Destructomatic was a featherweight robot which competed exclusively in the 1997 US Robot Wars competition. Built and entered by Phil Putman - creator of 1994 Lightweight Melee champion Bloodletter - it was eliminated in the opening rounds of the Featherweight Face-Off, upon losing both of its battles against Red-Green and Bayou Bengle respectively.[3][4][5][6] Destructomatic also participated in the Featherweight Melee tournament, but again could not progress beyond the first round.[7][8]
Design[]
Destructomatic was a two-wheel drive robot with a bolted aluminum channel chassis and a dome-shaped aluminum shell. As added shock protection, the shell was attached to the chassis through small bumpers at either end. Internally, the robot was powered by a 'lead-acid gel cell' battery, with the plastic wheels being driven by RC car speed controllers and chain reductions.[2]
Originally, Destructomatic was intended to be equipped with a 'large electric-powered claw'. With a reach of 'over a foot', the 'claw' would have potentially been one of the earliest crushing/grabbing weapons seen in robot combat, along with one of the largest in its weight category. However, the whole weapon was discarded shortly before the competition began, as it was found to be excessively cumbersome in testing. As a backup solution, two red chains were fixed to the lower rim of Destructomatic's shell. Similarly to Fuzzy, the chains enabled it to strike opponents through sit-and-spin tactics, though the low speed of its RC-sourced drivetrain prevented them from inflicting major damage. Though the shell offered Destructomatic a low ground clearance, the robot as a whole lacked a self-righting mechanism.[2]
Robot History[]
1997 US Championship[]
Destructomatic's 1997 campaign began in the Featherweight Face-Off, where it fought Jim Sellers and Red-Green in the first round. Alongside Wedge of Doom vs Bob Smith, this was the first set of 'Dual Matches' and the very first battles to take place in the entire competition.

Red-Green pressures Destructomatic against the side wall
Both robots started tentatively, with Destructomatic being wedged and rammed into the left-most wall by Red-Green. It survived Red-Green's early attempt at a lifting attack, and retreated in a bid to get its chain flails up to speed. An accidental brush with Bob Smith's tail had little effect on the former, with Destructomatic otherwise staying away from Red-Green during the next few moments. After dodging another charge from Red-Green, it was once more pushed against and alongside the wall while trying to dodge Wedge of Doom's duel with Bob Smith. During a tentative phase, Destructomatic demonstrated very little movement from the wall, and found itself being backed into the upper-left flipper by Red-Green.[3][4]

Destructomatic is toppled
As Destructomatic struggled to escape, Red-Green turned around and opened its upper jaw, but again without any meaningful effect. Another tentative tussle followed, with Destructomatic attempting to stay clear as both competitors took swipes from Bob Smith's hammer tail. Wedge of Doom briefly closed in on the pair, though Destructomatic again could not spin its flails up to a damaging speed. As such, it was pushed a few times close to the center, then into the wall once more, by Red-Green. The nearby flipper paddle swiped Destructomatic with force, with Destructomatic struggling to drive away from the perimeter. As the match entered its final thirty seconds, Red-Green rammed, then scooped and flipped it completely over. Unable to self-right, Destructomatic lost the battle by knockout, with less than ten seconds remaining.[3][4]
Now consigned to the Loser’s Bracket, Destructomatic would fight Bayou Bengle for a chance to stay in the Face-Off.
During an especially tentative opening phase, it spun its flails up to hit Bayou Bengle, which quickly drove past and dodged. Destructomatic soon found itself being pushed by Patrick Eskew's machine, before both robots bumped into the left wall. A moment later, it spun again and began hitting Bayou Bengle, without causing any noticeable damage. In response, Bayou Bengle kept breaching Destructomatic's ground clearance multiple times, though Bayou Bengle's lack of drive power meant that Destructomatic was not pushed at any moment.[5][6]
After unsuccessfully trying to strike the front of Bayou Bengle again, Destructomatic kept straying into the flipper and spike hazards with one minute and 30 seconds remaining. Both robots exchanged another series of head-to-head rams. A double pin occurred in the final thirty seconds, during which time both robots were left 'barely moving' due to depleted batteries. The battle went to a Judges' decision, which ruled Bayou Bengle to have won on 'style'. Destructomatic was thus completely eliminated from the Featherweight Face-Off at this point.[5][6]
Destructomatic later returned for the Featherweight Melee event. In the first round, it fought Bob Smith, No Love, Spike II, The Grinch and The Rat.
A largely passive start resulted in Destructomatic getting rammed by The Rat, then pressured towards the upper spike hazard by Spike II. It would, in turn, get pushed by Bob Smith, which attempted to swing its own hammer tail into it. Another brush with The Rat followed, after Robert Orr's machine had already been lifted and carried across the arena by Spike II. Destructomatic weathered a blow from Bob Smith's tail just before the match was paused to allow Spike II and The Rat to be separated.[7][8]
Once it resumed, Destructomatic was rammed by Spike II and lost one of its own chains in the process. Shortly after, it was attacked again by Bob Smith, which appeared to temporarily immobilize Destructomatic before Spike II pushed and attempted to deliver it to the lower spike. This set up another series of duels with Andrew Lindsey’s machine. Upon being pushed towards the lower-right flipper, Destructomatic was swatted into the wall by the flipper paddle itself. From there, it was pinned and turned over by Spike II, once again being left unable to self-right. This eliminated Destructomatic from the fight and the Featherweight Melee tournament as a whole.[7][8]
Results[]
DESTRUCTOMATIC - RESULTS | ||
1997 US Championship | ||
Featherweight Face-Off Round 1; eliminated in Loser's Bracket, Round 1 | ||
Round 1 | vs. Red-Green | Lost |
Loser's Bracket, Round 1 | vs. Bayou Bengle | Lost |
Featherweight Melee Round 1 | ||
Melee, Round 1 | vs. Bob Smith, No Love, Spike II, The Grinch, The Rat | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 3
Series Record[]
Events | Destructomatic Event Record |
---|---|
1994 | Entered with Bloodletter |
1995 | Withdrew with Obelus |
1996 | Entered with Bloodletter Jr. |
1997 | Featherweight Face-Off, Round 1 Featherweight Melee, Round 1 |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Beyond his robot combat endeavours, Phil Putman was known as a researcher at the Texas Center for Superconductivity and Advanced Materials, University of Houston. His studies into superconductor processing and applications lead to developments of electromagnetic launch systems based around these technologies, built by his self-formed company, Lungfish Technologies. One of the stated aims by Lungfish themselves was to develop electromagnetic launchers for use in space exploration, primarily as a lower cost method of launching space vehicles out of Earth's orbit.[9][10][11][12]
Phil Putman also continued his involvement in robot combat events beyond the original US Robot Wars events; future entries would run under the Lungfish Technologies team name. In 1999, he collaborated with Jason Bardis to enter a two-part multibot into the inaugural BattleBots event at Long Beach. A brand-new featherweight-sized machine, Air Burial, was built with two-wheel drive and a set of tall lifting forks, paired alongside Bardis' existing Dr. Inferno. Together, the two robots formed the Kilobot (lightweight) entry Hot Air, which was eliminated early on from the class Duel tournament by Ziggo. Such was the damage inflicted by Ziggo that Hot Air forfeited its next match against Gorange 3, and took no further part in the event.[13][14]
Phil Putman returned for Season 1.0 of the televised Comedy Central BattleBots series with Disposable Hero, a full-scale lightweight armed with twin front forks and cutting discs. Again, it was eliminated from its main class tournament in destructive fashion, this time by Backlash. The damage inflicted was so severe that Disposable Hero would later reappear in the Lightweight Consolation Rumble in a halved state.[15]
By far Lungfish Technologies' most successful BattleBots machine was their Season 3.0-5.0 lightweight Trilobot. Debuting with a box-wedge shape and two large spikes, it reached the televised Round of 16 stage in Season 3.0, where it lost to Mouser Super Mecha-Catbot in the main lightweight championship. The simple spike design was upgraded for Season 4.0 to include a pair of overhead grappling arms and an electromagnetic downforce system, made possible through the use of lighter 18V drill motors for drive.[16] Despite the updated Trilobot entering Seasons 4.0 and 5.0 as a seeded machine, it lost its first battle of both to Hexy Jr. and Whirligig respectively.
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ 'Contestants: Featherweight Class', 4th Annual Robot Wars (1997) souvenir programme, p.2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 'DESTRUCTOMATIC', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 'Robot Wars 1997 Featherweight Dual Match 1', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded April 14 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 'MATCH: RED-GREEN VS DESTRUCTOMATIC', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 'Robot Wars 1997 Featherweight match: Bayou Bangle versus Destructomatic', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 3 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 'MATCH: BAYOU BENGLE VS DESTRUCTOMATIC', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 'Robot Wars 1997 Featherweight Melee 2', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 11 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 'FEATHERWEIGHT MELEE ROUND 2', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 'Untitled', Lungfish Technologies website (archived April 12 2001)
- ↑ 'Untitled', Lungfish Technologies website (archived March 21 2003)
- ↑ 'People', Lungfish Technologies website (archived March 21 2003
- ↑ 'Lungfish - Mission', Lungfish Technologies website (archived August 19 2003)
- ↑ 'Infernolab:Dr. Inferno', Infernolab website (archived)
- ↑ '1999 BattleBots Long Beach-Kilobots', RobotCombat.com (archived)
- ↑ 'Lungfish Robots', Lungfish Technologies website (archived)
- ↑ 'Lungfish Robots [Trilobot]', Lungfish Technologies website (archived August 19 2003)
External Links[]
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