This past weekend, Detroit hosted something that looked like it came straight out of a sci-fi film:
9-foot-tall humanoid robots bashing each other in an arena - for real.
The event, called Robo War, took place along 7 Mile Road and brought together robotic fighting machines from across the U.S., including matchups like Detroit vs. Atlanta and Los Angeles vs. Phoenix.
These weren’t remote-controlled toys.
They were towering machines, some launching projectiles, others grappling like bouncers at closing time - all in front of a cheering, stunned crowd.
What the Organisers Are Saying
The event is produced by the Interactive Combat League, a group aiming to turn robot fighting into a full-on spectator sport - part combat, part gaming, part STEM awareness campaign.
They describe Robo War as:
“A new form of live entertainment that fuses robotics, competition, and community outreach.”
Alongside the fights, the event included educational outreach for local youth and a walk-through promotion by Zion, a giant robot that casually strolled down 7 Mile to turn heads and build curiosity.
In Human Words
A new robot combat league was founded in Detroit.
It’s called the Interactive Combat League, created by Art Cartwright.
This weekend was their fourth event.
The robots were built in Detroit. They’re about 9 feet tall, made of real steel, and built to fight in front of a live crowd.
The fights are part sport, part show.
The robots are controlled by people, but they also use AI to stay balanced, move smoothly, and react during fights.
Let’s Connect the Dots
When we first saw it, we honestly thought that by next week, there’d be a RoboCop patrolling with the Detroit police.
And we were excited.
Excited to find out which lab was behind it.
Which university or robotics manufacturer helped design it.
Which AI company provided the brains.
Later, we found out… it wasn’t any of that.
🛠️ How the Bots Were Manufactured
The robots were not made by a global tech brand or a research institute.
They were built locally in Detroit, by a team led by Art Cartwright, the founder of the Interactive Combat League.
This was their fourth event, and everything - from the steel frames to the walking systems - was designed and assembled in the city.
No big-name sponsors. No government tech lab.
Just a team building giant humanoid machines to fight in front of a live audience - and to prove that advanced robotics doesn’t need to hide behind a lab door.
What AI Had to Do With It
From a distance, you might think these robots were fully autonomous - like they decided when to punch and how to move.
But in reality? The AI played a small, supportive role.
Each robot was controlled by a human pilot. The AI was only there to handle things like:
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Keeping the robot balanced
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Coordinating its basic movements
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Helping it recover from hits
That’s it.
No independent thinking. No decision-making.
If this were a fully autonomous robot, the AI would need to do everything - from reading the environment, choosing its next move, defending itself, attacking, adjusting to risk - all in real time.
This wasn’t that.
This was still a human show.
The AI was just there to help make it feel real - not to take over the fight.
Are There Rules for Robots Near People?
We were interested to know.
We did not have high hopes.
That’s why we weren’t surprised to find out that...
this is indeed the case 🙂
There are no clear rules that say how close robots can be to people - especially not in public spaces or entertainment settings.
This is what we found.
United States - Mostly Standards, Few Rules
There's no specific federal law banning robots near humans in public spaces or events. Organizations like OSHA monitor workplace safety around industrial robots, but not in entertainment or public arenas.
ISO 10218 (industrial robots) and ISO/TS 15066 (cobots) address safe interaction, collision detection, and emergency stops
The EU’s Machinery Regulation (2023) updates safety rules to include physical and psychological harm from robots in workplace environments
Academic groups (IEEE, Cambridge) are pushing for “humanoid governance” frameworks - suggesting global standards that cover ethics, emergency systems, and safe design
Bottom Line
Next Event: August 16, 2025 – Detroit, MI
Location: 7 Mile Road Combat Arena
Tickets: Starting at $25
Buy Tickets & Get Updates: https://robowar.com
Follow for News: Instagram @interactivecombatleague
Prompt It Up – Stay on Top of the Latest in Robotics
When we stumbled on this news, we realised we actually have no idea what’s going on in the robotics world.
We know what’s happening in the LLM space.
But AGI? Real-world robots?
That’s something we should probably be keeping up with.
So if you’re like us - and you want to stay posted -
Just copy and paste the prompt below to get the latest news in robotics, with links.
📋 Copy & Paste Prompt:
Give me the latest news in robotics from the past 7 days.
Include:
-
Key headlines
-
Short summaries
-
Direct links to the sources
Focus on real-world robotics (hardware + AI), not just software or LLM updates. -
Provide me a take on what is happening between the lines
>> This is what we got when we used this prompt on ChatGPT
Frozen Light Team Perspective
We talk a lot about AI that thinks -
But this time, we watched AI that swings.
At first, it looked like a joke.
Then the 9-foot robot actually moved. Then it actually fought.
And then we realized - this isn’t the future.
This is happening. Right now. In Detroit.
We’ve been busy keeping up with LLMs, prompts, and synthetic content.
But robotics?
We’ll be honest - we weren’t paying enough attention.
Seeing real machines move through a crowd, take a hit, and recover -
That hits different.
And it reminds us that AGI won’t just show up in chatboxes.
It’s going to walk, react, move, and maybe one day - make its own decisions.
That’s why this event matters.
Not because it’s dangerous. (It wasn’t.)
Not because it’s perfect. (It’s still human-controlled.)
But because it shows us how close we already are -
And how few rules exist to guide what comes next.
So yes - we’ll keep writing about LLMs.
But from now on, we’re watching robotics too.
If a steel giant is going to walk down the street,
we’d at least like to know which direction it’s going.
On a personal note -
We admire the cause.
Getting more young people excited about science and math is a noble goal - and we fully support it.
We just would’ve preferred to see it in a different setting.
We’re not ones for violence.
Even though this felt more like a 3D video game than real combat,
we’d love to see this kind of robotics used for building, rescuing, helping - not just beating up other robots in a cage.
And yes…
We were kind of surprised there’s no real regulation around robots in public spaces.
That part still doesn’t sit right with us.
So while we admire the move, and love the mission -
We’re not fully sold on the format.
We’re peace-seeking people here at Frozen Light.
And we believe you can build something powerful… without having to break something else.