Tiberius

Tiberius was the name given to three competitor robots which competed from Series 4 through to Series 7 of Robot Wars and the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. It was originally armed with a vertical crushing spike, which was later replaced with a more conventional crushing claw. Tiberius never progressed beyond the heats in the main series, reaching one heat final in Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars, but won the University Challenge in Robot Wars Extreme: Series 2.

Despite Tiberius not entering the 2016 series of Robot Wars, Sam Smith joined forces with Dave Moulds to create Carbide.

Tiberius
"This looks pretty special for a first attempt"

- Julia Reed

The original Tiberius was a basic two wheeled box-wedge shaped robot with a large spike powered by a car jack delivering 1.5 tons of pressure, which could pierce through stainless steel. The machine could pull a Volkswagen Estate with the handbrake on. This version had a welded steel chassis with polypropelene and gears from a motorbike, and travelled at 8 mph. Like TX-108, this version had a crusher which was pulled down instead of pushed like the crusher of Tiberius 2 and 3.

Tiberius 2
In Series 5, the team entered Tiberius 2, which had a more conventional crusher, and the team captain cited inspiration from Razer. It was less powerful than its inspiration, at 4 tonnes of pressure, powered by a 6 ton hydraulic ram. This machine was armoured in steel, polycarbonate, polypropelene and titanium.

Tiberius 3
The team entered Series 6 and 7, as well as Extreme 2, with Tiberius 3, stylised as Tiberius III, which retained the crushing weapon of its predecessor, built over a year, but now at 5 tonnes, producing 3 tonnes at the tip, and a new self-righting mechanism added in Extreme 2, which was revised again in Series 7, alongside a stronger back panel. This also had improved systems for higher manoeuvrability and faster operations. It was well controlled, had a low ground clearance and was well armoured, but was fairly slow at 10 mph, did not have much traction and more importantly was slow to self-right. Tiberius 3 was the team's most successful robot, reaching the Heat Final of Series 7 and winning the University Challenge special in Extreme Series 2.

Series 4
Tiberius was matched up against Mousetrap and 12th seeds Evil Weevil 2 in Round 1. It looked impressive in Round 1, choosing Mousetrap as its main target. Tiberius was subjected to a minor attack by the seeded Evil Weevil 2 early on, however that would the latter's only real onslaught in the battle as it broke down moments after. Tiberius then managed to pin down and pierce Mousetrap's top armour with its unique crusher, and Refbot had to break the two up. The two went on to fight for the remainder of the battle, as the House Robots attacked Evil Weevil 2 and gave it a flight courtsey of the Floor Flipper. Both Mousetrap and Tiberius went through at the expense of the seeds.

In the second round against Little Fly, it started the fight as the aggressor, repeatedly pounding into its opposition. It then slammed Little Fly into Sergeant Bash, who torched Little Fly but caused no visible damage. Tiberius then pushed its foe into Bash again, who then crumpled Little fly's front end with its front pincer. Tiberius continued the aggressive approach towards the fly, before slamming it directly into the arena wall. Unfortunately, this would be its undoing, as it got stuck there. It was freed with help from the House Robots, but when it was released only one drive motor was functioning. Upon its immobilization, it was promptly axed by Shunt and lifted up by Sir Killalot who put it on the edge of the pit. Shunt and Matilda then ended the team's Series 4 campaign when they nudged it in. "Well, Tiberius will rule no longer!"

- Craig Charles

Series 5
In Round 1 of Series 5, Tiberius 2 was put up against newcomers Monad. Tiberius 2 was by far slower than Monad in the battle, but it still managed to grip it and crush into the side. Monad's jaw then came loose on the front; Monad then hit the pit release, but then stopped dead, allowing Tiberius to grip it again with its claw and pit it, putting Tiberius through.

Tiberius 2 then fought former champions and number 6 seeds Panic Attack in the second round. It started well, gripping the front of Panic Attack with its claw and steering it around. Panic Attack got away and lifted it, shoving it into the House Robots. Shunt axed Tiberius a few times before it eventually escaped, but Panic Attack lifted it up again. This time, Panic Attack went for the pit release button, dragged Tiberius 2 towards the pit, and dropped it down, almost toppling in itself.

Series 6
Tiberius 3 had been drawn against Supernova from Team Trinity, Short Circuit and Spawn Again, which was seeded 10th. Knowing the power of Supernova's flywheel, Tiberius was equipped with thick, white plastic casing around its sides, offering an extra layer of protection. "...12 months of work and it could all go in the first round. No wonder they're wincing"

- Philippa Forrester talking about Tiberius' battle draw.

Tiberius opened the battle by getting off quickly and attacking Supernova, which retaliated with its spinning disc. Tiberius managed to pierce the Sri Lankan machine, holding it in the CPZ at the mercy of Sergeant Bash and Sir Killalot, and a small clash with the latter resulted in a buckled crushing jaw on Tiberius. Tiberius tried to grip into Supernova, but it escaped. Meanwhile Short Circuit had been decimated by Supernova's flywheel. Tiberius fled from the dangerous Supernova, but Supernova was faster, and struck the rear of Tiberius, sending it spiralling away, knocking out its safety link in the process, thus immobilising Tiberius. Spawn Again then flipped Tiberius over, overturning itself in the process, and Tiberius was counted out. Short Circuit was pitted and Tiberius was flipped by the floor flipper and pitted by Sir Killalot. it was only after the battle that it was revealed Tiberius has lost its safety link, strangely leaving Tiberius in better working condition than the qualifying Spawn Again. "Don't go in after him Killalot, that's not in the script!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Killalot almost followed Tiberius into the pit.

Extreme 2
Tiberius 3 participated in the University Challenge tournament, representing Loughborough University, and faced Infinity and Fluffy in the first round. Tiberius 3 grabbed hold of Fluffy straight from the start, and stayed stuck to it for the rest of the battle. Infinity tried to separate both opponents, but when Growler pressed the pit button, Tiberius 3 held Fluffy over the pit, and both machine were pushed in by Refbot. Fluffy went into the pit first, and had been immobilised by the claw of Tiberius, so the machine from Loughborough went through along with Infinity.

In Round 2, Tiberius 3 met C.V., and attacked it at the start, but struggled to grab hold of it. C.V. attacked them with their axe, but they failed to cause any damage. Tiberius eventually grabbed hold of C.V., but were unable to pierce their opponent, so pushed it into the pit button, then down the pit. Tiberius 3 was then through to fight Infinity in the final.

Tiberius 3 started the battle by pushing Infinity into Sergeant Bash, but Infinity escaped. Tiberius then tried to puncture Infinity's shell, but failed to. "It hasn't got great pressure, the beak"

- Jonathan Pearce

Infinity responded by shoving Tiberius into the angle grinder. Tiberius again tried to grab Infinity with its claw, but the faster Infinity spun away. Tiberius eventually caught Infinity in the CPZ, and rammed it into the Arena wall, but failed to capitalise again. After spinning away, Tiberius caught Infinity again, this time puncturing the exposed wheels. "This is a very tense and tight affair for the honour of brainiest boffins of Robot Wars!"

- Jonathan Pearce

When Infinity escaped, it pushed from the sides of Tiberius, but was caught and pinned by the jaw again. Tiberius then shoved Infinity into the CPZ, and Shunt came across and axed the top of Infinity, and then the rear of Tiberius. Meanwhile, one of the House Robots, presumably Sergeant Bash, pressed the pit release, but this didn't matter as time ran out soon afterwards. The battle was relatively uneventful, but Tiberius 3 won the judges' decision and the tournament.

Series 7
Tiberius 3 played virtually no part in its first round battle, as it was lightly spun around by Shell Shock in the opening stages, which was too large for Tiberius to grab with its crusher. M2 proceeded to dominate the battle by tossing Shell Shock, as well as the immobile Vader, out of the arena.

Tiberius 3 had qualified for the second round, and despite its passive performance, was not drawn against the seeded Pussycat, instead fighting Roobarb at this stage. Roobarb immediately tried to flip Tiberius 3, but was unable to get underneath the robot. Tiberius 3 turned and grabbed hold of Roobarb with its crushing beak, piercing through the armour of its opponent. Tiberius 3 then lifted Roobarb into the air and held the machine aloft while the Roobarb team tried to escape.

"Roobarb, at the moment, being hoisted, and I don't think he'll be dumping Roobarb into a bowl of custard. It'll be down into the pit of doom and gloom or out of the arena any moment now."

- Jonathan Pearce as Tiberius 3 hoists Roobarb

However, Roobarb's attempts to escape were in vain as it had clearly stopped working and was unable to put up a fight. Tiberius 3 eventually released Roobarb and activated the pit release button, before pushing Roobarb into the pit of oblivion.

In the Heat Final, it fought M2 again, despite having not actually attacked it in the first round. It pierced M2's armour, carrying M2 towards the pit. However, M2 was putting up a struggle and Tiberius 3 was unable to direct it towards the pit. Instead, both robots ended up in the CPZ and were attacked by Growler, who tried to pull M2 away but Tiberius 3 was still hanging onto its opponent. After sustaining ramming attacks from Growler, M2 was able to escape the claw of Tiberius 3 and quickly drove away from the CPZ. Tiberius 3 tried to chase after its opponent, but M2 turned and flipped Tiberius 3 over. M2 then threw Tiberius 3 against the arena wall and tried to flip it out of the arena, but only succeeded in flipping it back onto its wheels. However, M2 quickly flipped Tiberius 3 back over and then threw it into the pit of oblivion. This eliminated Tiberius 3 from the wars.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 7
 * Losses: 4

Series Record

 * Series 1-3: Did not enter
 * Series 4: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 5: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 6: Heat, Round 1
 * Series 7: Heat Final
 * 2016 Series: Entered with Carbide
 * 2017 Series: Did not enter

Robot Wars Live Events
The new Tiberius made its debut at the Robot Wars World Championships 2015. It did well in the heats of the competition surviving the end of its first battle against Thor, Iron-Awe 5 & Tanto and came second on the judges decision. This allowed Tiberius to qualify to the second round of the competition where it fought Gravity and Kan-Opener. Kan-Opener broke down within the first few seconds, leaving Tiberius to fight Gravity alone. However, despite managing to pierce Gravity's tyre at one point and surviving until the end, the judges' decision went against it, putting it in the Play-offs. Here it was immobilised immediately by Eruption, which flipped it against the arena wall where it was left immobile for 30 seconds. Despite being immobile, Tiberius eventually decided the outcome of the battle after it was freed from the wall, by pushing Eruption into the pit, before it too was pushed into the pit by Tough as Nails, leaving the latter as the winner of the battle.

Outside Robot Wars
After Robot Wars, Tiberius was rebuilt with a larger claw and renamed Tiberius 4, though it is mostly only known as Tiberius. Tiberius has fought in many tournaments throughout the country since Robot Wars' end, achieving great success, being the most feared crusher still competing. The robot, now in its sixth incarnation, was bought by Ed Hoppitt of Team Storm in January 2013, who says that Tiberius will still be worked on to fight competitively, although the team's main focus will still be Storm 2.

In April 2016, Team Storm unveiled a heavily-upgraded version of Tiberius, now named Photon Storm, as their BattleBots 2016 entry. Photon Storm has a new "feathery" appearance, giving it a bird motif, and received a number of improvements - including a more powerful self-righting mechanism, 10mm Armox armour plating, a stronger crushing ram, and better batteries and motors - for the competition. Photon Storm lost its first battle against Brazilian robot Minotaur despite starting the battle strongly. Meanwhile for the same competition, Tiberius team captain Sam Smith formed Team Carbide with Dave Moulds and various other team members and fought with Cobalt.

Meanwhile, Tiberius team captain Sam Smith fights in the live circuit with a featherweight called NST with a big spinning bar as its weapon that won the Featherweight UK Championships in 2012 and the Featherweight UK Championship 2015 Annihilator.

In October 2016, Photon Storm fought at a Robots Live event in Stevenage, firstly taking part in the FRA UK Heavyweight Championship. It reached the second round, but lost to Dystopia and Nuts after being flipped out of the arena by the former. Photon Storm later fought in a pair of whiteboard battles, losing to Behemoth and Apollo despite surviving to the end of both battles.

Trivia

 * Other than Razer, Tiberius is the only vertical crusher robot to reach a Heat Final.
 * All of Tiberius' losses saw it pitted.
 * In Series 5, Stuart McDonald introduced the robot as "Tiberus 2", rather than Tiberius 2.
 * Tiberius is mentioned on the new Robot Wars website, in Carbide's page. However, it is misspelt as "Tiberious".