- "After last years defeat, Marc Bloch decided to work with his brother on another machine, leaving me to work a'la solo on an entry. Luckily, Jim came to my rescue. We decided early on to work on two entries: an enhancement of Slomo (Slomo II), and, an entirely new machine: Grendel. While Slomo would be simple, Grendel was to be our focus, our attempt to demand respect."
- — Klaas Langhout on his planned dual entry into Robot Wars 1995[1]
Grendel was a middleweight robot which attended the 1995 US Robot Wars competition. A second machine captained by Klaas Langhout, it was intended to participate alongside his redesigned super lightweight (featherweight) Slomo II. Difficulties with last-minute repairs in the pits forced Grendel to drop out of the competition altogether, with Slomo II being Langhout's only representative for the 1995 championships.[1]
Design[]
Limited information is available on Grendel's planned design. Descriptions from Klaas Langhout's website indicate that it was to be powered by an internal combustion engine, with its weapon being a pair of 'linear actuated jaws'. At one stage, it was intended that Grendel was to be completed as a walker, though the idea was ditched after a running prototype proved too slow. Grendel's internal layout also included a custom, albeit 'wonky' steering system, though this would prove instrumental in it withdrawing from the 1995 competition.[1]
Etymology[]
Grendel is likely to have been named after the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, with one such character in the poem being called Grendel.
Robot History[]
1995 US Championship[]
According to an entry list obtained by Team Minus Zero, Grendel was classified as a middleweight entry for the 1995 competition.[2] Alongside Slomo II, it arrived at San Francisco for initial weigh-ins without apparent incident.[1]
During assembly, it was discovered that Grendel's steering mechanism had been damaged in transit. Attempts by Klaas Langhout to repair the mechanism were unsuccessful, with the jaws also found to be 'over stressing' their mounting points. Langhout spent a total of four hours trying to repair Grendel for combat, only to withdraw it from the competition entirely. Though Grendel would not appear in any other Robot Wars event, Slomo II would compete in the 1995 Super Lightweight tournaments and be continuously updated for subsequent years.[1]
References[]
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