Carnivore

Carnivore
Participation Information
US 1994-1997 Events	1996 (withdrew) 1997
Other Names	Ratt Fink (1996)
Team Information
Team	Team Carnivore
Team Members	Ilya Polyakov Mike Mass Lev Ioffe Leonard Jacinto
From	Brooklyn, New York Dublin, California
Robot Statistics
Drive	2x car power window motors
Weapons	Electric drill
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Well folks, this is how it all began. I first discovered Robot Wars when I was in the ninth grade. About a year later, after taking machine shop in high school I finally decided to make a contribution to this new wonderful sport. It came in the form of Carnivore. I had no idea of what was to come in the next four years. My original plan was to build a 100lb robot with a lifting arm and plenty of power. At the time I had absolutely no idea how I was going to do this. Building a huge chunk of destruction was a long way from the R/C cars and planes I was so used to building. I figured this would be a another overgrown model."

— Ilya Polyakov

Carnivore was a lightweight robot which took part in the 1997 US Robot Wars competition. Following a protracted build process, it was unable to take part on the first day of the event, ultimately being relegated to the Loser's Bracket of the Lightweight Face-Off championship. There, Carnivore won its first battle against Black Widow, but was eliminated in its second by Razor Back on a Judges' decision.

Under the name Ratt Fink, Carnivore was originally designed for and also intended to participate in the 1996 competition. Having arrived incomplete, and suffered recurring radio issues in testing, it withdrew before its first scheduled battle after blowing all of its available speed controllers.

Design

The insides of Carnivore

Carnivore was a two-wheel drive robot with a hexagonal chassis, made from welded tubular steel and armored in 3/16 inch aluminum plating. Its main weapon was an electrically-powered milling drill at the front, which was supplemented with a solid rear ramp. The drill ran on a 'model engine starter', and was effective at cutting through Plexiglass and plywood during testing. Originally, Carnivore was built with a lifting arm also mounted at the rear, following Ilya Polyakov's ambition to build a similarly-armed robot for the middleweight class. Before the 1997 competition started, Polyakov and his team voluntarily removed the lifter so that it could meet the 50lb limit for rolling lightweights. Carnivore would thus become one of the largest competitors in its weight class.

Carnivore's internals comprised of two car power window motors, which would prove underpowered for the robot's drive, along with speed controllers from a remote-controlled car. The RC controller was a last-minute addition, replacing the homemade controller setup which had originally been installed prior to the competition. The latter was to have consisted of four 120 amp RC aircraft speed controllers, four 120 amp relays and a servo reversing circuit to negate the controllers' forward-only operation.

The original 1996 incarnation, "Ratt Fink", was designed to use RC boat speed controllers with reverse relays, after RC car equivalents were deemed unable to handle the current drawn by the window motors. Riveted sheet steel was to have formed the robot's armor instead of the later aluminum, while both of the 8-inch metal wheels were positioned to allow for a 'drag steer' configuration. Ultimately, the RC boat controllers proved inadequate, contributing to major reliability issues which ultimately caused it to withdraw.

For the proposed 1998 Robot Wars event, Carnivore was upgraded with a more powerful and reliable Vantec 36RDFR speed controller, along with extra motors and batteries; a weed wacker motor for the drill and new linear actuators for the lifter. The updates would have enabled Carnivore to reach a top speed of 20mph at a 'peak' output of 10hp, as well as rip armor off opponents with its lifter and sideways motion. However, the cancelation of the 1998 event meant that this incarnation would not appear at a Robot Wars-branded competition.

Etymology

The original "Ratt Fink" name was a play on the 'hot rod' character created by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, first appearing in 1963. "Carnivore", reflecting the 1997 iteration's aggressive and damaging weaponry, alludes to animal and plant types which primarily feed on meat.

Robot History

1996 US Championship

Carnivore - under the "Ratt Fink" name - was first present for the 1996 US competition. An entry list reproduced by Team Minus Zero suggests that it was to have competed in the middleweight class. However, Team Carnivore confirm that Ratt Fink's 40lb weight made it eligible for lightweight class tournaments at this early stage of the robot's career.

Preparations for Ratt Fink's debut, however, did not go smoothly. Ilya Polyakov and his team experienced radio interference issues which prevented it from moving during its first test. The interference worsened after Ratt Fink's top armor was removed, ultimately causing the first set of its speed controllers to burn out. A spare set was installed, and the robot's receiver aerial attached to a new mounting point for its chassis.

Ratt Fink performed additional tests which demonstrated improved responsiveness and control. However, during one of these tests - 30 minutes before it was scheduled to compete - both of the robot's remaining speed controllers malfunctioned and began smoking copiously.

"...half an hour before our first round I decided to put Carnivore through it's paces in the pit area, after a serious battle with a trash can the last two speed controls gave in with a puffy white cloud of smoke, MAN THAT SUCKED!!!!!!!! The good old Whole Bunch variable failed! I was really pissed to say the least."

— Ilya Polyakov on Ratt Fink's 1996 withdrawal

As a result, Ratt Fink was force to withdraw from the 1996 competition before it had the chance to fight.

1997 US Championship

While successfully entering the 1997 competition - and passing the mandatory weight check - Carnivore was not finished in time to take part in the opening rounds of the Lightweight Face-Off. As such, it joined the tournament in the Loser's Bracket, facing Australian entry Black Widow in its debut battle.

"The day of the weigh inns [sic] I was way more laid back then the previous year because everything was functioning properly, it was nice because we mingled with the other builders who were really cool to us. This time we checked in at 52#'s- still lightweight class because I decided to take the arm off to avoid dead weight, that was good because Carnivore was the largest robot in the weight class. Radio checked out ok except for the range being fifty feet, as I found out later not because of the metal on the 'bot but because that same receiver participated in seven R/C helicopter crashes. This time we actually got in to the arena, what an honor! this was definitely my moment of glory."

— Ilya Polyakov

Even before Carnivore had initiated its first attack, Black Widow spontaneously became immobilized in the opening seconds following a quick burst of movement. Carnivore rammed and pushed Philip Hoskins' machine - which had suffered a torn drive belt - further towards the lower-left corner, just as the Judges called both teams to demonstrate their machines' mobility. On that prompt, it parked alongside Black Widow, which was sufficient to award Carnivore the win by knockout.

Carnivore's next battle put it up against Bob Schneeveis and Razor Back. Prior to the fight, Ilya Polyakov felt confident that its drill weapon would easily damage the Plexiglass shell of Schneeveis' machine.

From the outset, Carnivore suffered drive and radio interference issues, moving 'slowly and erratically' across the arena with its rear 'ramp' facing forwards. Though Carnivore's ramp succeeded in breaching Razor Back's ground clearance, it was soon pushed around in a circle, and left struggling to drive around on one wheel. Razor Back rammed Carnivore twice more, but got stuck on Carnivore's ramp, prompting the battle to be paused while both robots were separated.

Carnivore wedges under Razor Back

Once the match resumed, Carnivore gingerly pushed Razor Back backwards under a spike trap. In doing so, it took a direct blow from the hazard, which was enough to shake Razor Back off its ramp. Carnivore and Razor Back proceeded to breach each other's ground clearances, then engage in a pushing match near the center. Both competitors reached a stalemate near the top-left flipper, at which point it became apparent that they needed separating once again.

"One problem arose when the fight got to the farthest corner of the arena and Carnivore became virtually uncontrollable due to the bad radio range and lots of RF interference. Both robots became disabled, when the other guy had some mechanical failure by once again smashing into Carnivore."

— Ilya Polyakov on the interference issues experienced by Carnivore

Carnivore spun on its left wheel, the two robots meeting each other again to allow the battle to be restarted. Once this happened, however, neither competitor moved any further, resulting in a Judges' decision being called. At some point, the collisions with Razor Back had caused part of the latter's internals to malfunction. Despite both competitors' predicaments, Carnivore lost the decision on points, allegedly as the Judges felt that Razor Back had 'better control'. As a result, it was eliminated from the Lightweight Face-Off, a decision Ilya Polyakov vocally disagreed with on the Team Carnivore website.

"After this bureaucratic defeat we still had a chance to compete in the melee, the perfect round for Carnivore since all the other lightweights seemed to just bounce off the thick armor. A slight problem came about when Mike [Mass] realized that my batteries were dead, it was all good though, we had freshly charged spares."

— Ilya Polyakov, on Carnivore's planned entry into the 1997 Lightweight Melee

Following this short run, Carnivore was also intended to take part in the Lightweight Melee tournament. However, while the team swapped over the robot's batteries before the preliminary rounds, they inadvertently caused its relays to malfunction and trigger a short circuit. Carnivore, in a repeat of its 1996 withdrawal, pulled out of the Melee as a direct result.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

Series Record

Events	Carnivore Event Record
1994	Did not enter
1995	Did not enter
1996	Withdrew as Ratt Fink
1997	Lightweight Face-Off, Eliminated in Loser's Bracket, Round 2

Outside Robot Wars

Following its initial 1998 upgrades, Carnivore was reworked further in 1999 to compete in the inaugural BattleBots Long Beach event. Equipped with new top armor, reinforced motor mounts and a 'wireless video camera', it fought as a middleweight for the first time, at a claimed weight of 95lbs. Sporting a black and 'neon orange' paint scheme with hazard stripes, Carnivore competed in both the main Megabot division and the end-of-event Megabot Rumble. In the former, it claimed one victory against Spaz, but was ultimately eliminated following two consecutive losses against Knee-Breaker and Turtle Road Kill respectively. Following the Long Beach event, Team Carnivore decided to retire their titular machine in favor of new designs.

"Overall, yes, Carnivore did not win, but fighting was about 5% of the experience. I had fun chilling with cool people 3000 miles away from home, getting the battle damage autographed by the opposing robot's builders, yelling at the top of my lungs at my team mates, sleeping 5 hours in 3 days, talking to Mark Setrakian, watching other incredible robots, bragging when I got back home, blah blah blah - I can go on for pages! Seriously, I can't wait to compete again!"

— Ilya Polyakov, on competing at the BattleBots Long Beach 1999 event

For all five seasons of the televised Comedy Central BattleBots, Team Carnivore built a brand-new middleweight in the form of the thwackbot Blade Runner. Wielding a '30lb pickaxe', it was notable for its 11hp drivetrain and being one of the first combat robots capable of translational drift. Blade Runner reached the quarter-finals of the middleweight division in both of its first two appearances (Seasons 1.0 and 2.0), losing to Spin Orbiting Force and The Master respectively. Its strong performances allowed it to be seeded for and bypass the preliminary stages of Seasons 3.0-5.0, during which it underwent a redesign for Season 4.0. Blade Runner, however, could not replicate its earlier results, being eliminated in the Round of 16 in all of the latter three appearances.

Prior to the creation of Blade Runner, Ilya Polyakov proposed a more ambitious 'superweight' robot, P.S.T. (Pokey Stompy Thing), which was also to have competed in BattleBots events. P.S.T. was to incorporate a hydraulic powertrain along with a predominantly Kevlar and titanium construction. A two-cylinder, 2-stroke Polaris engine, dating from 1971, was rebuilt to power the main hydraulic pump. Ultimately, P.S.T. was never finished; scheduling changes forced Polyakov to design Blade Runner (under the original working name Pinky) for Comedy Central Season 1.0 instead.

Other projects built by Team Carnivore included:

• Carnivore Jr.: A smaller 'joke' robot built prior to and showcased at the August 1998 SORC meeting. Made out of a Dremel cordless drill shell; armed with a steak knife, a blowtorch and a functioning drill blade.
• Hexafobia Jr.: An experimental scale prototype for a proposed hydraulic walkerbot, built as part of a class project. Armed with a flamethrower.
• Flame Boat: An armed 'air boat' equipped with a flamethrower, based on a 'modified boogie board'.

See Also

• Carnivore (BattleBots)

External Links

• Team Carnivore website (archived)