I wonder when this will actually happen. I didn't know about the US team's update, and the other contenders though.
And I really feel like they should be remote piloted, at least at first. Otherwise it seems like an invitation for total disaster. I think I remember seeing a video from the US team where they were banging up a crash test dummy inside the cockpit.
F1 was a complete shitshow for years and years until they finally started implementing safety recommendations. I think it was Ayrton Senna's death that prompted that, and it's been so much safer since then.
Piloted robot duels seem like they'd turn the carnage up to 11. If they are going to have pilots inside, they need to figure out a way to keep people safe with standards, etc.
You can tell on the new model that a lot of thought has been put into pilot safety. There's something like a bumper and recognizable crash cage now, for example, and the transparent acrylic the pilot looks out through is at a steeper angle, higher up, so the other robot is unlikely to strike it directly.
I just saw that they're going to fight in August. The US team has a lot of financial backing, so they may end up winning.
I'm still skeptical about pilot safety, unless they purposefully tone things down, but it'll be interesting to see what happens.