Servo - November 2015

34 SERVO 11.2015

Olin: What was it like walking through the tunnel into the arena for the first time?

Billings: Even though we’ve done this sort of thing before, it was a little imposing. For us though, our first match was supposed to be against Beta. That team was having troubles, as some of their custom electronics were lost by the airline on the trip there, and they were scrambling to get it running.

So, we loaded and unloaded into and back out of the arena several times while they tried to get it working. Eventually, they just had to give up and we moved on to one of the alternates; in this case, Counter Revolution. We had done it so often I just wanted to get in the arena and actually have a fight!

In the preliminary round of BattleBots 2015, Ray and Tombstone faced RoboGames veteran, Counter Revolution. Tombstone's first hit crippled Counter Revolution's drive; the second hit disabled Counter Revolution's weapons; and the third hit splattered Counter Revolution across the arena. Counter Revolution got tombstoned!

Ray's next opponent (victim) was British import, Radioactive. Ray and Tombstone toyed with their prey before crushing him, then while Radioactive was being counted out Tombstone batted the loose pieces of Radioactive around the arena with ballistic force.

Next, Tombstone faced Witch Doctor (see the August

2015 issue's interview with Andrea Suarez). Witch Doctor took several hard hits and dealt a few of her own before the climatic hit that sent both bots tumbling. Witch Doctor ended up inverted and immobile, but in the process broke Tombstone's blade. Witch Doctor was counted out for a TKO.

Olin: What can you tell us about the damage you took during the Witch Doctor battle?

Billings: The blade that broke was made from S7 tool steel. This particular one was 1.5 inches thick,

and I picked it in particular as the least likely to break. It broke through one of the lightening holes, and probably had some stress fractures prior to this match. It has seen much stronger hits in the past and survived. I didn't think it would break — part of why I chose it in the first place. But that particular weapon bar had a lot of fights on it, and they do break eventually.

Olin: How did this affect your strategy for the rest of the tournament?

Billings: It didn't affect anything really. The bar I chose for the last two matches is the one I would have chosen even if this bar had not broken.

The Semi-Finals

Next, in the semi-finals, Ray and Tombstone faced Inertia The two bots collided weapon against weapon, sending both flying. Bronco attempted a second flip but missed. Tombstone counter-attacked, scoring several big hits.

The last hit crippled Bronco’s drive and sent Tombstone tumbling,

causing its top cover to come off and its batteries to spill out. Bronco was counted out and Tombstone moved on to the finals.

Olin: How did Bronco’s special extra-long flipper affect your opening strategy?

Billings: Bronco's flipper shape was pretty much exactly what I was expecting. The only part of that fight that didn't go the way I wanted was I assumed they were going to