Fail Forward: Combat Robotics and the Growth Mindset

Social Science & Mental Health

20. Fail Forward: Combat Robotics and the Growth Mindset

In combat robotics, things often break, plans go awry, and robots lose matches. For someone with a fixed mindset, these setbacks might feel like personal failures, leading to discouragement. However, a growth mindset sees these challenges as opportunities to learn and improve, making them stronger and more resilient.

The entire process of building a combat robot is an exercise in iterative design – building, testing, breaking, fixing, and repeating. This cyclical nature perfectly embodies the growth mindset. When a robot fails, it's not the end; it's a chance to analyze why it failed. Was the armor too thin? Was the motor underpowered? Each failure provides valuable data that informs the next design iteration.

This constant process of learning from mistakes and adapting aligns directly with resilience research, which shows that individuals who bounce back from adversity possess a belief in their ability to grow and overcome challenges. Combat robotics teaches that every "failure" is a stepping stone to success, fostering a deep understanding that effort and perseverance are key to mastering any skill, whether it's engineering a powerful robot or navigating life's complexities.