---
title: "Robot combat"
chunk: 5/11
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_combat"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:20:55.912995+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Horizontal Spinner – Horizontal spinners rotate around a vertical axis, with the rotating blade or disc typically mounted below, under, or at mid-height on the front of the robot. Undercutters have a spinner low enough almost to scrape the ground. Thanks to their broad reach, horizontal spinners can impart large impacts and may throw other robots across the arena floor. Tombstone, a spinner armed with a horizontal bar, was the champion of BattleBots 2016, and its sister machine Last Rites has been a renowned competitor in RoboGames since 2005. Notable British horizontal spinners include Hypno-Disc (a grand finalist in Robot Wars series 3–5) and Carbide (champion of Robot Wars series 9). Some robots have a bar-shaped horizontal spinner mounted above the center of a low rectangular chassis. Horizontal spinners with this design include three-time BattleBots middleweight champion Hazard, American mid–late 2000s competitor Brutality, and modern Battlebots competitors Icewave and Bloodsport.
Full Body Spinner – Taking the concept of the spinner to the extreme, a full-body spinner rotates a massive horizontally spinning mechanism around the entire circumference of the robot as a stored energy weapon. Other robot components (batteries, weapon motor casing) may be attached to the shell to increase the spinning mass while keeping the mass of the drive train to a minimum. Full body spinners require more time to spin the weapon up to speed, typically cannot self-right without the assistance of stabilizing bars, and can be unstable — the original BattleBots competitor Mauler was an infamous example in its first few years of competition.
Shell spinner – Shell spinners are the most common variety of full-body spinner, encasing the robot in a spinning shell powered from below by an electric motor. These shells may be cylindrical, conical, or dome-shaped. The 1995 US Robot Wars heavyweight co-champion Blendo was the first effective shell spinner, with its weapon derived from a metal wok. Among the most successful shell spinners are three-time BattleBots lightweight champion Ziggo and Robot Wars Series 7 champion Typhoon 2. Some shell spinners have competed nearly continuously since 2001, including Team LOGICOM's Shrederator series and Team Robotic Death Company's Megabyte. Both teams have seen success in untelevised and televised events in the United States and China.
Ring / Rim spinner – Robots with ring or rim spinners impact opponents with a ring-shaped blade or battering surface spinning around the circumference of the chassis. These designs have the advantage of invertibility, at the cost of complexity, since they rely on a series of gears to translate motor power to the external ring. BattleBots 2016 competitor The Ringmaster is an example of a ring-spinner.
Cage / Overhead spinner – A cage spinner impacts opponents with a spinning open frame resembling a helicopter rotor rather than a solid shell. These spinners are particularly uncommon. The most notable example is BattleBots 3.0 heavyweight champion Son of Whyachi, armed with bludgeoning hammerheads attached to a triangular spinning frame.
Full-body drum spinner – A full-body drum spinner is similar in construction to a thwackbot, with a tubular two-wheeled chassis encased by a vertically spinning cylindrical shell. These designs are rare and notoriously unreliable despite their high damage potential. Examples include Robot Wars competitor Barber-Ous and BattleBots competitor Axe Backwards.
Melty-Brain Spinner (also known as Tornado Drive or Translational Drift)– A variation of the full-body spinner designed to operate without an independent weapon motor. These robots utilize a complex combination of rotational sensors and fine motor control to drive in such a way that the entire robot can simultaneously rotate on the spot and move across an arena in a controlled manner. The drive is usually implemented with an LED light system that indicates to the driver the direction the robot will move when commanded to move forward. This kind of design tends to be incorporated into invertible builds and requires a spin-up time like other spinners. One of the earliest known examples of this kind of robot is BattleBots lightweight Herr Gepoünden, a thwackbot that reached the quarter-finals of season 3.0 and persisted in untelevised competitions until 2024, long past the heyday of other lightweight thwackbots. The most successful heavyweight melty-brain spinner is Nuts 2, which had chains connected to two "flail" weapons on either side of the machine. Nuts 2 ultimately finished joint 3rd (with Behemoth) in Series 10 of Robot Wars, ending the dominant run of Series 8 finalist and Series 9 champion Carbide along the way by breaking the robot's weapon chain. Additionally, NHRL competitor Project Liftoff has also seen a considerable degree of success with melty-brain technology.

=== Control bot weaponry ===
Lifter – Using tactics similar to a wedge, the lifter uses a powered arm, prow, or platform to get underneath the opponent and lift it away from the arena surface to remove its maneuverability. The lifter may then push the other robot toward arena traps or attempt to toss the opponent onto its back. The lifter is typically powered by either an electric or pneumatic actuator. Lifters were most effective in older competitions when self-righting mechanisms and high-power weaponry were less common. Two-time US Robot Wars and four-time BattleBots heavyweight champion Biohazard used an electric lifting arm to great effect. Lifting forks were utilized by Robot Wars series 2 champion Panic Attack and two-time BattleBots heavyweight champion Vlad the Impaler. Thanks to their narrow profile and simplicity, lifters are often combined with other weaponry. Sewer Snake, four-time RoboGames heavyweight champion, was a six-wheeled rammer with a lifting wedge. Modern BattleBots competitor Whiplash has seen success by combining a small spinning disc and lifting arm into a single weapon. In recent years, robots across multiple weight classes have employed the use of "cam lifters", which are thin blades that rotate axially to high-center opponents. This lifter variation was first employed in 2020 and has been employed by the NHRL 2023 Finals beetleweight runner-up Supreme Ruler to great effect.