Fuzzy was a featherweight robot which competed exclusively in the 1997 US Robot Wars competition. Entered by Cassidy Wright - who had previously fought in the category with Fuzzy Yum Yum and Triple Redundancy - it would lose its opening Featherweight Face-Off battle to redesigned veteran Spiny Norman.[3][4] Within the Loser's Bracket, Fuzzy collected a win against Slomo IV, but would be eliminated altogether by Red 2 in its next fight.[5][6][7][8] Fuzzy made an additional appearance in the Featherweight Melee, but would not progress beyond the opening round.[9][10]
Design[]
Fuzzy was a two-wheel drive robot loosely themed to a gray cat, with 'eyes', 'whiskers' and hazard stripes applied in black. Its dome-shaped shell was claimed to be repurposed from an aluminum mixing bowl, with an aluminum baseplate and substantial layers of packing foam on the inside (light blue) and outside (gray). Fuzzy's drive was provided by a pair of Makita cordless power drills, running in conjunction with a Vantec speed controller, which were themselves cushioned by the inner foam.[2][11]
Fuzzy's main weapons were a pair of long chain flails, one attached to each side. At the tip of each flail was a large metal weight, with which Fuzzy would strike opponents through sit-and-spin tactics. According to Will Wright, Cassidy's father, Fuzzy itself was capable of spinning the chains at an equivalent of around 300rpm.[11] Gray plastic tubing was initially attached to the chains to stop them from getting underneath the robot. However, as they proved liable to detaching mid-battle, the covers would be replaced with duct tape following Fuzzy's debut match.[2]
Robot History[]
1997 US Championship[]
Fuzzy initially competed in the 1997 Featherweight Face-Off, where it faced the redesigned Spiny Norman in the opening round. This formed half of the third set of 'Dual Matches', alongside C3 vs Bad Monkey.
From the start, Fuzzy spun around to get its chain flails to speed, but was repeatedly interrupted as Spiny Norman began ramming it. Though managing to strike the featherweight veteran multiple times, it was unable to inflict major damage while the latter struggled to push it around beyond a very short distant. Both robots frequently collided with each other, the impacts eventually causing one of Fuzzy's chain covers to detach. A ram from Spiny Norman pushed the cover directly underneath Fuzzy, leaving it beached off the arena floor for several seconds. The Judges asked for signs of movement from Fuzzy, which started twitching and regained mobility with just over thirty seconds left.[3][4]
During the closing moments, Fuzzy was rammed again by Spiny Norman, whose hedgetrimmer also began scuffing its exterior foam segments. While mobile at the time the match concluded, it was ultimately deemed to have lost by knockout.[3][4]
Fuzzy was therefore consigned to the Loser's Bracket, where it fought its next battle against Klaas Langhout and Slomo IV. To prevent a repeat of its earlier loss, the plastic tubes originally used for the chain flails were substituted for duct tape.[2]
Fuzzy again started by trying to hit Slomo IV with its flails. However, it would soon be shoved around by Slomo IV, which also drove underneath it with its own front wedge shape at various moments. Fuzzy was on the back foot during these early moments, but benefited from a costly error by Slomo IV, which suffered terminal chassis damage upon driving close to and getting swatted by the upper-left flipper. Fuzzy initially held back, then approached and used its flails to batter Slomo IV, as the latter lay immobile. Seconds later, Slomo IV began twitching and circling around on its right-hand side.[5][6]
Fuzzy perservered, continuing to pressure Slomo IV while taking a whack from the arena flipper. Slomo IV eventually lost all mobility; Fuzzy spun around as it was soon declared the winner.[5][6]
In its next Loser's Bracket appearance, Fuzzy squared up against another returning veteran - 1996 Face-Off runner-up Red 2.
Fuzzy is collected by Red 2 early on
Within the opening seconds, it was briefly tossed into the air by Red 2's initial drive. Fuzzy landed upright, weathering further rams from Jon Knoll's machine as it again tried to make use of its flail weaponry. Moments later, however, it lost the use of one of its drive motors shortly after, leaving Fuzzy unable to drive beyond its own circumference as Red 2 again drove underneath. One of its chains, however, caused Red 2 to get high-centered while trying to escape. Both robots were effectively locked together, prompting the match to be paused.[7][8]
Once separated, Fuzzy remained partially immobile, as Red 2 proceeded to scoop and ram it into the right-hand wall. From there, it was unable to drive out of the corner, and thus vulnerable to further rams from Red 2. Another stoppage was called, however, when Red 2 got itself caught on the nearby plywood 'curb'. Upon the match restarting for the second time, Fuzzy continued to be rammed by Red 2. Following these attacks, and a swipe from the top-right flipper on both competitors, it lost mobility altogether. Red 2 was soon declared the winner by knockout, eliminating Fuzzy from the Featherweight Face-Off at that stage.[7][8]
Fuzzy would later battle against Red 2 again in the Featherweight Melee tournament. Both were drawn to fight each other in the first round, alongside Dough Boy, 1995 champion KMM, Red-Green and Sabotage.
In the opening seconds, Fuzzy immediately headed towards the center, collecting Red 2 with its right flail. As it began spinning, it also hit an approaching KMM, only to be scooped up and rammed once again by Red 2. Fuzzy then became the center of a five-way scrap, attempting to weather joint attacks by Dough Boy and Sabotage. For the second time, it used its flails to try and ward off KMM, only to find itself being shoved into the claws of Rik Winter's machine by a persistent Red 2. Fuzzy again tried to swing its flails around. However, Red 2 pushed it into KMM once again, the attack leaving Fuzzy completely immobilized. Fuzzy thus played no further part in the battle, and would be eliminated from the Featherweight Melee tournament as a direct result.[9][10]
Results[]
| FUZZY - RESULTS | ||
| 1997 US Championship | ||
| Featherweight Face-Off Eliminated in Loser's Bracket, Round 2 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Spiny Norman | Lost |
| Loser's Bracket, Round 1 | vs. Slomo IV | Won |
| Loser's Bracket, Round 2 | vs. Red 2 | Lost |
| Featherweight Melee Round 1 | ||
| Melee, Round 1 | vs. Dough Boy, KMM, Red 2, Red-Green, Sabotage | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 3
Series Record[]
| Events | Fuzzy Event Record |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Did not enter |
| 1995 | Entered with Fuzzy Yum Yum |
| 1996 | Entered with Triple Redundancy |
| 1997 | Featherweight Face-Off, Loser's Bracket, Round 2 Featherweight Melee, Round 1 |
The above record reflects that of Cassidy Wright only.
References[]
- ↑ 'Contestants: Featherweight Class', 4th Annual Robot Wars (1997) souvenir programme, p.2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 'FUZZY', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 'MATCH: SPINY NORMAN VS FUZZY', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 'Robot Wars 1997: Featherweight Dual Match 3', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded April 14 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 'Robot Wars 1997 Featherweight match: Fuzzy versus Slomo 4', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 3 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 'MATCH: FUZZY VS SLOMO IV', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 'Robot Wars 1997 Featherweight match: Fuzzy versus Red 2', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 4 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 'MATCH: RED 2 VS FUZZY', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 'Robot Wars 1997 Featherweight Melee 3', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 11 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 'FEATHERWEIGHT MELEE ROUND 3', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 'Robot Wars 1997 Interview: Will Wright with Fuzzy and Bob Smith', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 1 2021
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