Pulsar

"I would hope that Pulsar will be remembered as a really feisty little underdog, it's really small, and it's going to hit really hard!"

- Ellis Ware

Pulsar is a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 8-9 of Robot Wars. In Series 8, Pulsar initially lost its Group Battle on a judges' decision after becoming immobilised on one side during the battle. However, it was reinstated after Chompalot was forced to withdraw, reaching the Grand Final before being defeated by Thor and TR2 in its Group Battle. After this fifth place finish, a new Pulsar returned to Series 9, and fell in the Heat Final.

The name Pulsar is derived from a specific type of magnetised neutron star which radiates electromagnetic beams in space and is notable for its fast rotational speed. The latter connotations are further emphasised by the robot's spinning drum weapon, the fastest featured in UK Robot Wars.

Ellis Ware appeared as a mentor in Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars, helping Paralympian Kadeena Cox to compete with eventual champion Kadeena Machina.

Design
Pulsar was a compact, two-wheel drive robot with a wide front wedge and armed with a 14.5kg single-tooth spinning drum as its weapon. Its drum spun at 9000rpm and was hugely powerful, capable of causing severe damage as well as throwing other robots into the air and overturning them. "I was way the other end of this building when I heard this god-awful hum start, like it was like a fire alarm or something!"

- Dara Ó Briain on Pulsar's drum

The robot features a number of 3D printed parts, and its armour consisted of 8mm HARDOX wear-resistant steel on the front wedge and chassis, and 4.5mm ARMOX steel on the top and base plates. However, its wheels were exposed overhead due to it being invertible, and the back panel protecting the wheels was made only of plastic. Pulsar was powered by 16Ah 12s LiPo batteries, but its radio reception proved to be intermittent, and the robot was generally unreliable, breaking down in three of its five battles.

For Series 9, Pulsar was completely rebuilt. In the process, it gained a rear self-righting mechanism in the form of a front-hinged arm, which easily puts Pulsar back on its wheels. Its new drum is much bigger and weighs 23kg, now spinning at 8,700rpm. Pulsar's armour was also highly upgraded, although the robot's wheels are still unprotected on top.

Rivalry
By the end of Series 9, Pulsar had acquired a famous rivalry with fellow spinner Ironside3. Across two series of Robot Wars, the two robots fought an unprecedented five times, making them (along with Razer v Tornado and Panic Attack v Firestorm) one of the most substantive rivalries in Robot Wars in a short span of time. Similar to other famous rivalries like 101 and King Buxton, the rivalry was manufactured by the producers and the roboteers got along very well behind the scenes. "What's kind of bizarre is, the "rivalry" is 100% born out of weird rules and difficult judges decisions. We're both just trying to fight robots."

- Ellis Ware

The rivalry was initiated during the Series 8 Group Battles, where Ironside3 immobilised Pulsar in a single hit. The rivalry first caught the attention of fans when the (newly reinstated) Pulsar fought Ironside3 in the Head-to-Head stages. Pulsar’s spinning drum threw Ironside3 over and into Sir Killalot’s CPZ, where the judges failed to end the battle despite Ironside3 being immobilised. Ironside3 proceeded to recover (with assistance from the house robot) and eventually pitted Pulsar. The judges controversially disregarded the entirety of the battle after Ironside3’s recovery, awarding not two but the full three points to Pulsar. Despite a judges’ decision being made, the decision was that the battle should never have proceeded to the judges. This ultimately cost Ironside3 a place in the heat final, as both Gabriel and Pulsar had scored the necessary six points to Ironside3’s five. "Personally I think it was the right decision, although I love the Ironside guys, they're great people - it's just that they were upside-down and their self-righting arm was fully up, and then it was Sir Killalot who turned them over. So it is a difficult decision to make, it's gone in our favour. We lost drive at the end, we're not entirely sure why, but that was all after all of that had happened with the self-righting"

- Ellis Ware

Much like several other competitors, Pulsar and Ironside3 were drawn together again in the heat stage of Series 9. Both teams felt that the producers had done so deliberately to perpetuate the rivalry. Once again, the battles were marked with controversy. After an opening melee where both robots qualified, the two fought in their second Head-to-Head battle. Ironside3 lasted the full time with full mobility, whilst Pulsar lost drive on one side. At this point, the judges started the countdown timer on Pulsar, but when Pulsar was able to attack Ironside3 in its restricted mobility the timer was cancelled as Pulsar used its gyroscopic movements to show mobility. However, the timer was not cancelled in Ironside3’s booth, and the team believed Pulsar was being cancelled out to an Ironside3 knock-out victory. As such, they refrained from landing further attacks to spare themselves and Pulsar further damage. The decision went to the judges and they opted for Pulsar unanimously, but when the mistake was discovered with the Ironside3 timer, the judges deliberated and concluded that it would be unfair to overturn a Pulsar victory but also unfair to punish Ironside3 for doing the right thing, so both teams were awarded two points. The Daily Express even ran an article on the rivalry following the episode, which both teams repudiated as an exaggeration.

Both teams defeated Wyrm and Supernova to reach the Heat Final, where Ironside3 won via knockout. The rivalry currently stands at two victories for Ironside3, one victory for Pulsar, one battle where both progressed, and one battle where no decision was made, having originally awarded the win to Pulsar.

Series 8
Pulsar appeared in Episode 5 where it fought three veterans, Chompalot, Ironside3 and Thermidor 2 in its first round melee. Pulsar was originally intended to compete in Episode 2, but withdrew due to technical issues. Pulsar was granted a second chance to compete, in the fifth episode, after Pod withdrew. "We're gonna wreck everything, including the arena, there's no doubt!"

- Peter Ware

Despite the team's confidence, Pulsar was incredibly passive in its first-round melee, after sustaining a big blow from Ironside3 in the opening stages, bending Pulsar's wheels. It avoided the action afterwards in order to spin up its drum, blowing away dirt on the arena floor, unable to move properly, eventually losing drive to one half of the machine, and was left driving circles in the centre of the arena. It caused damage to Chompalot when the dragon drove onto Pulsar's wedge, but after being pushed, Pulsar became completely immobile. The pit was depressed, and Chompalot edged Pulsar ever closer to it, although Pulsar did not go down, and survived until a Judges' decision, where a unanimous vote eliminated Pulsar.

Despite this early exit, Pulsar was given another chance to rejoin the competition when Chompalot withdrew due to a devastating loss where the robot caught fire. Given the choice between Thermidor 2 and Pulsar, the Judges chose to reinstate Pulsar. "The only thing we could really look at was the fight in the arena, Thermidor 2 didn't really do much, we had to choose Pulsar."

- Dr Lucy Rogers

Pulsar went into its head-to-head match with Beast on 0 points, due to Chompalot's earlier loss. Pulsar remained stationary to spin up its drum, also struggling with its mobility again, while Beast missed with a flip. Pulsar used the chance to get underneath Beast, and attack its underbelly. Beast made little effort to move away, and Pulsar snuck around the side to throw it up with the drum, and hit it a second time upon landing. This double attack immobilised Beast, and Pulsar earned its three points very quickly. "Pulsar's beauty against the Beast, little machine, big heart!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Pulsar went into its next head-to-head against the robot that immobilised it in the first round, Ironside3. "I'm a vertical spinner, so I spin up very quickly, and they're a horizontal, so what happens when those two collide is very difficult to predict. If I hit their bar as it comes round, they'll go up absolutely flying, but if they hit my drum, it could cause serious damage, emphasised by the fact this is going round."

- Ellis Ware

Both spinners got up to speed, and when the two collided, Pulsar won out, throwing Ironside3 into the air, and over. While Ironside3 tried to self-right, Pulsar caused more damage to its srimech using the drum, and pushed it into Sir Killalot. However, controversy struck, because Sir Killalot accidentally righted the struggling Ironside3, and Pulsar lost mobility on one side again. Pulsar could only turn in circles and spin its drum in self-defense, until it became completely immobile. Ironside3 pushed Pulsar into the pit, but fell in alongside it, so the battle was sent to the Judges. It was ruled by the Judges that because Ironside3 was immobile for over ten seconds during the fight, Pulsar would be awarded the full 3 points for a win via KO.

This placed Pulsar at the top of the leaderboard with six points, level with the other Heat Finalist, Gabriel, creating a Heat Final between two robots that had never fought each other before. Pulsar found it difficult to find parts of Gabriel to attack, but managed to throw it over by hitting the sword while it rode along the floor. Pulsar's small size also allowed it to dodge Gabriel's attacks, though it took a big blow to the wheels. Pulsar put a large bend in Gabriel's wheel, and threw it over with several slams. Despite being in the lead, Pulsar had a scare when it stopped moving near Sir Killalot. Gabriel prepared to attack, but Pulsar came back to life, and reversed away. Dodging further attacks, Pulsar flipped Gabriel onto its side, tearing rubber away, while the pit was opened. Pulsar drove underneath the axlebot, but once again stopped moving in the same position as before. Gabriel attacked the lifeless Pulsar, kickstarting its drive again, but Pulsar ceased for a third time shortly afterwards, where it sustained a barrage of blows from Gabriel. Pulsar revived once again, and ripped a piece of steel from Gabriel, throwing it towards a camera. Pulsar landed one final blow, and cease was called. The Judges unanimously declared Pulsar the winner, and it qualified for the Grand Final. "It was an epic and truly bizarre fight - it looked like an angry ferret fighting a giraffe!"

- Dara Ó Briain

In the Grand Final, Pulsar faced TR2 and fellow reinstated qualifier, Thor. Team Ranglebots stated a particular fear of TR2 going into the battle, due to its low ground clearance. With Pulsar suffering from unreliable drive motors, Ellis Ware also hit his robot with a hammer repeatedly to see if the shock would have an effect on the robot's mobility. "I don't like that hitting it with a hammer is the only way to move forwards, that doesn't feel very healthy."

- Ellis Ware

At the start of the battle, Pulsar drove into Thor, with a bigger slam ripping away one of Thor's wheel guards. Pulsar caused further damage to the wedges of Thor, but after being pushed into Shunt by TR2, Pulsar lost mobility. It regained life, but only on one side of the drive, reviving the recurring issue of Pulsar becoming immobile on one side. Pulsar was flipped over by TR2, and then axed by Thor and Shunt. Once again, Pulsar could not move, but was righted by Shunt, restoring partial mobility again, which was lost when lifted by TR2. Shunt attacked Pulsar with its axe, stopping the drum from spinning briefly, and confirming that Pulsar was immobilised by flipping it over. "Pulsar, soon to head for a black hole!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Pulsar had once again fallen prey to its own faulty motors, and was eliminated from the competition.

Series 9
Pulsar competed in Episode 4, where it once again faced Ironside3, alongside veterans Crushtacean and Team Terrafonics' bar spinner Apex.

Pulsar, in its efforts to get its drum up to speed, made some initial driving errors, slamming into the arena wall, and driving over the floor flipper, which flicked it up. However, Crushtacean had already been immobilised by Ironside3, and Pulsar crashed straight into Apex, slipping underneath its bar spinner to throw it up into the air, and secure a knockout. Pulsar had earned a place in the second round very quickly, but regardless it charged into Ironside3, causing damage to the fellow victor. Cease was then called, confirming the victory. "It's really fast, we've fixed the drive, and it's got really little grip because it's got so much power, so it's power-sliding everywhere"

- Ellis Ware on his driving errors

After Pulsar's group battle, one of its weapon belts had seized, which needed to be repaired ahead of its head-to-head with Ironside3. Another problem was incurred when Peter Ware made a mistake when recharging Pulsar, breaking a speed controller which then had to be replaced before entering the arena.

The battle began, and Pulsar pressured Ironside3 from afar, causing it to make driving errors before attacking the back end of Ironside3 near the Arena Tyre, which lowered the pit. After this attack, Ellis Ware elected to disable Pulsar's drum to stop the robot from overheating, and Pulsar slammed into Ironside3 using its wedge, although it drove into Sir Killalot afterwards. With both spinners disabled, Pulsar drifted around the arena and bashed Ironside3 repeatedly, edging it towards the pit. "He's got no weapon and you're the aggressor so far"

- Tara Ware to Ellis Ware

Pulsar pushed Ironside3 again, but after driving into the wall, one side of Pulsar's drive stopped working, leaving it only able to turn in circles. Pulsar was picked up by Sir Killalot and held over the fire, while Ironside3 got its bar up to speed again. Pulsar was dropped onto its back, but it quickly self-righted. Pulsar struggled to drive off the fire, but eventually broke free, and took a hit from Ironside3. Its drive issues were becoming more apparent, and a countdown timer was started to see if Pulsar was immobile. Pulsar cancelled this count by attacking Ironside3 with its wedge, but the count was not cancelled in Team Outlaw's booth, leading that team to believe Pulsar was defeated by knockout. Pulsar's drum was restarted, allowing it to display limited movement around the arena by 'gyro-dancing' using the force of the drum and one wheel. It continued to move in this fashion, unchallenged by Ironside3, until 'cease' was called, sending the battle to a Judges' decision. "Pulsar were able to come in and shove Ironside3 around, I think one of their motors burns out there, you can see the smoke, that will count against them, but... Pulsar was still active there, though."

- Jonathan Pearce

Not shown on television, the Judges came to a unanimous decision, and it was declared that Pulsar had won the battle, earning two points for the victory. However, it was at this stage Team Outlaw revealed the miscommunication of their countdown timer, and once the Judges were made aware of Ironside3's perceived victory, Pulsar's victory was negated, and instead two points were awarded to both robots, with no official victor. Pulsar moved on to face Supernova in its next battle, after replacing yet more speed controllers. "For Team Pulsar, the race to be ready in time means they're heading into a crucial battle untested and unprepared"

- Dara Ó Briain

After getting its drum up to speed, Pulsar was not hesitant, and drove directly into Supernova's disc for a brutal weapon-to-weapon collision. Pulsar ceased movement after this hit, but Supernova was sent spiralling into the arena wall, also unable to move freely. Pulsar surprisingly revived itself, and repeatedly drove into Supernova to remove any remaining signs of life in the veteran robot. Pulsar waved its self-righting mechanism in celebration, and collected three points for a win by knockout. "Drum against spinning blade! Nothing humdrum about that drum!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Upon arriving in the pits, Team Ranglebots discovered the severity of the damage sustained by Pulsar. Its drum was gashed, and would seize when operating. The drum was fixed, but the intensiveness of Pulsar's brushless drive had burnt out more components which needed to be replaced. Team Ranglebots were in danger of withdrawing, at which point their next opponent Wyrm would have earned three points for a knockout win, but Pulsar made it to the arena with a functional drive and weapon.

Pulsar spun up its weapon and drifted around the arena, but smoke quickly poured out of Pulsar, immediately posing problems. Pulsar needed to dispose of Wyrm quickly, so it slammed Memento Mori's robot into the arena wall, and then pushed its lifting wedge under the main body of Wyrm, keeping its two wheels off the arena floor. Pulsar kept Wyrm in the grips of Dead Metal, and over the fire, but then lost drive to one side yet again. Pulsar waved its srimech at Wyrm, but the robot was otherwise fully immobile, and even the srimech stopped working. "They're counting down, you keep moving Ellis!"

- Tara Ware gives instructions

Cease was called, and Team Ranglebots were fully aware of their immobilised machine, but Wyrm had luckily been immobilised first, as it could not power its wedge to free itself, and Pulsar was awarded three points. It qualified for the Heat Final having not lost a single match so far, where it would meet Ironside3 for the fifth time in each robot's histories. However, Pulsar faced further difficulty, as the team had completely run out of working speed controllers, with no spares available. It looked as though the team would have to withdraw, but a last-minute idea saw the self-righting arm's motor repurposed as the robot's drive motor, and Pulsar was ready to fight, albeit without a spinning drum.

"Ellis is a very good driver. If anyone can make it work, Ellis can do that."

- Tara Ware

Pulsar was slow in exiting its starting position, and after the first charge from Ironside3, Pulsar had seemingly lost drive on one side once again. Ironside3 held off to charge its spinner when Pulsar's drive returned, but after Pulsar's effort to push Ironside3, it was deflected by the spinning bar, and fully immobilised. As Ironside3 landed further blows, Pulsar was counted out, and 'cease' was called on its series campaign. The defeated Pulsar was gripped by Sir Killalot and axed by Shunt.

As a Heat Finalist, Pulsar remains in contention for the wildcard position in the Grand Final, alongside Sabretooth, Cherub and Thor.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 6
 * Losses: 3
 * Draws: 1

Outside Robot Wars
Ellis Ware competes with a variety of robots in lower weight classes. Newton is a very successful beetleweight, twice placing second in a major championship. A series of featherweights named Tormenta have competed worldwide, with Tormenta 3 most recently placing sixth in the 2015 World Featherweight Championship. Ware also collaborated with Team Legion to compete with Rango and Django, the latter placing second in the 2016 World Featherweight Championship, losing to Explosion in the final.

Trivia
"Because when it all works, that's what Pulsar promises."
 * At 9000rpm, Pulsar had the fastest spinning weapon ever to appear on a competing robot in UK Robot Wars.
 * At the time of Series 7, Sabretooth matched this 9000rpm record, but withdrew from the series after being told to tone down the power of the disc to which the team were unable to comply in time. Series 6 non-qualifier Mutant Mousetrap could reportedly spin its drum at 10,000rpm, but this cannot be verified.
 * The only Robot Wars competitor to exceed 9000rpm was US Grand Finalist Conquering Clown 2, boasting a reported 10,000rpm.
 * Pulsar is the only robot to win an episode after getting eliminated in the first round of the same series.
 * Pulsar's team name, Ranglebots, is the name of Ellis Ware's robotics parts company.
 * According to Ellis Ware, his favourite Pulsar battle was the fight with Supernova, with the Heat final against Gabriel coming second.

- Ellis Ware on choosing Supernova as his favourite fight


 * The Ironside3-Pulsar rivalry became one of only three rivalries (after Team Scutterbots/Team Knightmare and Team 101/King Buxton) where both teams reached a semi-final by defeating the other.