Crusader 2

Crusader
Participation Information
UK Series	3-4
Other Names	Crusader (Series 3)
Team Information
Team Members	Chris Williams Dave O'Reilly (Series 3) Hari Bahra (Series 3) Richard Jessop (Series 4) Reg Claydon (Series 4)
From	Loughton, Essex
Robot Statistics
Weight	78.9kg
Dimensions	0.76m x 1.1m x 0.26m
Clearance	5mm
Top Speed	8mph
Power	2x 12V Dry Fit batteries (16Ah)
Drive	2x 24V EMD Motors
Weapons	Spiked pneumatic lifter
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"It's actually got more processing power than the first space shuttle, so we're quite proud of that."

— Team Crusader

Crusader 2 was a robot from Loughton, Essex which competed in Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars. In its only appearance in the main competition, it reached the second round of its Heat before being defeated by Mortis.

An earlier version of the robot, simply named Crusader, first appeared in the Pinball competition of The Third Wars, finishing joint-fourth with a score of 90 points.

Versions of Crusader

"The pneumatic lifting arm can lift the robot's own 78.9kg weight. Two spikes are also attached to the ram. The shell's polycarbonate. Two motors drive the six aluminium wheels."

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Crusader 2 in Series 4

Both incarnations of Crusader were invertible, low box-shaped robots with sloped sides and wedges, six-wheel drive and polycarbonate armour. They were each armed with a small pneumatic lifting arm located at the front. The centre two wheels were noticeably larger than the others, giving Crusader 2 a fast rate of spin on both sides. Both Crusader machines also featured two white lights on the front wedge resembling eyes, as well as strips of red LEDs along the sides which pulsated as they moved.

Crusader

"The robot has a welded high strength steel chassis made from 6 main spars which travel the length of the robot giving, it good strength along its main axis. Each spar is flanged to increase its rigidity and finally braces have been added perpendicular to each of the spars. Again each of the braces is flanged for rigidity. All the spars and braces have lightening holes which also aid access for assembly. The resulting chassis is light weight (less than 16Kg) but very strong. The wheels are mounted on axles which are supported between the outer 2 chassis spars on each side. This ensures that the axles cannot be bent and also provides protection to the wheels on all sides."

— The Crusader website

Crusader in Series 3

The original Crusader that appeared in Series 3 was painted yellow and black with a hazard sign printed on the top armour, and featured a wider lifting arm. The robot had a steel chassis, polyurethane tyres for extra grip, and two 24V EMD 700W motors. It was powered by two 12V, 16Ah, Dry Fit batteries, and had drive electronics designed by the team, with two drive boards, one for each drive motor, each capable of delivering 100A. The robot also had a 0.8 litres high-pressure air reservoir linked to a 10 Bar first stage regulator which powered the flipper, which the team referred to as a shovel. The shovel had the power to lift around 80Kg in 0.3 seconds to a height of 450mm.

Originally, Crusader was designed to have four wheels, but the team decided to change it after building the prototype.

"we tried 4 wheels on a prototype and found that the turning circle depended on the grip to the floor and required enormous torque to overcome the 'skidding'"

— The Crusader website

Crusader 2

"This nifty little robot appeared only in the Pinball in the last series. It's low, unflippable, and has a 16-bit telemetry system like a Formula 1 racing car so the team can analyse its performance"

— Robot Wars Magazine on Crusader 2

Crusader 2 in the arena

Crusader 2 sported a white and red paint scheme resembling the cross of the Crusaders, from which it got its name, and had its lifting arm modified to include a pair of stainless steel spikes on its tip. Greater attention was made towards Crusader 2's dual redundant chain drive throughout its Series 4 appearance, which enabled a second drive chain to take over another if one broke, snapped or came off, allowing the robot to continue fighting. The lifting arm also had the capacity to lift Crusader's own weight. Crusader 2 proved surprisingly fast and aggressive in its only main series appearance, but the dual redundant chain drive proved unreliable, and its polycarbonate armour was easily damaged.

The Team

"Crusader is the creation of a group of engineers from PFE (Printed Forms Equipment Ltd.), an Essex mailing equipment manufacturer, and uses many of the design and manufacturing techniques used by our company (because we couldn't afford to make it any other way!!!) Our team at PFE includes the following engineers:- Chris Williams, team leader and mechanical designer. Dave O'Reilly, Software designer. Hari Bahra, electrical/electronics coordinator"

— The Crusader website

The original Crusader with its team

The team with Crusader 2

Crusader was entered by a team of work colleagues from Essex. Team leader Chris Williams was the only team member to be present in both the team's appearances, though in Series 4, Richard Jessup was the team captain. All of the team members, and various other people who worked on the robots, worked in the Design and Development Department of Printed Forms Equipment.

In Series 3, the team consisted of Chris Williams, Hari Bahra, and Dave O'Reilly, the latter of who drove the robot. In Series 4, Reg Claydon and Richard Jessup joined the team in place of Hari and Dave, with Reg Claydon driving the robot and Richard Jessup being named team captain.

In addition to the 5 team members who were seen, 14 members helped build the robot, with the other unseen members being; Paul Hitchings, Ian Heather, Lee Jenkins, Richard Mayer, Chris Biggadike, Dave Smith, John Brown, Phil Duffy, and Graham Cox.

Qualification

Crusader with a different paint job at the Series 3 auditions

Crusader first appeared at the Series 3 auditions. However, it was not selected to compete in the main competition. At the auditions, this version had a different paint scheme, still having the skull-and-crossbones logo, but lower on the robot, and with red decals instead of the yellow and black stripes it had when it appeared on televesion, and yellow and black hazard stripes on its lifter, compared to the plain black lifter of its televised appearance.

"Unfortunately Mentorn, the production company for the series, would not put us into the main heavy weight competition, probably because we did not have some silly gimmick. So we only appear briefly in the Pin ball event (our moment of glory was shown on the last day of the millennium). We still feel very hard done by but won't give up and we will be returning better than ever for series 4."

— The Crusader website on the team's failure to qualify

Crusader 2 would be picked for the main completion of Series 4 by attending the live qualification tour, though it is unknown which robots it fought.

Robot History

Series 3

Crusader's flipper becomes caught under the 50 point target

As the second robot to compete in the Pinball competition, Crusader started well, immediately toppling the barrels, before dodging Sir Killalot and Sergeant Bash to hit the 50-point target. However, its flipper became caught under the target, leaving the robot stuck.

"What's happened here though? I think Crusader's impaled itself on the tyre! Oh dear, that's a major shame! Deflating problems for the Crusader team."

— Jonathan Pearce as Crusader's flipper becomes caught under the target

Crusader hits the multiball release

Crusader drives into the Pit

Eventually, it was freed by Sergeant Bash and hit the multiball release, scoring more points and pressing one of the balls against the latter until it exploded. However, Crusader immediately hurtled across the arena, drove close to one of the Pits and hit the wall, before abruptly ending its run by reversing itself into one of them.

"Driving insanely here, what's gone on? The lights are flickering on, but there's no-one at home in this team! Goodness me, that's terrible driving boys! And I don't think it's a very healthy score."

— Jonathan Pearce as Crusader nearly drives into one Pit, then drives into the top one

Even so, Crusader still scored 90 points, enough for it to finish joint fourth overall in the Pinball competition, along with Eye of Newt.

"In the Pinball challenge in the last wars, they didn't exactly provide us with a barrel full of laughs. Steady but... lacking in ambition. Had a love affair with those barrels."

— Jonathan Pearce's recap of the first Crusader during The Fourth Wars

Series 4

In The Fourth Wars, Crusader 2 appeared in Heat D. It faced the seventh seed and previous Grand Finalist Steg 2, alongside Cronos, the successor to Zeus, in its Eliminator.

Crusader 2 strands Steg 2 against an entry gate

Crusader 2 initially reversed out of its starting position, before driving and pushing Steg 2 into Dead Metal's CPZ. Taking advantage of a mistimed flick by Steg 2, it got underneath, lifted and stacked the new Jurassic Park machine vertically against the upper-left entry gate.

"Crusader immediately on the attack! Here's that stronger flipper arm, we saw, but the Steg 2 boys slammed against the arena wall, into the CPZ..."

— Jonathan Pearce as Crusader 2 immediately asserts itself against Steg 2

Crusader 2 lifts Steg 2 a second time

Leaving Dead Metal to attack Steg 2, Crusader 2 next rammed Cronos close to a flame jet. It also rammed Steg 2 as the latter returned to the fray, again dodging one of its attempted flips, and again into the centre entry gate moments later. The latter attack enabled Crusader 2 to lift, hold, then drag Steg 2 forwards by the left-rear wheelguard; the lifting arm dug deep enough to start buckling Steg 2's baseplate from the same angle. After momentarily being destabilised upon backing over Cronos' wedge, it stopped, then proceeded to push both opponents into Dead Metal's clutches once more. Dead Metal grabbed hold of Cronos, while Crusader 2 dragged and pushed Steg 2 again. Another collision between all three competitors helped Crusader 2 to break free, while Jonathan Pearce praised it as the most dominant robot of the trio.

"Crusader on the attack on Steg 2. Steg 2... on fire it seems, there! A worry for Steg! Certainly... the top of the robot is flickering with flame! Cronos driven into the... CPZ again... Crusader 2 doing all the work here and very, very impressive!"

— Jonathan Pearce, impressed by Crusader 2's persistent attacks

Crusader 2 pushes Cronos into Dead Metal's clutches

Crusader 2 rammed Cronos along the upper perimeter and into Dead Metal, who grabbed and began cutting into the Southampton entry. With Cronos trapped, it resumed its duel with Steg 2, which saw both competitors stray towards Sergeant Bash. Crusader 2, now with its aerial caught behind the left-rear wheel, drove away safely, while Steg 2 slammed into the nearby wall and got stuck. Taking advantage of Steg 2's predicament, Crusader 2 rammed it once more. Another push and ram followed later on, after Steg 2 was freed, and while Cronos was attacked and sent to the Pit of Oblivion by the House Robots. Crusader 2 slammed Steg 2 into the upper wall opposite Shunt's CPZ, sending a piece of metal flying on impact. 'Cease' was called, with Crusader 2 and Steg 2 both progressing to the Heat Semi-Finals.

At that stage, Crusader 2 fought the twenty-third seed Mortis, another highly experienced competitor from previous series. While confident that they had 'a chance' against the Second Wars Semi-Finalist, team members confessed that they were still in need of 'moral support', acknowledging the capabilities of its opponent's tantō blade.

Crusader 2 lifts Mortis during their initial exchange

Crusader 2 emulated its Eliminator start, approaching and quickly exploiting the ground clearance of the faster-starting Mortis. The first head-to-head exchange allowed it to hook, lift and push Mortis around, before the Random Violence Technologies machine slipped off and began pushing Crusader 2 from the side. Crusader 2 broke free; both competitors dodged each other, only for Crusader 2 to be pinned against the wall and almost turned over by Mortis' next pushes. Crusader 2 unsuccessfully tried to drive over the front of Mortis, but backed off and immediately pushed it towards the centre of the arena from the front-left corner.

Crusader 2 lifts and pushes Mortis into Dead Metal, but not without sustaining damage

In another tentative exchange, Crusader 2 drove into Mortis, which axed its top panel in retaliation. Though the first strike caused little damage, another pierced the top close to the inner-right wheel. Crusader 2 tried to break free as Mortis started dragging and pushing it around. During the embrace, it proceeded to push Mortis into a patrolling Dead Metal, while simultaneously lifting it from the front. An attempt to sustain this controlling attack caused Mortis to slip off the lifter, and Crusader 2, having collided with Dead Metal in the process, to start spinning back and forth on its left wheels.

Crusader 2 next found itself being pushed by Mortis into Shunt's CPZ. Turning its lifter back towards Mortis, it received another axe blow, this time from Shunt himself, and became sandwiched between the two machines as the House Robot dragged it back across the nearby flamethrowers. By this point, it became clear that the right side of Crusader 2's drive, in spite of the dual-chain system, was no longer functioning.

"Now, Shunt comes in with the axe to take on Crusader! Crusader is in trouble here! Not punishing enough, perhaps?"

— Jonathan Pearce as Crusader 2 struggles for mobility against Mortis and Shunt

Crusader 2 is caught between a rock and a hard place in the form of Mortis and Shunt

Dead Metal (left) closes in to help dispose of Crusader 2

Another spin allowed Mortis to scoop up and nearly turn Crusader 2 on its side against Shunt's scoop and the side wall. Mortis' drive caused a metal strip to peel down and be wrenched completely off the base of Crusader 2, which continued to be axed and controlled by Shunt. Crusader 2 again found itself sandwiched between Shunt and Mortis; its immobility was signalled by Dead Metal and Sir Killalot also arriving to drag and damage it further.

Sparks flew as Dead Metal brought his circular saw onto the back of Crusader 2; Sir Killalot, Matilda and Mortis all helped in pinning it against the entry gates and walls. After taking another slice, Crusader 2 was lifted against a wall spike by Mortis just as 'Cease' was called. Despite a promising start to its campaign, it was eliminated from The Fourth Wars at that stage.

"Well.. Crusader 2 gets turned into a teabag! Mortis go through!"

— Craig Charles announces the elimination of Crusader 2

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

Series Record

Series	Crusader Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Pinball Competition
The Fourth Wars	Heat, Round 2 as Crusader 2
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter

Gallery

Crusader being built

The whole team with Crusader and beers

The insides of the Series 3 Crusader

The Series 3 Crusader outside

Crusader 2's cameo in the First World Championship

Crusader 2 in the Robot Wars Magazine

Crusader 2 in The Official Robot Guide

Crusader 2's insides during Series 4

Crusader 2 without armour

Trivia

• Crusader's drive sprockets were provided by South-East Power and Transmission, and k2 provided the team with polycarbonate for the robot's armour.
• Both of Crusader's appearances were in Heat D, because Crusader's Pinball run was shown as part of Heat D of Series 3.
• Chris Williams was part of The Steering Committee.

External Links

• The Crusader Website (archived)