Gyrobot

"Will this be employed later in the series, or be picking up a Robot Wars giro?"

- Jonathan Pearce

Gyrobot was an invertible full body spinner with four interchangeable blades, that competed in Series 7 of Robot Wars. The team lacked experience but the robot was very quick at 20mph and its outer ring weighed 35kg and could spin up to 750RPM, generating 40KJoules of energy. It was armed in lexan polycarbonate, originally steel. Gyrobot could also spin at speeds up to 1500RPM by spinning the drive on the spot. Gyrobot cost £2000 to build.

Despite being present in the pits to work on Gyrobot, team member Neil Solomon chose not to appear on television, so was absent for interviews and battles. Gyrobot was built to enter Series 5, but withdrew from the qualifiers due to electrical problems. It then failed to qualify for the main competition of Series 6, losing to The Stag. Gyrobot qualified for the Seventh Wars, having won its qualifier against robots including Fluffy and Terror Turtle. After taking damage from Fluffy, a 4mm band of steel was added to the outer rim, making it 7mm thick, bringing Gyrobot very close to the weight limit. "Gyrobot - From the word Gyrate which is to spin/revolve and to rotate in circles, and erm - robot!"

- Steve Wood, explaining Gyrobot's name

Series 7
Gyrobot participated in Heat B of the Seventh Wars, and appeared to have an unfortunate draw in the first round of its heat. In addition to fighting Jackson Wallop and Killerkat, Gyrobot would also be fighting the number 3 seeds Terrorhurtz.

Fortunately for Gyrobot, Terrorhurtz had to withdraw from the battle due to technical problems on arrival at the Robot Wars arena. The remaining three machines fought, initially taking time to get their rotating weapons up to speed. Gyrobot slammed into Killerkat, and ricocheted into Jackson Wallop. Soon it became evident that the two smaller machines were teaming up on Killerkat, and it wasn't long before Jackson Wallop immobilised Killerkat, after knocking it on its side. Gyrobot pushed Killerkat onto the flame pit, setting it on fire. With the Killerkat defeated, Gyrobot proceeded through to the next round of the heat.

Gyrobot then fought the eventual heat winner, The Grimreaper. Gyrobot managed to damage some armour panels of The Grimreaper, but it was eliminated on a Judges' decision, after The Grimreaper showed more aggression by flipping Gyrobot repeatedly.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 1
 * Losses: 1

Series Record

 * Series 1-4: Did not enter
 * Series 5: Withdrew from qualifiers
 * Series 6: Failed to qualify
 * Series 7: Heat, Round 2

Outside Robot Wars
After the Seventh Wars, Gyrobot was upgraded to spin and accelerate faster, also gaining studded wheels and an improved battery life, with the intentions of entering another series of Robot Wars, before the show was cancelled. Gyrobot is still operational to this day, but cannot compete in robotic combat due to the regulations affecting spinners.

Trivia

 * There is a robot listed in the Honourable Mentions of the Combat Robot Hall of Fame, by the name of Gyrobot. However, it is not this machine, nor is it related, as it is an antweight class machine.
 * Gyrobot was the only robot in Series 7 from Wiltshire, specifically Swindon. In fact, it was the only only robot from Wiltshire to compete in any of the last four series.
 * With a volume of less than .08m3, Gyrobot was the smallest 100-kg robot ever on Robot Wars. By comparison, Onslaught in Series 5 was roughly .14m3.