- "Endangerous species"
- — Logo on the rear of Ceros
Ceros was a competitor that fought exclusively in Series 7 of Robot Wars. It reached the Heat Final in its only appearance, eliminating the seeded Ming Dienasty in the first round before it was defeated by St. Agro.
Design
- "2-wheel drive, high-pressure flipper, titanium-clad armour, built like a Rhinoceros, pushing power, ability to self-right, high ground clearance though."
- — Jonathan Pearce describes Ceros
Ceros in the arena
Ceros was a titanium box-shaped robot with two-wheel drive, armed with a large, arm-shaped pneumatic flipper, used to toss other robots into the air and also allow the robot to self-right. The flipper never threw a robot out of the arena, but was powerful enough to flip House Robot Shunt - which Ceros overturned in its Round 2 fight against Revolution 3.
Rear view of Ceros with the "endangerous species" slogan
Ceros received its name because it was vaguely based on a rhinoceros, while its design was primarily based on that of BattleBots super heavyweight champion Toro. The robot also had high pushing power - although was this was compromised by a high ground clearance and a limited CO2 supply. As well as this, Ceros' flipping arm took a noticeably long time to retract.
Etymology
The name Ceros is derived from the latter half of the word rhinoceros. It is unknown if the team originally intended to use the name Rhino, but it would ultimately be used by another competitor in the same series, so the name Ceros differentiated the two rhino-based machines.
Qualification
- "We fought for around 2 minutes in which time Ceros managed to get flipped, self right perfectly and then go on to toss Aggrobot several feet in the air and on contact with terra firma again were dead to the world. We the decided as Rhino were still trying to learn how to control their machine that we should go for Twister as otherwise it would look like we were scared of it. We hit it and it buckled the entire side of Ceros! Me being the way I am did not stand for this and attacked again trying to flip the vulnerable wheel of the machine. I almost got a flip on but he turned last minute and the flipper caught the heavy frame in which time 4 major things happened. I saw a very pretty bright titanium spark! The flipper got buckled, we threw twister up a little, but the best bit was tearing through the spinning weapon requiring them to have to get it re welded before they could fight again."
- — Ceros website describes the battle[1] (edited)
Ceros fought Aggrobot, Rhino and the Dutch entry Twister in its Series 7 qualifier battle. Ceros was able to immobilise Aggrobot by tossing it high into the air, and then deliberately avoided Rhino, instead focusing on the spinner of Twister. Ceros took great damage from the spinning weapon, but also managed to damage Twister's spinner through its persistent attacks. Ultimately Twister won the battle, but despite this, all four of the robots were awarded places in the main competition.
- "So Ceros qualified, however on closer inspection we saw we had a lot of damage to repair. The front of the flipper was bent out of all proportions and the side was smashed in quite badly. We took it back to Ebrington and have spent the last two days fixing it. We would like to say a huge thank you to Mick of MRK services for taking time out on the bank holiday weekend to repair the chassis and flipper, as without his help and expertise we would not have been able to continue."
- — Ceros website describes the repairs needed after the qualifier battle[2] (edited)
Robot History
Series 7
- "New to Robot Wars, I like the look of this one"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Ceros enters the arena
In its first battle, Ceros was drawn against three experienced teams; Dutch Grand Finalists Scraptosaur, the number 15 seed Ming Dienasty and Metalis, the new robot from Team Death.
- Jayne Middlemiss: "You nervous then Francis?"
- Francis Smith: "Erm, no. I was in the qualifiers, but fine now."
- — Pre-battle interview
Ceros throws Ming Dienasty into the air
Ceros flips Metalis over
Charging into the centre of the arena, Ceros targeted the seeded Ming Dienasty, throwing it into the air, with Ming Dienasty landing flat on its back. As Ming was flipped, Metalis came behind Ceros and pushed it side-on. Ceros turned around, but missed with the flipper. Ceros reversed as its flipper retracted. Metalis followed, but Scraptosaur followed Metalis, and Metalis turned to face Scraptosaur. This allowed Ceros to get behind Metalis and flip it over.
- "Good driving by Francis Smith."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Ceros and Scraptosaur conspire against Ming Dienasty
Ceros is attacked by Ming Dienasty's drill
Ceros stayed away from its opponents as its flipper retracted, and Ming Dienasty self-righted. Ceros continued staying out of the action as Scraptosaur flipped Ming Dienasty back over. Metalis was unable to self-right and was counted out, with Ceros continuing to attack it. Ceros flipped Metalis back onto its wheels, then flipped Ming Dienasty back onto its wheels. Scraptosaur and Ceros chased after Ming Dienasty, attempting to flip it, but Ming Dienasty kept dodging their flippers. Ming Dienasty opened the pit, and started drilling at the front of Ceros, but did little damage, so turned away. In the last few seconds, Ceros held back as Ming Dienasty and Scraptosaur fought. The battle went to a judges decision, which chose to eliminate Ming Dienasty.
In the second round, Ceros was drawn against the invertible Revolution 3.
- "We had a solenoid go down, we don't really know why, it was all of a sudden. We hadn't got much time to replace it, and it's one of those things that's fitted right at the base of the robot, which knocks your hands a bit when you're in a hurry. But we've done it, and we'll be okay now."
- — John Hart on the repairs to Ceros
Revolution 3 grinds to an early halt
Ceros flips Revolution 3
Revolution 3 started much quicker, activating the pit. Ceros caught up with it and tried to flip Revolution 3, but it missed. Revolution escaped up the arena, and Ceros chased after it. Ceros drove into its opponent, and suddenly Revolution 3 stopped moving.
- "I hope this isn't over quickly, because I was looking forward to a long and punishing battle here."
- — Jonathan Pearce, just before Revolution 3 grinds to a halt
Ceros flipped Revolution 3 over, then flipped it over again, then pushed it towards a CPZ. As Shunt closed in, Ceros flipped Revolution 3 into the CPZ. As Shunt attacked Revolution 3, Ceros got behind Shunt and flipped him up. Shunt reversed away, and Sgt. Bash came in to attack Revolution 3. Ceros got behind Sgt. Bash and flipped him up as well, before driving after Shunt, who was in the arena centre. Ceros flipped Shunt up, and Shunt chased after Ceros, pushing it and axing it.
- "Built like a rhinoceros, strong as a rhino....quick as a....a leopard out there at the moment! In for the kill, Ceros!"
- — Jonathan Pearce, as Ceros hunts the House Robots
Shunt is thrown over by Ceros
Ceros and Sgt. Bash hang perilously over the pit
However, Ceros managed to get side-on at Shunt, and flipped it onto its side. Sgt. Bash drove after Ceros, grabbing it with his claw. Sgt. Bash pulled Ceros towards the pit, but Ceros was able to pull back. The two robots became stuck by the pit, with one of Sgt. Bash's wheels hanging over the side. Shunt attempted to pit the competitor robot, but the two robots were stuck together, so both hung over the pit. Ceros fired its flipper, lifting up the armour of Sgt. Bash. Shunt got behind Ceros and axed it, failing to puncture it, then pushed Ceros. This got Sgt. Bash free of the pit, but Sgt. Bash was unable to let Ceros go, having seemingly broken down. Shunt left the two to put Revolution 3 on the Drop Zone.
- Craig Charles: "Your robot, it's strong!"
- Francis Smith: "It is, yeah, but we would have liked more of a fight, obviously, but we didn't want them to get too hurt."
- Craig Charles: "Is that why you took on the House Robots"
- Francis Smith: "Well, they started taking them on! How is that fair? They're dead!"
- — In the post-battle interview
Ceros was put through to the Heat Final, where it was placed up against St. Agro.
- "...having seen them fight so far, it's going to be a brutal Heat Final!"
- — Craig Charles' prediction before the Heat Final
Ceros is thrown over by St. Agro
As the battle began, the two robots slowly approached each other, then circled one another, each trying to avoid the other's flipper. Ceros managed to get at the side of St. Agro and tried to flip it, but flipped itself over by accident because the flipper was not properly under its opponent. As Ceros' flipper slowly retracted, St. Agro flipped it, but not back onto its wheels. Ceros' flipper seemed to be stuck open, and Refbot came in, giving it a push. The flipper closed, and Ceros was able to right itself. Ceros got under the side of St. Agro again and flipped it again, but this had no effect on the invertible machine. As Ceros' flipper was open, St. Agro got at the front and tried to flip it over, but the flipper was not properly underneath its opponent, so St. Agro only managed to flick Ceros up a little. However, Ceros appeared to only be moving on one wheel. St. Agro quickly got under Ceros again, but Ceros righted itself.
- "This is tremendous stuff! Great control by the drivers, to be able to self-right like that, under pressure. "
- — Jonathan Pearce
Ceros was still only moving on one wheel, limping back and forth, so St. Agro opened the pit. As the pit opened, St. Agro got under the front of Ceros again and tried to flip it into the pit, but did not get the flipper underneath its opponent enough, so only flipped it a little.
- "Oh! On the brink of oblivion, and disaster - on the brink of the pit!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
St. Agro narrowly avoids the pit of oblivion
St. Agro tried reversing Ceros into the pit, but pushed at the wrong angle. Ceros and St. Agro turned around, with Ceros still by the pit, and when St. Agro tried to push Ceros, the responding Ceros flipped St. Agro over. In another attempt, St. Agro tried to push Ceros down, but Ceros turned away.
- "They've left themselves here, very vulnerable. St. Agro needs to get behind for a shove..."
- — Jonathan Pearce
St. Agro limps along after suffering damage from Matilda
St. Agro reversed for another charge, but missed its charge. As it tried to get in the right position, St. Agro drove in front of Ceros, and Ceros nearly flipped it into the pit, with St. Agro narrowly being able to reverse in time. St. Agro drove after Ceros, but drove too close to Matilda, who hit it with her flywheel, cutting off part of its wheel. St. Agro hobbled towards Ceros, but drove at the wrong angle, allowing Ceros to get under the side and flip St. Agro towards the pit, but St. Agro fell the wrong way, avoiding the pit. St. Agro got under Ceros and flipped it over by the CPZ.
- "I honestly think it's going to come down to the machine that has the FF at the end - the flip-ability factor"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Ceros is stuck upright
Ceros is counted out by Refbot
Ceros tried to self-right, but Matilda came out as it did so, blocking it as it tried to flip itself over. Ceros was stuck up against the arena wall, and Matilda hit it with the flywheel. Ceros' flipper was no longer working, leaving it unable to self-right. Refbot came in to count Ceros out, and Matilda reversed into Ceros and tossed it out of the arena with her flywheel, shattering the bottom plating of Ceros in the process.
Matilda smashes Ceros out of the arena
- "And in the end, Francis Smith ran out of power, and Ceros ran out of room and hope."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Ceros gets thrown out of the arena by Matilda's flywheel
Ceros was therefore eliminated, with St. Agro going through to the Semi-Finals.
- "...the first hit she did, I think took out the gas, so we couldn't do anything about that then."
- — Francis Smith explains why Ceros could not self-right
Results
| CEROS - RESULTS | ||
| Series 7 | ||
| The Seventh Wars - UK Championship Heat Final | ||
| Heat H, Round 1 | vs. Metalis, Ming Dienasty (15), Scraptosaur | Qualified |
| Heat H, Round 2 | vs. Revolution 3 | Won |
| Heat H, Final | vs. St. Agro | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 2
- Losses: 1
Series Record
| Series | Ceros 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 | Heat Final |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
NOTE: Although Team Ceros only entered one series, Series 9 competitor Rusty is an upgraded version of Ceros V2.0, built after Series 7
Outside Robot Wars
Ceros V2.0, as it appeared up for sale in 2013
Ceros V2.0 in 2014
After the Seventh Wars, Ceros was upgraded and renamed Ceros V2.0 (which resembled Cassius 3), in anticipation of entering an eighth series. However, as Robot Wars was cancelled following Series 7, Ceros V2.0 had only ever been used for occasional testing and was never fully completed. In 2013, the team put Ceros V2.0 up for sale, and it was sold to roboteer Adam Lewis, who has since been revising the robot, ready for the next UK Championship. The robot is currently owned and run by Scot-Bots.
After being sold in 2013, its new owner Louise Hemstock made Ceros V2.0 combat-ready. It made its debut at the Robots Live event at Durham in 2014. Ceros eventually changed hands again to Tony Smith, before his students turned the robot into Rusty.
Robot Wars Live Events
Ceros in the pits at Robot Wars in Manchester.
Ceros takes on Kill-E-Crank-E, Rattler and Leveller 2
Ceros, under the name Ceros V2.0, made its debut in the Robot Wars Live Events at the Barnsley event in June 2014. It fought in a four-way melee against Rattler, Meggamouse and TR2, holding its own against the other robots until it broke down and was eventually set alight.
Ceros V2.0, now known simply as Ceros again, made its 2016 debut in Manchester. It was flipped out of the arena by Ripper in its melee, but picked up a win in a tag team match as its partner Cherub was the last robot standing, despite Ceros being the first robot to become immobile, having been thrown by Iron-Awe 7.
Trivia
Official Series 7 photo
- Ceros and Rhino were the only two robots designed to look like a rhinoceros, and the two robots fought each other at the qualifiers.