Ill-Tempered Mutt is a robot which was selected as a reserve for Series 9 of Robot Wars, entered by Team Underdog. However, the team would decline the position after a speed controller in the robot failed.[1]. Ill-Tempered Mutt would later attempt to enter Series 10, but was not selected to compete in any capacity.
The robot was originally built as Hit Man, which attempted to qualify for Series 4 before Team Legion purchased the machine in 2016.
Design[]
The 'face' end of Ill-Tempered Mutt
Ill-Tempered Mutt uses a thwackbot-style design, featuring a large 'tail' wedge. Within the wedge is a red circular saw, which connects with other robots when Ill-Tempered Mutt spins in place. The other end of the robot features a steep wedge where the robot's 'face' is found, and two spikes. It is two-wheel driven, making the robot invertible, and mixes metal with polycarbonate for armour.
Ill-Tempered Mutt is driven by two Bosch motors, with a 2-stage chain drive gearbox, powered by LiPo batteries and a RageBridge 2 ESC. Additional LiPo batteries also power the Roboteq ESC and Turnigy brushless motor behind the robot's circular saw. A TZ85 ESC controls the lifter's linear actuator.
Etymology[]
The name Ill-Tempered Mutt was inspired by a robot of the same name which competed in the second season of Robotica.
- "And yes, we were inspired by the robot of the same name from Robotica 2.0. There needs to be more canine machines"
- — Matt Robinson on Facebook
Series Record[]
Ill-Tempered Mutt with Matt Robinson
| Series | Ill-Tempered Mutt Series Record |
|---|---|
| Series 1-7 | Did not enter |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Unused reserve |
| Series 10 | Not selected |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Following on from Ill-Tempered Mutt not being selected to compete in Series 10, and the team being unable to enter the April 2017 Extreme Robots Manchester event, Team Underdog elected to sell it through a post published on the Fighting Robots Association (FRA) forums. This quickly attracted interest from various roboteers, including Team Death and the current owners of PC Plod, though its high asking price was criticised and the robot remained in possession of Team Underdog for some time after.[2]
Ill-Tempered Mutt was sold to The Scrappers, the owners of PC Plod, on 14 January 2018 with the hope of returning it to the arena before the end of the year.
Damage to the polycarbonate of Ill-Tempered Mutt, caused by Thor
Ill-Tempered Mutt competed at the Extreme Robots event held in Maidstone, in October 2018. The Scrappers opted to not enter the main competition, instead only competing in whiteboard fights. They also chose to operate without the circular saw, due to an issue with ESC reliability. Over the course of the event Ill-Tempered Mutt took part in six rumbles, being tossed into the pit twice by Eruption, out of the arena twice by Manta, stuck into the arena door once by Manta, and having the top panel shattered by Thor.
Ill-Tempered Mutt at RoboNerd in August 2019
The Scrappers brought Ill-Tempered Mutt to RoboNerd in August 2019 alongside PC Plod. It took almost a year for Ill-Tempered Mutt to return to the arena, at the Extreme Robots event in Colchester, in September 2019. Competing for Team Eruption, Ill-Tempered Mutt got unlucky in the draw over the weekend, being placed twice against Thor. Ill-Tempered Mutt entered the arena upside down in both of these instances, in order to avoid a repeat of Maidstone 2018, however, Thor's axe dented the bottom panel enough to twist the drive gears, jamming a chain in both fights, leading to quick immobilisation in both fights.
References[]
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