FIGURE 2
Kurtis Wanner, Team Fingertech:
“Kitbot got smashed in the rumble
of the last event, and has been
rebuilt with a single lifting arm
instead of the four-bar lifter of
previous events. It is much less
effective and I couldn’t get a good
lift on Metroid at all. Instead, the
lifting plow rose straight into his
drum and Kitbot was flipped over.
I’m a little rusty on driving inverted,
and having magnets only on the
bottom of the bot didn’t help in the
pushing category. I drove in front of
the pushouts trying to entice him to
take a run at me, but Dennis must
have figured it out because he
always kept a good distance from it.
I’ll admit that Kitbot is boring upside
down, and Metroid’s decision win
was well deserved.”
Metroid vs. Short
Circuit: A Four-Event
Veteran Horizontal
Spinner
Ethan McKibben, Team ACME:
(See Figure 2.) “We both spin up
and head for the middle. I chase
Metroid as he tries to get behind
me, and we hit weapon to weapon!
FIGURE 3
30 SERVO 06.2008
Short Circuit is now upside down
but can still drive. Unfortunately, the
blade is too high to hit Metroid. He
attacks and hits our main weapon
gear sending pieces flying, but our
blade doesn’t stop! There are only
about 10 teeth left out of the
60-tooth gear and it still works!
SC eventually gets flipped over the
wall and the match ends.”
Dennis: “Team ACME’s Short Circuit
really had me worried. SC’s weapon
is a large horizontal spinning bar
capable of much damage. I attempt
to use Metroid’s speed to get
behind or beside SC to hit one of
their exposed wheels, but I cannot
accurately steer away from SC’s
weapon. After just a few seconds,
the two robots hit weapon to
weapon. Somehow Metroid remains
almost stationary while SC flies
backwards, landing upside-down on
the opposite side of the arena. I line
up a good hit into the side of SC,
breaking its weapon gearbox.
Metroid gets in a few more hits and
finally flips SC over the wall.
Another win for Metroid!”
Metroid vs. Mighty
Mouse: A Fast, Hard
Hitting Wedge/Rammer
Dennis: (See Figure 3.) “The fight
starts with the two bots driving
directly into each other. To my
dismay, Metroid drives right up
MM’s wedge instead of catching
on it. Then WHAM! Metroid catches
on the wedge, throwing himself
backwards against the outer arena
wall and bouncing back in onto
FIGURE 4
the floor. Luckily, Metroid has
landed back in the arena right side
up. MM is on the attack, driving
straight at Metroid again. This time,
Metroid catches the leading edge
of MM’s wedge, bending the
wedge pretty badly and throwing
MM backwards across the arena,
landing on his wheels. This happens
about three more times, with MM
doing a back flip and landing on
his wheels every single time!
Eventually, MM gets thrown right
out of the arena!
Team Humbot: Fight report not
available.
Metroid vs. Firefly
(finals): New Drum
Bot With a Thresher
Tooth Design
Dennis: (See Figure 4.) “Both
weapons spin up instantly and we
hit weapon to weapon. I’m
disappointed that Metroid was
getting slightly bounced into the air
instead of Firefly. As it turns out,
Firefly’s weapon teeth were catching
on my side rails. Metroid finally
gets a hit in on the side of Firefly,
flipping him over. A weapon-to-weapon hit sends Firefly flipping
through the air, and another quick
hit sends him over the wall. Metroid
wins the antweight finals!”
Kurtis Wanner, Team Fingertech:
“I had to skimp on the voltage
of Firefly, but so far the slower
spinning drum has still caught and
flipped every opponent. Not so with
Metroid, as his drum is spinning
much faster. Firefly’s teeth have
better reach, so I knock him back
a couple times, but then his teeth
catch and flip Firefly upside down.
With now counter-rotating drums,
the next weapon-to-weapon hit
throws Firefly high into the air, and
another hit as soon as it lands
sends Firefly over the wall. I’m
happy with Firefly’s performance,
but I will make sure it can beat
