R.O.C.S.

"A Razer-esque rock-crusher!"

- Jonathan Pearce describing R.O.C.S. in Series 6.

R.O.C.S. (standing for Radio Operated Combat System) was the name given to a series of robots which competed in Series 2-3 and 6-7 of Robot Wars.

R.O.C.S. (Series 2)
In Series 2, the robot was box shaped, armed with a forklift made of lightweight aluminium capable of lifting 75kg and hand-painted by Jackie Sievers. It demolished a neighbour's fence in testing and featured wheelchair wheels. The robot was built around the chassis of a second-hand wheelchair, and the lifter was converted from a car jack. This robot narrowly weighed more than the Heavyweight Limit allowed at the time.

R.O.C.S. 2 (Series 3)
In Series 3 it had a wedge shaped rear and was known as R.O.C.S. 2. For its first two appearances R.O.C.S. was colourfully painted, with an English flag on top and the forklift was powered by fan motors and could reach 15mph. A robot known as R.O.C.S. 3 would also fail to qualify for Series 4.

R.O.C.S. (Series 6-7)
the team returned for Series 6 and 7 with a new two-wheeled design and an altered appearance, R.O.C.S. now resembled a bird of prey, with a crushing beak resembling "a big steel hydraulic jaw on wheels" according to Jonathan Pearce, painted grey in Series 6 and blue in Series 7. Side poles lined the side of R.O.C.S. for use as self-righting mechanisms. Between the two versions, R.O.C.S. won one battle out of four. The fan motors used from R.O.C.S. 2 were this time for the two-wheel drive skid-steer to make it highly manoeuvrable, but it was slow at 5mph and had little to no armour for protection.

Series 2
In the Gauntlet stage of the heat, R.O.C.S. took the ramrig route, but got stuck half way down the course due to the robot's width. R.O.C.S. did manage to get past the ramrig eventually, but it was then flipped onto its side by house robot Sir Killalot, and left on the flame pit for the remainder of the run, before cease was eventually called. R.O.C.S. had travelled a distance of 8.8m, which would ordinarily prove impressive enough to allow it to progress to the next round, however, at the end of the round, R.O.C.S. was at the bottom of the leaderboard, eliminating it from the competition.

Series 3
R.O.C.S. 2 failed to qualify for the main competition of the Third Wars, but did enter the Pinball Warrior competition, which was filmed alongside the main competition for the Third Wars. After a slow start, R.O.C.S. 2 only managed to knock down a few of the barrels to its right, before being intercepted by Sir Killalot. It attempted to hit the closest 50 point target but was blocked by Sgt Bash and Sir Killalot, before attacking the other set of barrels. It was then pinned in the corner by Sir Killalot. Cease was soon called, and R.O.C.S. 2 had only scored a total of 35 points, which placed it last in the tournament at the end of the series.

Series 6
"It isn't pretty, but it sure is mean"

- Colin Sievers describes R.O.C.S.

R.O.C.S. entered Series 6 with the new crushing beak design. It was placed up against Kronic 2, Corkscrew and the number 8 seeds Panic Attack. In the battle, R.O.C.S. attacked the physically largest of its three adversaries first, Kronic 2, piercing its flipper but failing to do any terminal damage. As R.O.C.S. went for another attack, and pierced Kronic 2's body again, a violent blow from Corkscrew separated the two. R.O.C.S. then attacked Panic Attack, before reasserting its attack on Kronic 2. However, Panic Attack lifted R.O.C.S. with its forks, before Kronic 2 flipped it over, where it was unable to right itself. Hydraulic fluid was seen leaking out of R.O.C.S., explaining why its srimech would not work. R.O.C.S. was subsequently counted out by the Refbot and thrown by the arena floor flipper, eliminating it from the competition. Hydraulic fluid continued to leak as R.O.C.S. was tossed by the flipper.

Series 7
"Better than Paris any day..."

- Colin Sievers on Robot Wars

The day of filming for R.O.C.S.' Seventh Wars heat marked the 16th wedding anniversary of Colin and Jackie. R.O.C.S. played very little part in its first round melee against The Executioner, Raging Knightmare and Topbot. In the battle, The Executioner targeted R.O.C.S. several times, but was unsuccessful in causing damage. R.O.C.S. itself tried to pierce the front of The Executioner, but couldn't gain any purchase. R.O.C.S. then tried to hunt down the weaponless Topbot, and forced it towards the CPZ. R.O.C.S. then continued to pursue The Executioner, and pushed it towards the headless Mr. Psycho's CPZ. The Executioner broke down after being hit with Psycho's hammer and was pitted by the House Robot, and the remaining three robots went to a judges' decision. "R.O.C.S. technically very gifted then..."

- Jonathan Pearce, upon viewing the highlights, referring to everyone's weaponry

The decision put R.O.C.S. through to the next round, along with Raging Knightmare. In the second round of the heat, it was placed up against the number 6 seeds Spawn Again. In this battle, one flip from the seeded machine left R.O.C.S. immobile, as its self-righting mechanism failed to work. Spawn Again catapulted R.O.C.S. around the arena, before R.O.C.S. finally escaped, pushing Spawn Again into Sir Killalot's CPZ. R.O.C.S. pulled Spawn Again into the pit release button, releasing Spawn Again as the pit descended. Spawn Again flipped R.O.C.S. over again, where R.O.C.S. was counted out, eliminating it from the competition. Sir Killalot carried it to the Drop Zone, where R.O.C.S. was smashed by a washing machine, before being pitted. R.O.C.S. later competed in the Crusher Crunch-up special, where it was placed up against Mantis and Pinser. Mantis shoved R.O.C.S. into Mr Psycho, who hammered it. After escaping, R.O.C.S. watched the other two robots attack each other. R.O.C.S. attacked Pinser eventually, who returned the attack, crumpling the innards of R.O.C.S. The three way fight continued over the flame pit, before Pinser's hydraulics exploded. Cassius Chrome split the trio, and it was evident that Mantis was the only mobile machine, and therefore the winner.

Results

 * }

Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 1
 * Losses: 3

NOTE: R.O.C.S.' elimination in the Gauntlet is not included

Trivia

 * R.O.C.S 2's score of 35 in the Pinball is the lowest ever.
 * All three of R.O.C.S' domestic championship battles were against a team that the similarly-designed Tiberius had faced (Panic Attack, Team Monad, and Spawn Again.)