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"...I’m very glad I got to stand in the famous booth with a working robot, if only for a short while."
— Jim MacArthur

Cayenne was a competitor robot which attempted to enter Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars. After suffering numerous technical problems prior to its qualifier, it lost its battle to DisConstructor after suffering from a mechanical failure and sustaining damage from DisConstructor's flywheel. Despite the possibility of it receiving a discretionary place, Cayenne ultimately did not qualify for the series, as the team were unable to repair it in time after the qualifier.

Design[]

Cayenne team

Cayenne team

Cayenne was an invertible, four-wheel drive, box-shaped robot with polycarbonate armour and two different sets of weapons at either end. At the front, it was armed with a pair of serrated horizontal jaws operated by a linear actuator. The back of the robot featured a set of four static spikes, themselves appearing to be made from metal box section. Each of Cayenne's wheels was positioned at the corners of the robot, and were composed of three smaller ones with screws drilled into the tyres to possibly improve traction along the arena floor. An 8mm polycarbonate message board was also attached to the robot for its qualifier.[1]

Etymology[]

Cayenne's name was predominantly inspired by the Porsche Cayenne automobile.Citation? The name of its later form, Jalapeño, suggests that it was also a reference to the chilli pepper of the same name.

Qualification[]

Prior to its attempted Series 7 entry, Cayenne experienced multiple technical issues before and upon arriving at RAF Newton for qualification on 22 August 2003. These included overheating BC108 transistors and high frequency noise produced by the jaw actuator - an issue resolved by the addition of a capacitor - along with an issue where the right-rear speed controller would not function properly during the failsafe check. The latter manifested itself by the robot being difficult to stop moving completely, along with both wheels on that side spinning in opposite directions.[1]

These problems were fixed in time for Cayenne to take part in its qualifier - a head-to-head against DisConstructor. Cayenne started by driving to the other side of the arena, and attempted to ram DisConstructor using its spikes, but missed. Both robots circled each other until Cayenne drove to the centre of the arena to build up another attack. Cayenne suddenly slowed down and stopped moving completely, allowing DisConstructor to hit it with its disc and destroy its message board in the process. More attacks from DisConstructor bent Cayenne's jaws back into the robot's frame and damaged its right-hand side, before 'Cease' was called. DisConstructor won the battle, and a place in Series 7.[1]

Despite this defeat, Cayenne had a reprieve, as a crewmember (possibly one of the Judges) asked the team if the robot could be repaired. This potentially suggested that it was eligible to receive a discretionary place. However, though its internals remained largely unaffected, the team considered the damage inflicted by DisConstructor to be too severe to repair in time. Not only had two spikes and the clevis for the jaw actuator been 'sheared off', but a chassis beam for the right-front axle was also bent, and an interface microprocessor 'cut clean in half'. Additionally, one of DisConstructor's spinner teeth became embedded in one of Cayenne's polycarbonate panels, requiring removal in The Pits using a hammer.[1]

Following the team's findings, Cayenne did not qualify for the televised Seventh Wars. The cause of its qualifier malfunction was stated by Jim MacArthur to be a 'common mode failure' caused by the driver circuit overheating, although the exact cause was never found.[1]

"I never did find out what was wrong with that incarnation of Cayenne. Two of the speed controllers were found to be broken; the other two are still in Cayenne to this day and the broken ones were replaced with a RoboteQ controller. I could have done better given an extra day to tune up and debug, but that is always the case. No further series of Robot Wars were filmed, so I never got a chance to have another go. Still, I'm very glad I got to stand in the famous booth with a working robot, if only for a short while. It's very tempting to give up the night before a fight, when nothing seems to be working and you’re covered in cuts and grazes from rapid, haphazard metalwork."
— Jim MacArthur[1]

Series Record[]

Series Cayenne Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Did not enter
The Third Wars Did not enter
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
The Fifth Wars Did not enter
The Sixth Wars Did not enter
The Seventh Wars Failed to qualify
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars[]

Jalapeno pits

Jalapeno, Cayenne's successor after Robot Wars

After Series 7, Cayenne was dismantled and rebuilt with a completely new chassis, assuming the name Jalapeño in the process. With Jalapeño, the team attended at least two events (held in Magna in Sheffield and Preston). At the Preston event, Jalapeño managed to do well in a fight, holding its own against Tornado.[1]

References[]

External Links[]

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