Wipeout

**Wipeout** was a British featherweight robot which competed at the 2018 *King of Bots* UK International Championships. Built by Matt Smith of Riptide Robotics, it encountered multiple setbacks before and during its main championship run, ultimately missing its first qualification round due to scheduling and transport issues. Wipeout entered the arena for its next battle against Straddle 2 and Cobalt, only to withdraw due to an unknown technical problem, resulting in Smith taking the robot back to the pits before the battle started. Wipeout would finally compete against Hell's Angel and Microswitch in its third qualifier, but was eliminated when Hell's Angel's axe punctured its battery and caused the robot to catch fire.

## Design

Wipeout was a four-wheel drive, box-shaped robot armed with a variety of interchangeable weapons. These included a combined electric lifter and drum spinner, similar to the weapon of *BattleBots* competitor Whiplash, as well as an overhead grabber made out of two blocks of wood and a piece of polycarbonate. In its 2018 UK form, much of Wipeout's chassis and armor consisted of HDPE, with its top panels being made out of wood.

## Robot History

Wipeout was initially due to face Hell's Angel and Hedgebot in its first qualification round. However, a combination of scheduling and transport issues prevented it from entering the arena in time for the battle, resulting in Wipeout not scoring any points.

Wipeout would make its first appearance in its second qualifier, which was intended to put it against Straddle 2 and Cobalt. Before the battle began, it encountered technical issues in the arena, resulting in Matt Smith taking Wipeout back to the pits and forfeiting its place. One of Wipeout's wheels fell off as it was being lifted out of the arena, which was promptly thrown back to Smith by a *King of Bots* UK crewmember.

Having not scored any further points as a result of its withdrawals, Wipeout fought its third and final qualifier against Hell's Angel and Microswitch. For this battle, it was equipped with the combined lifter/spinner, although the lifter part of the weapon was left disabled due to time restrictions preventing it from being fully wired up. Before the battle, Wipeout was required to undergo additional failsafe checks for its drive and weapon systems, as a result of it not having participated in its earlier qualification rounds.

Initially, Wipeout turned into and got underneath the front of Microswitch, although not without losing part of its HDPE armor. It turned and twitched as Hell's Angel proceeded to ram Microswitch into the wall, and approached both of its opponents as Microswitch sustained damage from the Team Hell machine’s axe. As it bumped over the pit, Wipeout turned round, only to be pushed drum-first into the bottom-right corner by Hell's Angel. Wipeout sustained a few axe blows from Hell's Angel, one of which reached through a cut-out in its top panel, immediately above its lithium-polymer battery. This resulted in Wipeout's battery being punctured, and the robot catching fire, prompting the battle to be stopped while it was extinguished and extracted from the arena. Wipeout was eliminated from the battle and the 2018 UK International Championships as a result, finishing third and scoring its only point of the competition.

## Results

### Wins/Losses

* Wins: 0
* Losses: 3

## References

1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/Riptiderobotics/posts/1720393491416316