Hedgebot

**Hedgebot** was a British featherweight robot built by Team Hog which competed in the 2018 *King of Bots* UK International Championships. Captained by Thomas Walland, it had a limited run of success in the main competition, finishing second in its first two qualification rounds to Hell's Angel, and third to Amnesia after getting flipped over by the eventual champion. The points scored were not enough for Hedgebot to progress to later rounds, eliminating it from the 2018 UK International Championships.

Hedgebot also fought in a variety of side events held alongside the main championship, including two whiteboard battles, one of which it lost to The Claw via a Judges’ decision. Both robots would compete together in a Tag Team battle and the eighteen-way Gladiator melee, but achieved no further success in these.

## Design

Hedgebot was a two-wheel drive robot with a design inspired by a pet African pygmy hedgehog owned by Thomas Walland. Its armament consisted of a pair of pneumatically-powered grabbing arms mounted beneath the robot’s ‘head’, described by Walland as ‘axe claws’ and operating on a 40mm bore ram. Hedgebot also featured a rear-mounted self-righting mechanism, although this suffered from various issues which prevented it from working properly throughout the competition. The robot itself had a predominantly HDPE construction with an ARMOX front ‘nose’, and was driven by a set of drill motors.

Hedgebot sported a predominantly black, silver, white and red color scheme, with a few variations in between battles. For example, in its first qualification round, various red panels were added to the robot’s ‘nose’, top and sides, while flat polycarbonate top panels were fitted to the top of the robot in its second battle.

## Robot History

   Hedgebot's first match was supposed to be against Wipeout, and Hell's Angel. However Wipeout's team encountered car issues on the way to the event, and had to forfeit their day 1 match leaving Hedgebot and Hell's Angel to fight alone.

The match started poorly for Hedgebot as Hell's Angel charged right into it, popping it into the air, and ripping pieces off it. Hell's Angel then cornered Hedgebot, and delivered a axe blow on its lifting nose.

Hell's Angel then slammed into the rear of Hedgebot, and delivered another axe blow before backing off, and triggering the pit release, Hedgebot then narrowly avoided driving into the descending pit. Unfortunately for it Hell's Angel did not relent, and slammed it into the wall again, causing a whole side panel to come partially off.

Hell's Angel then attempted to pit Hedgebot, but this failed as the two were now stuck together, and abandoned the attempt. After 30 seconds of the two being stuck together, the fight was paused to seperate them. However upon the fight being resumed Hedgebot was immobilized, and lost by KO.

**Announcer 1**: "*You know the only other time I see a hedgehog... Its on the road!*"
**Samantha France**: "*Are you saying that's roadkill?*"
**Announcer 1**: "*If you ever want to know what the inside of a hedgehog looks like, take a look at Hedgebot.*"
— The announcers on the state of Hedgebot after its first match.

## Results

### Wins/Losses

* Wins: 0
* Losses: 7

## Trivia

* Hedgebot’s UK 2018 statistics card claimed that it had a ‘3-in-1 modular weapon system’, despite it only being designed with the grabbing arms seen at the event.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/permalink/859816264298140/