit matchup. Will pure heart (and beer) win out over sophisticated technological prowess? You make the call.

(1) Asimo vs. (4) Beer-Launching Fridge: Who wins the Prototype Division championship?

 Asimo
 Beer-Launching Fridge

==========================
CONSUMER DIVISION FINALS
==========================

(Credit: Caleb Goessling)

(Credit: Mobile-review.com)

(6) Nintendo R.O.B. vs. (2) Sony QRIO
If only Nintendo R.O.B's sales had been as strong as its tourney showing thus far. The Cinderella story 6 seed has breezed its way through two "better" opponents, the top-seeded Pleo dinosaur robot and the 3-seed WowWee Alive Chimpanzee. Sony's humanoid QRIO robot had no problem in the first round, crushing 2-XL by a comfortable 50 percentage points. But QRIO's second-round match against Robosapien was the closest of the tourney so far; QRIO squeaked out a 51-49 win. Did last week's close battle get QRIO's competitive juices flowing to the fullest, or is it a sign of vulnerability? After two easy victories, is R.O.B. primed for a letdown? It's game time; cast your vote.

(6) Nintendo R.O.B. vs. (2) Sony QRIO: Who wins the Consumer Division championship?

 Nintendo R.O.B.
 Sony QRIO

=====================
MOVIE DIVISION FINALS
=====================

(Credit: Johnny-Five.com)

(1) Marvin the Paranoid Android vs. (5) Johnny Five
Finally, it looks like Marvin has shaken the depression and is playing to his full potential. A 79-21 trouncing of Spaceballs' Dot Matrix in round one was just an appetizer for an impressive 57-43 win over the over-hyped C-3PO in the Sweet Sixteen. That said, Johnny Five-seed shouldn't be overlooked. The Short Circuit robot has nothing to lose, and a 50-percentage-point trouncing of A.I.'s Teddy in the first round and an 85-15 thrashing of D.A.R.Y.L. in the round of 16 shows that he brought his A-game. Johnny Five is alive...but will he still be after this Elite 1000 tete-a-tete with big number 42? Vote now for a winner.

(1) Marvin the Paranoid Android vs. (5) Johnny Five: Who wins the Movie Division championship?

 Marvin the Paranoid Android
 Johnny Five

===================
TV DIVISION FINALS
===================

(Credit: StarTrek.com)

(6) Data vs. (2) Bender
From Star Wars geeks to Dr. Who-ligans, this year's tourney saw no shortage of rabid fanbases. The TV Division championship ensures that there will be no love lost between Trekkies and Futurama freaks. The 6-seeded Commander Data is at the top of his game, ripping Twiki a new Dr. Theopolis port 81-19 in the Sweet Sixteen and jacking KITT by a comfortable 32-point margin in the first round. But can he out-muscle Bender? The hard-drinking Futurama bot defeated two robots in the first round and hasn't looked back since. He dogged K-9 by a score of 78-22 in the second round, and if he can get past Data, the dream matchup of Bender vs. Beer-Launching Fridge for all the marbles could become a reality. Who will win the TV Division? Your vote counts.

(6) Data vs. (2) Bender: Who wins the TV Division championships?

 Data
 Bender

====

Last week's results

PROTOTYPE DIVISION

(1) Asimo 84
(3) OmniZero.4 16

(4) Beer-Launching Fridge 67
(2) Keepon 33

CONSUMER DIVISION

(6) Nintendo R.O.B. 62
(1) Pleo 38

(2) Sony QRIO 51
(4) Robosapien 49

MOVIE DIVISION

(1) Marvin the Paranoid Android 57
(6) C-3PO 43

(5) Johnny Five 85
(2) D.A.R.Y.L. 15

TV DIVISION

(6) Data 81
(1) Twiki 19

(2) Bender 78
(5) K-9 22

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