You can have a robot battle. Robots can be controlled online. So you can have real robot fights from your computer.
You could mail your bots to the competition but control them locally. An entry fee could even include on-site tech support to fix stuff on your behalf. This allows international competitions without travel costs.
Maybe live tweet the battle.
Simple, add eyes to robots. There is a vast market of automation already in use, which is upsetting and impersonal. Simply providing something the size of an iPad with eyes that move with the bot will add a personality and might make the impression of automating jobs less harmful. Big companies spend tons of money on crap that corporate psychologists recommend. Find a corporate psychologist that recommends it and sell a thousand tablets with motion sensors and moving eyes.
Just eyes can take a bot from being a job killer to being cute. Happy eyes!