Pika

Pika
Participation Information
Dutch Series	1-2
Other Names	Pika 2 (Dutch Series 1) Pika 3 (Dutch Series 2)
Team Information
Team	Team VHS-Robots
Team Members	Marco van Hek Tim van Hek Joeri Ramakers
From	Limburg, Belgium
Other Entries	Cobra (UK Series 9-10)
Robot Statistics
Weight	99kg
Dimensions	0.26m x 1.35m x 0.80m
Power	2x Hawker sbs-30 batteries
Drive	4x Iskra 750W electric motors
Weapons	Lifting wedge
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Pika Rulez!"

— The slogan painted on Pika 2

Pika was the name given to two Belgian machines entered in Dutch Robot Wars. Pika 2 was the team's first entry, which lost its first round battle in the first series, but fought back through a losers melee to reach the heat final, where its run was ended by Botwork. Pika 2 was the only Belgian robot to reach a heat final in Dutch Series 1, making it the most successful Belgian robot in that series. Pika 3 competed in Dutch Series 2 and defeated Hoot easily, but lost to √3² on a Judges' decision.

Versions of Pika

Pika 1

"I wonder what became of Pika 1, actually! Scrap-iron, probably."

— Eric Corton briefly references the original Pika during Heat C of Series 1 (translated from Dutch)

The original Pika, which qualified for the Dutch Wars

Pika 1 without its armour

Pika 1 was never seen on Robot Wars, but competed in other live events in the Netherlands. It was a two-wheel robot with motors and wheels from a wheelchair, armed with two spinning discs, a vertical one at the front and a horizontal at the rear, both powered by 1000 Watt Iskra motors. Pika qualified for the Dutch Wars, but Marco thought that it wasn't competitive enough, due to its high ground clearance, so it was rebuilt into Pika 2.

"A front vertical disc and on its back a horizontal disc powered by 2 Iskra's 1000W. For the driving we bought a wheelchair (had some great fun with it , before we used the parts) and used the 2 wheels with the 2 pieces 260W electric-motors . Also bought 2 Hawker sbs30-batteries for the electric power. Speed controllers from 4qd 2 ncc-70/24 for steering the electric wheelchair motors .One remote control 40 Mhz with receiver from Graupner. Also needed a interface (from Derek Foxwell) for between the receiver and the 2 speed controllers ( interface mixes the signals to the speed controllers) . Some go-kart stuff for the 2 Yamaha 750 cc wheels . Didn't make a drawing , put everything on a bench and started "building" ,just put it together in a way ."

— Team VHS Robots website (edited) on Pika 1

Pika 2

"This is our robot, Pika 2, with a spinning disc of a thousand Watts! Pika rulez!"

— Marco van Hek (translated from Dutch)

Pika 2 in Round 1, with its original wheels

Pika 2 in the arena, with the wheels of Meshuggah

Pika 2 (styled by the team as Pika II) was a wedge shaped robot painted in the colours of the Belgian flag with a vertically-mounted spiked disc. The disc ran on 1000w of power and was positioned towards the back of the robot, so it could attack robots that were on the wedge, or that approached Pika from behind. Tim van Hek's plush Pikachu sat atop the robot.

"Back from the selectionday {sic} we completely started rebuilding . Did't {sic} make a drawing but toke {sic} all of the parts from Pika I and put them on a table . ... Bought several metres steeltube 20x20 mm and started welding . Had to rebuild Pika II sometimes because we didn't make a drawing ."

— Team VHS Robots website on the construction of Pika 2

It used the same internals as the original; two electric wheelchair motors, two 1000 Watt electric Iskra motors, two Hawker batteries and 4qd speed controllers. The robot was finished one week before the team travelled to England to film the series, and it was intended to have a rear lifter as a second weapon, but this had to be removed as the robot was 5kg overweight when it attended filming. Despite having a good top speed of 15mph, Pika 2 had steering problems.

"The 4qd-speedcontrollers are difficult to adjust . Pika II doesn't drive straight ahead . It always makes a curve to the right or left."

— Team VHS robots on Pika 2's steering problems

Over the course of its heat, Pika 2 underwent numerous repairs and started to borrow components from other competitors, including motors and even the wheel(s) of Meshuggah.

Pika 3

"After being in England we've learned a lot . Never built a robot with its wheels on the outside ! Pika II was completely destroid {sic} in the Dutch Battles so we could't {sic} use anything for Pika III . So we started building a new one . Pika III is a mixture of Tornado and Panick Attack . Pushingpower combined with a mighty strong lift capable of lifting 600 kg !"

— Team VHS Robots website on the construction of Pika 3

Pika 3 enters the arena

Pika 3 (styled by the team as Pika III) competed in the second series. It was now a four-wheel drive, invertible box-shaped robot, armed with a lifting mechanism at the front. It was inspired by the pushing power of Tornado, coupled with the lifting mechanism of Panic Attack. The 750 Watt Iskra motors were uprated from 12 Volts to 24 Volts. The same speed controllers were used, with two Hawker sbs-30 batteries powering the Iskra motors and the linear-actuator for the lifter, and four new wheels were found from go-karts, complete with the sprockets and chains. The lifter was capable of lifting 200kg, and the team tested it by lifting two adults, with a counterweight on the robot.

The tyres were rain type with the softest possible compound to give better grip. The robot was armoured in stainless steel, which was between 2mm to 3mm thick, and the frame was tubular Steel-Chrome-Molubdene. The plush Pikachu now sat at the front of the robot. It was fast, but featured a high ground clearance, which was exposed in its loss.

"Pika III should have such a push and ram ability that has never been seen in robot wars so far. ... The whole concept of Pika III is made on strength , reliability and flippable."

— VHS Robots website on Pika 3

Etymology

The robot was named after Marco van Hek's youngest son Bram, who frequently went by the nickname "Pika". Unable to think of any name that he liked better, Marco van Hek decided to go with it and model his robot after Pikachu, the iconic face of the popular video game and anime series Pokémon.

The Team

Main article: Team Rubbish

Pika 2 with Team VHS-Robots

Team VHS-Robots in Dutch Series 2

Pika was entered into Robot Wars by a Belgian team named Team VHS-Robots, nowadays known as Team Rubbish. All versions of Pika were built by the team captain Marco van Hek, a fish salesman by trade, who also drove Pika 2 in its first battle. He was joined in Dutch Series 1 and 2 by his young son Tim van Hek, who drove Pika 2 from its second fight onwards, and Pika 3 in all of its battles. Joeri Ramakers completed the team.

Outside of the Dutch series, Marco would fail to qualify for The Seventh Wars with Caesar before later competing in Series 9 and 10 with Cobra.

Qualification

The original PIKA at the inspection at BNN Workshop

The team originally designed a four-wheeled ramming robot armed with a pneumatic spike called PIKA. They built a prototype made of wood, which they later changed to Trespa Meteon. This version was inspected by Derek Foxwell, but he was dissatisfied with the result, so the team built a new version, Pika 1.

"With this design made of trespa we went to the cold-workshop in Utrecht where Pika was judged by Mentorn's Derek Foxwell . We were the first to be judged and Derek wasn't impressed . He didn't like the complete design and said our weapon was not impressive , aggressive enough .So we went home and started rebuilding/designing"

— Team VHS Robots website

Pika attends the selection day, shown in Robot Wars: The Kick Off

The team built Pika 1, which attended the selection day in Eindhoven. Footage of Pika attending the selection day was included in Robot Wars: The Kick-Off It did a driving test, but suffered from a lot of radio interference issues, with the disc activating at the wrong time.

"There were about, I guess, 25 active robots . Some of theme very impressive. The level of technique was higher then I thought. ... Pika had a lot of radio interference and didn't go where I want it to be. The disc was sometimes spinning even when I don't touch the on-off switch. ... After banging several times into the wall, Derek Foxwell asked me to push the wall away. I tried very slowly to go to the wall. The first time I crashed at full speed, hanging at a 45 degree angle . No success. The second time was better. I pushed the wall away for about 80 cm . Derek said: "Ah, enough power! Impressive!" It was a interesting day and we had a lot of fun ."

— Team VHS Robots website (edited) on the selection day

It qualified the series as it was ready to compete, unlike some other teams, but Marco van Hek decided it was not strong enough, so built Pika 2 to compete.

"After Pika I was finished we went to the selection day in Eindhoven. We were impressed about some robots, some people had only some parts with them, other people had complete driving robots with working weapons. We were also completely ready. Pika I was driving and it's disc's were spinning. We had a driving session in the arena. It went terrible, Pika I had a lot of radio-interference and went several times into the arena-wall , but it drove! We also were powerful enough to push the arena-wall a bit away, so the wheelchair motors have got enough power. Pika I performed very well, but seeing the other competitors it was obvious Pika I couldn't win a battle. It was to easy flippable and vulnerable. At home we also had a out-of-control-experience : Pika I went straight into the wall of my house with it's disc spinning at top speed , a nice scare {sic} was the result. At home we decided it was time to rebuild Pika I ."

— Team VHS Robots website (edited) on Pika 1's qualification

Pika III qualified for the second series of Dutch Robot Wars after attending the "cold workshop" in Hilversum, where the robot was inspected by Derek Foxwell.

"As soon as Pika III entered, it was clear that we could count on sufficient interest, as would become completely clear later. ... Derek Foxwell was also present to technically inspect the robots and help the robot engineers with any problems. For example, we had a problem with the electronics, which was solved with some help from Derek and other roboteers, so that we will, in all likelihood, be able to drive next weekend (finally)!"

— Team VHS Robots website (edited) on Pika 3's qualification

Robot History

Dutch Series 1

Bridget Maasland: "What’s your strategy, how will you go about this?"

Team VHS-Robots: "Smashing. Just, smashing, nothing more, nothing less."

Bridget Maasland: "After months of preparation and thinking, all you’ve got to say is: ‘smashing’?"

Team VHS-Robots: "We’ve held a meeting, and we’ve decided: smashing."

— Simple tactics from Team VHS-Robots (translated from Dutch)

Pika 2 competed in Heat C, where it was initially drawn against Hammerhead.

"The first battle was against Hammerbot, a clumsy bot with a swinging hammer with 2 heads. Since this was VHS-Robots' first battle ever, we were quite curious about the power and strength of Pika II, our bot at the time. "

— Team VHS Robots website (translated from Dutch)

Pika 2's wheel is slammed by Hammerhead

Pika 2 started by driving at Hammerhead, whilst Hammerhead got its hammers up to speed. As Pika 2 reached Hammerhead, Hammerhead hit Pika 2's side with its spinning hammers. Pika 2 turned, getting under Hammerhead's side, but couldn't push it, and Hammerhead turned off the wedge. Pika 2 reversed, and Hammerhead turned to face Pika 2. Pika 2 drove at Hammerhead, driving straight into the spinning hammers, causing Hammerhead to bounce away from Pika 2. Pika 2 tried pushing against Hammerhead's side, but Hammerhead turned, and Pika 2 reversed. Pika 2 drove around to the back of Hammerhead, but Hammerhead turned so it was facing Pika 2's side. Pika 2 turned around, and Hammerhead turned to face Pika 2 as it drove at it. Hammerhead's spinning hammers hit Pika 2's front, deflecting it aside, and Pika 2 pushed at Hammerhead's side. Hammerhead tried turning away, but Pika 2 pushed against its back. Pika 2 couldn't move Hammerhead, and reversed for another charge, pushing against one of Hammerhead's wheels, but Hammerhead turned, and Pika 2 reversed to avoid the spinning hammers. Pika 2 drove past Hammerhead and drove up the arena, where it turned around. Hammerhead seemed to have impaired mobility, and Pika 2 drove back down the arena into Hammerhead's side. Pika 2 started pushing Hammerhead, but Hammerhead turned, and Pika 2 turned away to avoid the hammers, though Hammerhead landed a glancing blow on one of the wheels as it did so.

The immobile Pika 2 beaches Hammerhead on its wedge

Pika 2 turned around, but Hammerhead also turned around as it did so, and landed a blow on the other wheel before Pika 2 could get away. This blow immobilised Pika 2, and Hammerhead turned, hitting the back with its spinning hammers, then hit the other wheel as it drove around to Pika 2's front. Hammerhead drove at the front of Pika 2, but drove onto one of its spikes, beaching itself off the floor. Refbot began to count out the two robots, and when he was finished, Sir Killalot reversed out of his CPZ, backing into Pika 2, pushing it and Hammerhead apart.

Matilda backs into Pika 2, ripping off one of its wheels

Matilda pushes the immobile Pika 2 onto the floor flipper

Hammerhead was no longer moving, but because Pika 2 had been immobilised first, the House Robots attacked it, with Matilda reversing into its side with her flywheel, throwing it over and ripping off one of the wheels. Matilda pushed Pika 2 up the arena to the floor flipper, which threw Pika 2 down the arena.

"Pika’s gonna fly… No problem of course, ‘cause Pika’s a cute cartoon creature after all."

— Eric Corton (translated from Dutch)

Cease was called, and Pika 2 went into the Losers' Melee.

In the Losers' Melee, Pika 2 was intended to face Maximum Torque and Meshuggah. However, Meshuggah withdrew due to technical issues, and Pika 2 fought Maximum Torque alone. To even participate, Pika 2 had to borrow numerous components from other teams, including a wheel from the now-withdrawn Meshuggah.

Bridget Maasland: "So tell me, what will your strategy be?"

Tim van Hek: "Uh. Pika."

— A tenative plan from Team VHS-Robots, prompting Bridget Maasland to suggest that Pika 2 should 'smash into the backside' of its opponent using its disc (translated from Dutch)

Pika 2 wedges under Maximum Torque

Pika 2 and Maximum Torque charged at each other initially, and Pika 2 got underneath Maximum Torque. Maximum Torque rode up the wedge, and Pika 2's flywheel hit the front a couple of times. Maximum Torque turned, then reversed off of Pika 2's wedge. Pika 2 turned as Maximum Torque tried to get away, getting its spikes under Maximum Torque's side and pushing, preventing Maximum Torque from reversing away. Pika 2 turned around, allowing Maximum Torque to reverse, but as Maximum Torque tried driving forwards, Pika 2 got its front spikes under one of its wheels, preventing it from getting away. Pika 2 pushed and turned around to the back of Maximum Torque, but Maximum Torque drove away. Maximum Torque drove up the arena, then turned around and drove back at Pika 2. Pika 2 got under Maximum Torque's side, then reversed. By this point of the battle, one of Pika 2's tyres had got a puncture, which reduced its mobility. Maximum Torque drove down the arena, and Pika 2 drove at it. Maximum Torque drove onto Pika 2's wedge, and Pika 2 pushed it, hitting the bottom of Maximum Torque with its flywheel. Slowly, Pika 2 pushed Maximum Torque to the bottom arena wall, grinding against the front with its flywheel. Maximum Torque managed to turn so it was facing Pika 2. It could not reverse off, but it could hit Pika 2 with its hammer. Pika 2 pushed Maximum Torque to the bottom arena wall, then reversed out from under it.

Maximum Torque (left) takes a nosedive into the pit

Maximum Torque turned, and Pika 2 drove into its back, pushing it into Shunt. Shunt hit Maximum Torque with his axe and dragged it into the CPZ. Shunt lifted Maximum Torque up and down with his scoop, and punctured the top with his axe, before pushing it out of the CPZ. Maximum Torque was now only working on one wheel, and as it span around, Pika 2 drove across the arena, getting under the side. Pika 2 got underneath Maximum Torque, hitting it with its flywheel, but couldn't push it due to having punctured tyres. Pika 2 drove away up the arena, then turned around, then drove back down the arena to hit the pit release button. Maximum Torque limped back and forth on one wheel, getting closer and closer to the pit, whilst Pika 2 drove over towards Shunt's CPZ. Pika 2 drove towards Maximum Torque, and gave it a glancing shove to send it into the pit.

Rob Kamphues: "I think you’re the youngest Robot Wars contestant ever!"

Tim van Hek: "Yes."

Rob Kamphues: "And you steered that entire thing all by yourself?"

Tim van Hek: "No."

Marco van Hek: "Yes you did, you were the one steering, weren’t you?"

Rob Kamphues: "That was you steering?"

Tim van Hek: "Yes."

Rob Kamphues: "And you sent them [Maximum Torque] straight to the house robots?"

Tim van Hek: "Yes."

Rob Kamphues: "So you’ll be steering again in the next round?"

Marco van Hek: "He will, he’s better than I am!"

— Post-match interview with Team VHS-Robots after Pika 2 won the Losers' melee (translated from Dutch)

As a result, Pika 2 was reinstated into the competition.

"after the formidable renovation of Pika II, we encountered maximum tourgue. Just like Pika II, it has a wedge shape and is also our "neighbors" in the pits. Both parties had already studied each other's robot thoroughly. But apparently we at VHS-Robots had done our job best, because with Tim at the controls we managed to win this battle, which meant we still advanced one round!"

— Team VHS Robots website (translated from Dutch)

In the heat Semi-Final, Pika faced X-Bot, a robot built by Marco van Hek's future teammate Jeroen van Lieverloo.

Bridget Maasland: "Tim, you’ll be giving it another go?"

Tim van Hek: "Yeah."

Bridget Maasland: "Did you take a good look at your opponent?"

Tim van Hek: "Yeah."

Bridget Maasland: "Think you can manage to get it [Pika II] underneath it?"

Tim van Hek: "Yeah."

Bridget Maasland: "Well, if you do, you’ve gotta drive it to the pit, and hurl it in there!"

Tim van Hek: "Yeah."

— A series of questions for young Tim van Hek (translated from Dutch)

X-Bot drives under Pika 2's wheel

Pika 2 pressures X-Bot near the pit

The two competitors drove straight into each other, with Pika 2 driving onto X-Bot's front lifter. X-Bot reversed, and Pika 2 turned and drove down the arena. Pika 2 drove by the pit, then as X-Bot drove down the arena, it backed towards the pit release button. X-Bot drove at Pika 2, but Pika 2 drove around to its side. X-Bot turned around, and Pika 2 drove into its back. X-Bot's high ground clearance allowed Pika 2 to push it, but X-Bot drove away. Pika 2 chased after it, and as X-Bot tried turning, Pika 2 drove into its side and pushed it onto the flame pit. Pika 2 drove to the arena centre, and X-Bot drove into the arena wall, before reversing over the flame pit. X-Bot turned around and drove at Pika 2, which turned and drove up the arena. X-Bot followed, and eventually Pika 2 had X-Bot trapped by the arena wall just outside Sir Killalot's CPZ. Sir Killalot came out of his CPZ, pushing Pika 2's side with his claw, and Pika 2 reversed up the arena. X-Bot hit the pit release button, and the two competitors held back for a time. Pika 2 reversed at X-Bot, and X-Bot got under the side with its lifter. X-Bot pushed Pika 2 towards the pit, but as it reached the edge, Pika 2 managed to get off the lifter and drive away. Pika 2 drove across to the other side of the arena, turned around, and drove into the back of X-Bot as it reversed towards it. X-Bot drove forwards before Pika 2 could push, and Pika 2 drove after it, but then reversed as X-Bot turned.

Pika 2 splits X-Bot's lifter

Pika 2 reversed to the middle of the arena, then drove back at X-Bot, which turned to face Pika 2, getting underneath with the lifter. Pika 2 tried to push X-Bot into the pit, but couldn't quite get enough traction, so reversed. X-Bot turned away from the pit as Pika 2 drove back at it, and Pika 2 reversed. X-Bot drove up the arena, and Pika 2 drove after it. Pika 2 drove around to X-Bot's front, getting under its front lifter, hitting it with its flywheel, and split the panel in half by slicing through a joint using its vertical spinner. Pika 2 got under X-Bot, but couldn't push it, so reversed out from underneath. X-Bot turned away, but as it tried to avoid Pika 2, it drove by the flame pit, and Pika 2 got behind it and pushed it back onto the flame pit. X-Bot turned, drove off the flame pit, then turned and drove into Pika 2's side just as time ran out. On a Judge's decision, Pika 2 collected the victory, and advanced to the Heat Final.

Bridget Maasland: "After getting this far, of course you want to get to the finale, and I think you couldn’t picture that at all for Pika!"

Marco van Hek: "No, not after how that first time went. I really didn’t have much hope anymore then. But I got a lot of help from other teams-- different wheels, different motors added."

— Team VHS-Robots address their borrowed components, including Meshuggah's wheels

In the Heat Final, Pika 2 fought the horizontal spinner of Botwork.

"Botwork has a rotating disc, Pika II has a rotating disc, but Pika II is shaped slightly differently, and that might just be an advantage."

— Eric Corton (translated from Dutch)

Pika 2 pushes Botwork in the early stages

Pika 2 started first, driving across the arena as Botwork waited. As Pika 2 reached the other side of the arena, close to Botwork, Botwork drove forwards, driving to the arena centre. The two competitors turned to face each other, and Pika 2 drove around Botwork's disc, getting at the side and started pushing. Pika 2 was able to move Botwork a little, but Botwork struggled against it, so Pika 2 reversed for another charge, then rammed into Botwork's side. Pika 2 pushed Botwork to the top of the arena, then reversed away down the arena. After hitting the top arena wall with its disc, Botwork turned and drove down the arena at Pika 2. It hit one of Pika 2's wheels with its flywheels, buckling the outer rim and impairing its mobility. Pika 2 limped away, and Botwork drove into it again, hitting the side, but didn't cause any damage and the disc stopped. Pika 2 reversed away and hit the pit release, whilst Botwork backed into the arena centre to line up another attack. Pika 2 reversed towards Botwork, then drove forwards, and Botwork drove into the back with its spinning disc, hitting one of the tyres and the back.

Botwork buckles the right wheel cover of Pika 2

Pika 2 was struggling to move, and Botwork hit the side, ripping off the wheel cover. Pika 2 span around on the spot, and limped towards the open pit, and Botwork hit the side again. Pika 2 reversed onto the flame pit, and couldn't get off, with the toy Pikachu being burnt. Refbot pushed it off, and but was hit by Botwork twice more, with the second assault tearing the outer rim completely from the tyres of Pika 2. Despite all the damage, Pika 2's wheels were still turning, but the tyres were burnt and shredded, so Pika 2 couldn't get any traction. It limped into Botwork, which tried to hit the side with its spinning disc, but Pika 2 reversed away. Pika 2 moved back and forth, and Botwork landed another blow on the side. Pika 2 reversed, then drove into the spinning disc, pushing against Botwork, just before time ran out. Pika 2 was still mobile at the end of the battle, and the battle was sent to a Judge's decision.

"Oh, how terrible I find this, that little one on the controls is seeing his father’s work die in the flames! Such DRAMA!"

— Eric Corton (translated from Dutch)

Pika 2 is chased by Botwork

Pika 2 burns on the Flame Pit

Despite this, the outcome of the battle was fairly clear, and Pika 2 lost the Judge's decision to Botwork.

"Unfortunately, Pika II had already delivered so many blows that no matter how this match would turn out, we would be left with an almost non-functional robot. Our last fight was also this group final against Botwork, what's in the name. This box with a horizontal disk was just too strong for a badly damaged pika II. Our bone got stuck on the flame iron, causing the batteries and some other plastic to have a very hard time. The result was a steaming pile of scrap from which fortunately the electronics were still saved. Yes, fighting in robot wars is not just something you do, experience and learning from mistakes is what counts! Anyway, on to the battles of 2002!"

— Team VHS Robots website (translated from Dutch)

Nevertheless, by reaching the Heat Final, Pika 2 became the best-performing Belgian robot of the series, effectively making it the 'Belgian champion' over Philipper.

Rob Kamphues: "Your little toy was engulfed in flames... was it yours?"

Tim van Hek: "Yeah..."

Rob Kamphues: "Aww, should I buy you a new one?"

Tim van Hek: "Yeah!"

Rob Kamphues: "But will they then put it on the next robot?"

Tim van Hek: "No!"

— Part of the post-match interview following the Heat Final (translated from Dutch)

After the battle where Tim van Hek's Pikachu toy was burnt over the flame pit, Rob Kamphues jokingly offered to buy him a new one, before passing the job onto father Marco van Hek.

Rob Kamphues: "Are you angry or are you sad?"

Tim van Hek: "Angry (spoken more like 'angwy')"

Rob Kamphues: "Why?"

Tim van Hek: "I said to papa ‘you’re not allowed to do that’ but he did that anyway!"

Rob Kamphues: "Putting your toy on it?"

Tim van Hek: "Yeah!"

Rob Kamphues: "So then, papa should be the one to buy you a new toy."

Tim van Hek: "Yeah. He said he would."

Rob Kamphues: "Oh, good. Make him get three, then you can afford to lose a few next time."

— End of the post-match interview following the Heat Final (translated from Dutch)

Dutch Series 2

Competing in Heat E, Pika 3 was initially drawn against fellow Belgian team Reflex in the first round. However, Reflex withdrew from the battle, and it was replaced by a loanerbot driven by the Beaverbot team, Hoot.

Pika 3 rams Hoot into the Pit Release button

Pika 3 waited, as Hoot drove towards it with its bars spinning. Pika 3 charged at Hoot, but as it hit Hoot, Hoot moved out of the way, so Pika 3 drove past. Pika 3 sped across the arena, then turned around, whilst Hoot drove down by the bottom arena wall. Pika 3 drove at Hoot, but as Pika 3 tried to swerve into Hoot, Hoot moved out of the way. Hoot drove by a CPZ, and Pika 3 drove around it, avoiding the spinning bars. Hoot drove into the CPZ, and Pika 3 turned around and drove at it, but Hoot drove out of the way, then drove up the arena. Pika 3 chased after it, and Hoot drove down the arena. Pika 3 pursued it, but as it charged, it missed, and crashed into the arena wall. Pika 3 reversed and tried again, this time driivng at Hoot's side, stopping the spinning bars, then turned around. Pika 3 reversed into Hoot, pushing it against the pit release button, bending one of its spinning bars against the wall.

Pika 3 places Hoot onto the lip of the Pit

Pika 3 drove away for another attack, and Hoot could only spin around on the spot. Pika 3 drove back into Hoot, which turned to avoid the lifter. Pika 3 reversed to try another charge, but missed its charge and drove into the arena wall. Pika 3 reversed, turned, and got its lifter under Hoot and pushed it into Sir Killalot's CPZ. Hoot could not escape Sir Killalot's CPZ as it had lost drive on one side, and Sir Killalot grabbed it by one of the spinning bars, picked it up, then took it towards the centre of the arena. Sir Killot left it there, and Hoot continued to spin around on the spot. Pika 3 drove around so it was beside Hoot, lined itself up, then pushed Hoot by the edge of the pit. Hoot then turned over the edge of the pit, sending Pika 3 through to Round 2.

In round two, Pika 3 was against three part clusterbot √3², the second series in a row where Pika faced Jeroen van Lieverloo in the second round, alongside WJ Dijkstra and Alexander Russchen.

Pika 3 accelerates Elevation into an unoccupied CPZ

Refbot pushes Pika 3 out from under the angle grinder

Pika 3 started by waiting for the 3 parts of √3² to come towards it. As they drove across the arena, Pika 3 reversed a little, backing onto the flame jet, which it quickly drove off of. As Pika 3 waited for the 3 parts of √3² to come towards its, two parts of √3², Elevation and ODT-0.33, drove onto the disc of doom, and became stuck, until the disc started spinning, pushing them off. As the three parts of √3² came together, Pika 3 charged at them, pushing Elevation away from the other two and ramming it down to the bottom of the arena, into an empty CPZ. Pika 3 reversed out of the CPZ, backing onto the flame pit, but instead of quickly driving away, Pika 3 drove forwards a little, then reversed, as S.O.Xbot and ODT-0.33 approached it. S.O.Xbot and ODT-0.33 surrounded Pika 3, with ODT-0.33 getting behind it and S.O.Xbot getting in front, and Pika 3 rammed S.O.Xbot into the CPZ. Pika 3 reversed away, driving into the arena centre, and Matilda reversed into S.O.Xbot, hitting it with her flywheel and throwing it out of the arena and into the camera. However, due to being a three-part clusterbot, two thirds of √3² had to be immobilised in order for Pika 3 to win. Pika 3 drove into the pit release button, then reversed to the CPZ. Elevation and ODT-0.33 got besides Pika 3, with Elevation trying to get under the back of Pika 3 and lift, and Pika 3 drove into the arena wall as it tried to get away. Elevation and ODT-0.33 pinned Pika 3 against the wall, but Pika 3 was able to get away. Pika 3 drove up the arena and turned around, then drove around ODT-0.33. However, as it did so, it drove into an angle grinder, and its lifter became caught underneath. ODT-0.33 and Elevation got behind Pika 3 to prevent it from reversing out from the angle grinder, and Refbot came along and pushed Pika 3 free.

Pika 3 gets caught on Refbot's front

Pika 3 is swarmed by √3²

Pika 3 reversed, with ODT-0.33 and Elevation keeping besides it. Pika 3 tried driving away from them, but drove into Refbot as he drove past, and its lifter rode up Refbot's front wedge, leaving Pika 3 stuck. ODT-0.33 drove into Pika 3's side, allowing it to reverse off from Refbot, then Pika 3 drove towards Growler's CPZ. Pika 3 appeared to have lost drive on one side, and it drove back and forth, bumping into an angle grinder. Elevation drove at Pika 3 and tried to get under it, but Pika 3 reversed, so Elevation missed. Pika 3 backed into Growler, who pushed it, allowing Pika 3 to face Elevation. Pika 3 pushed Elevation across the arena, into Matilda's CPZ, but nearly drove into her flywheel as it did so. Elevation got under Pika 3's lifter and pushed back, then turned away. Pika 3 could only move back and forth, and ODT-0.33 drove into its side, pushing it to the arena wall. Pika 3 reversed, backing over a flame jet, then drove up the arena. Elevation got under the side and lifted Pika 3 up, holding its wheels off the floor until ODT-0.33 bumped into it, allowing Pika 3 to slide off the lifter. Pika 3 reversed, then pushed past Elevation, driving to the top arena wall. Elevation got beside it, and as Pika 3 tried to get away, ODT-0.33 got underneath it and pushed it against the wall, pinning it there until time ran out, whilst Elevation got behind Pika 3, flicking it with its lifter. The battle went to the judges who ruled in favour of √3², eliminating Pika 3.

"Pika III is a fun and especially powerful bot, but the design is mainly taken from Tornado. During our recordings there were also recordings for the English RW series 6, where Tornado was also present. They didn't really like that we had taken their idea (not even for a series from another country), which is actually true. OK. Then we'll make another design for 2003, won't we?"

— Team VHS-Robots after Series 2 of Robot Wars: The Dutch Battles

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 3
• Losses: 3

Series Record

Dutch Series

Dutch Series	Pika Series Record
Series 1	Heat Final (Pika 2)
Series 2	Heat, Round 2 (Pika 3)

UK Series

Series	Pika 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 with Caesar
Series 8	Not selected with Brutus
Series 9	Entered with Cobra
Series 10	World Series with Cobra

Gallery

The frame of Pika 2

Pika 2 during construction

Pika 2 during construction, from the back

The motors of Pika 3

Pika 3 without its armour

Outside Robot Wars

Prior to Dutch Series 2, Pika 3 made its first appearance at the Dutch Robot Games in 2001, although it was not working on the day and did not fight. Before Pika 3 fought √3² on television, Pika 3 fought WJ Dijkstra's section of the clusterbot, Elevation, at a live event held in Marienheem. Pika 3 had not been painted at this stage, although it still featured a plush Pikachu.

Pika 3 at the Dutch Robot Games in 2001

Pika 3 battles Elevation in 2002

In 2019, Pika 3's drive motors were carried over to the team's new middleweight, Brutus Jr. For more information on the team's excursions outside of Robot Wars, see Team Rubbish.

Trivia

"Then again, Pika doesn’t seem to be all that great a listener! During testing back at home, a part flew through the roof, and Pika 2 also smashed its creator’s wall!"

— Eric Corton on the testing of Pika 2 (translated from Dutch)

The message on the underside of Pika 2

• Pika is the second competitor to use a Japanese video game/anime character as a mascot. The others were Killerhurtz, with Charmander (also from Pokémon) and Destructosaur, with the Digimon Greymon.
  • It is the only robot named after a Japanese video game/anime character.
• Pika was sponsored by Slikker Kartracing, Trespa International Weert NL, Harry Mostard BV and Van Kappel Weert. The team used Trespa-Meteon for their prototypes and for the internals of Pika I, Harry Mostard BV provided the aluminium exterior plate, and the team bought the 4 Iskra's 12v 1000W and the 4 Hawker batteries from Van Kappel Weert.
• Pika 2 had the message Please flip me back, I don't like it written on the underside of its chassis.
• Pika 3 was given its first test on June 3, 2002. The robot was driven for 40 minutes, then tested by pulling a car, which it managed to do all on one set of batteries.

External Links

• Team VHS Robots website (Archived)
• Team A.D.H.D. website (Archived)