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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robot combat | 8/11 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_combat | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T04:20:55.912995+00:00 | kb-cron |
SRiMech – Many robots are incapable of driving inverted (upside-down), due to their shape, weaponry, or both. However, others risk immobilization if turned over off of their wheels. A SRiMech (self-righting mechanism) is not inherently a form of weaponry, but rather a design element that returns an inverted robot to mobility in the upright state. The SRiMech is typically an electric or pneumatic arm or extension on the upper surface of the robot which pushes against the arena floor to roll or flip the robot upright. Most flippers, some lifters, and even some carefully designed axes or vertical spinners can double as SRiMechs. Team Nightmare's lightweight vertical spinner Backlash was designed such that when flipped it would hit the ground with the spinning disc and kick back upright (though this never worked). The first successful unaided use of an SRiMech in competition was at the 1997 U.S. Robot Wars, when the immobilized Vlad the Impaler used a dedicated pneumatic device to pop back upright in a match against Biohazard. The first competitor to use a SRiMech in a televised competition was Cassius, using its front-hinged flipping arm to right itself in Robot Wars series 2. Entangling weapons – Several early US Robot Wars competitors sought to immobilize their opponents with entangling weapons. Nets and streamers of adhesive tape were both tried with mixed success. Entangling weapons were prohibited in Robot Wars and BattleBots from 1997 onward, but the Robotica competitions allowed nets, magnets, and other entanglers on a case-by-case basis, and Robot Wars allowed limited use of entanglers in Series 10. One of the more infamous recent usages of entanglers was a BattleBots fight between Complete Control and Ghost Raptor in the first reboot season, where a net was hidden in a "present" held by Complete Control and rammed into Ghost Raptor, jamming the spinner and other mechanics. The match was stopped, but Derek Young, the driver and captain of Complete Control, mentioned that entanglers weren't explicitly forbidden in the new ruleset, which was true, but a rematch was scheduled with the explicit note of nets being forbidden from then on. Flame weapons – Although prohibited for use by competitors in Robot Wars and the first edition (2000–05) of BattleBots, the rules for Robotica, the Robot Fighting League, and the post-2015 version of BattleBots do allow flame weapons under some circumstances. RFL super heavyweight competitor Alcoholic Stepfather (unique for using mecanum wheels for movement around an arena) and Robotica competitor Solar Flare, as well as the later BattleBots series competitors Free Shipping and overhead pneumatic-pickaxe armed Chomp employing gaseous flamethrower weapons. Gruff is a BattleBots competitor that competed with its main weapon solely as a high-power flamethrower (two as of season 5) with the help of a lifter, with moderate success. Flamethrowers are seldom effective weapons, mainly due to their effectiveness being limited for safety reasons, but are audience favorites. However, flamethrower robots have seen recent success at National Havoc Robot League since plastic is a common building material, with robots like Dutch Oven and Mixtape regularly making deep runs in qualifying events and both making the knockout phase of the 2024 NHRL World Championships. The most successful flamethrower robot at NHRL is undoubtedly Clyde, which has earned multiple podium finishes at Championship Qualifier events and won the June 2024 Golden Dumpster. Smothering weapons – The BattleBots and Robot Wars lightweight competitor Tentoumushi used a large plastic sandbox cover shaped like a ladybug ("tentoumushi" being Japanese for ladybug) on a powered arm to drop down over opposing robots, covering and encircling them. Once covered, it was difficult to tell what the opponent was doing and who was dragging whom around the arena. One version of the robot had a circular saw concealed under the cover to inflict physical damage, another had a small grappling hook. Tethered projectiles – Although tethered projectiles are specifically allowed and discussed in major rules sets, their use is quite rare. Neptune fought at BattleBots 3.0 with pneumatic spears on tethers, but was unable to damage its opponent. During a friendly weapons test, Team Juggerbot allowed the builders of Neptune to take a couple shots against their bot. One of two shots penetrated an aluminum panel below the main armor, while the other bounced off the top armor. Multibots (clusterbots) – A single robot that breaks apart into multiple, independently controlled robots has appealed to a few competitors. The Robot Wars heavyweight Gemini and the BattleBots middleweight Pack Raptors were two-part multibots that had some success. The rules concerning clusterbots have varied over the years, either stating that 50% of the clusterbot has to be immobilised to eliminate the robot from the tournament (in the Dutch version of Robot Wars, there was a 3-part multibot named √3, and although one of its parts was tossed out of the arena by Matilda, the robot as a whole was still deemed mobile, and the other 2 parts of √3 did enough to win the match), or that all of a multibot's segments have to be incapacitated before a knock-out victory can be declared, and members without active weapons no longer count. Current Robot Fighting League match rules require the latter to be achieved. In recent years, successful heavyweight multibots include Thunder and Lightning (a pair of vertical spinners that came in 4th place in King of Bots season 1) and Crash n' Burn (a pair of wedgebots competing in RoboGames). Multibots have seen great success at NHRL because the ruleset grants them a 33% weight bonus, with beetleweights Booty Brigade and Repeater winning the 2023 and 2024 Finals respectively. Minibots (nuisancebots) – Similar to the concept of multibots, minibots are small robots, typically no larger than a featherweight, that fight alongside a larger main robot with the aim of harassing or distracting opponents. They are often sacrificial in nature and have minimal weaponry. BattleBots 2015 competitor Witch Doctor was accompanied by a featherweight minibot named Shaman which was equipped with a flamethrower, and which gained significant popularity for its spirited performances during battles. Other Battlebots competitors also successfully used minibots such as Son of Whyachi in 2016, and 2018 competitor WAR Hawk and their beetleweight minibot WAR Stop, which was equipped with a wedge. The cam lifter minibot Needle debuted alongside Tracer in 2020 and has since competed with Jackpot under the alias Ace. Halon gas – Rhino fought at the 1997 U.S. Robot Wars event with a halon gas fire extinguisher, which was very effective at stopping internal combustion engines. Gas weapons of this nature were promptly prohibited from future competitions. Pneumatic Cannon – First implemented by season eight Battlebots competitor Double Jeopardy, the robot fired off a 5-pound (2.3 kg) "slug" at 190 mph (310 km/h), exerting 4,500 pounds-force (20,000 N) upon impact. This robot, however, did not perform well during its competition, as it only had one shot at landing a good hit: from there, it would have to rely on pushing its opponents, at which it failed. It subsequently upgraded its cannon to be more powerful and added the ability to fire more than one shot, though as of its last appearance in 2021, it has only one win under its belt.