Cayenne was a competitor robot that failed to qualify for Series 7 of Robot 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 disc. Despite the possibility of it receiving a discretionary place, Cayenne ultimately failed to qualify for Series 7, as the team were unable to repair it in time after the qualifier.
Design
Cayenne was a four-wheeled, polycarbonate box-shaped robot with polycarbonate armour, horizontal jaws powered by a linear actuator and a set of four spikes at the rear of the machine. Each wheel 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.
Qualification
Cayenne faced several problems when it arrived at the Robot Wars studio for its qualifier. These included the right-rear speed controller not working properly, causing its right-hand wheels to spin in opposite directions on occasions.
These problems were fixed in time for its qualifier against DisConstructor, with both robots fighting for a place in the Seventh Wars. 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.
Despite this defeat, Cayenne had a reprieve, as one of the judges asked the team if the robot could be repaired, allowing it to potentially receive a discretionary place. However, the team considered the damage inflicted by DisConstructor to be too severe to repair in time, and Cayenne did not qualify from the main competition. The team speculated that Cayenne's malfunction in the qualifier was a 'common mode failure' caused by the driver circuit overheating, although the exact cause of its failure was never found out.
Series Record
- Series 1-6: Did not enter
- Series 7: Failed to qualify
- 2016-17 Series: Did not enter
Outside of Robot Wars
Cayenne after Robot Wars as Jalapeño.
After Series 7, Cayenne was dismantled and rebuilt with a completely new chassis and called Jalapeño. Jalapeño 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.
Trivia
- Cayenne's name was predominantly based on the Porsche Cayenne automobile. The name of its later form, Jalapeño, suggests that it was also a reference to the chilli pepper of the same name.