Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe
Participation Information
UK Series	2
Team Information
Team	Team Ivanhoe
Team Members	Stuart Weightman Craig Weightman
From	Thorpe Marriott, Norwich
Other Entries	Splinter (Series 4-5, Extreme 1)
Robot Statistics
Weight	79.5kg
Dimensions	1.05m x 0.70m x 0.65m
Clearance	25mm
Top Speed	6mph
Power	2 x 12V batteries
Drive	Wheelchair motors
Weapons	Lance & axe
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"From the world of medieval jousting comes the motorised knight's helmet!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Ivanhoe was the robot entered by Team Ivanhoe in Series 2 of Robot Wars. Ivanhoe progressed all the way to the Arena Final in its Heat, but it was defeated by G.B.H. at this stage.

The team later entered the more successful Splinter in Series 4, 5 and Extreme 1.

Design

"We watched it last year and decided to have a go. (Craig kept on at me until I gave in.)"

— Stuart Weightman on entering Robot Wars

Official image of Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe was built from plastic, in the shape of a knight's helmet complete with visor, with a lance and a sharpened axe at the front, capable at chopping at one blow a second. It took 4 months to build, cost £250 and was driven by wheelchair motors.

"Powered by two wheelchair motors. 2 x 12volt batteries. Axe was operated by a windscreen wiper motor. R/C equipment was Skysport 4 channel. Constructed mostly from junk in our garage."

— The Ivanhoe website

Ivanhoe in the arena

Ivanhoe's internals

Team Ivanhoe were notably the first robot team to discuss the concept of self-righting on the show, out of only three to do so in Series 2. They claimed Ivanhoe had the (then fairly exceptional) ability to be able to self right when flipped. Ivanhoe's curved body shape would theoretically roll it back onto its wheels when it got turned over, acting as a passive srimech. Team Captain Stuart Weightman demonstrated this design in the pits, although it became clear that Ivanhoe needed a small push to get back onto its wheels, or at least a strong enough flip to right it. Consequently, Ivanhoe's srimech failed to right it when it was flipped in the Heat Final, as G.B.H.'s flip was rather weak. The first UK robot to officially self right was Cassius, which did so in the Semi-finals of Series 2. It was narrowly over the Heavyweight limit at the time.

"The body design was supposed to allow Ivan to roll back on to his wheels should he get tipped over. But, with last minute changes to lose weight and other modifications it didn`t quite work out how we expected. As seen on TV Ivanhoe was a tad top heavy and didn`t roll back on his wheels as he had been doing whilst we were building him. This will be rectified before the next show."

— The Ivanhoe website

The Team

Ivanhoe and its team

Ivanhoe was the first robot from Team Ivanhoe, who would later find success on Robot Wars with their second robot Splinter, a semi-finalist in Series 4. Ivanhoe was entered by a Norwich-based father-and-son team of Stuart and Craig Weightman, with the young son driving Ivanhoe.

Qualification

Ivanhoe qualified for the Second Wars by attending the auditions and passing relevant safety checks.

Ivanhoe 2, which failed to qualify for Series 3

A second generation Ivanhoe called Ivanhoe 2 was built for Series 3, but was not selected to compete.

"Faster, and will be able to overcome the difficulties we experience last year: ie. Not rolling back onto its wheels as it should have and getting stuck on a side of a ramp."

— The Ivanhoe team on their plans for Ivanhoe 2

Robot History

Series 2

Ivanhoe completes the Gauntlet

In the Gauntlet, Ivanhoe showed good strength to break down the brick wall in one hit, but it got stuck on the ramp, but was accidentally nudged free by the House Robots. It outmanoeuvred the House Robots at the end and crossed the finishing line in the quickest time.

Ivanhoe resists Matilda

Ivanhoe weighed the maximum weight of 80 kilograms and had had the air let out of its tyres to give it maximum surface area for traction. Ivanhoe seemed to match Matilda until it was finally pulled in after 22 seconds. This was the second-best score in the Trial round.

Kill Dozer lifts Ivanhoe up

In the Arena stage, it was drawn against Kill Dozer. Its opponent managed to lift Ivanhoe early into the fight but found itself unable to push or do anything else so were forced to let Ivanhoe go. Ivanhoe pushed Kill Dozer into the PPZ where it was set upon by Sir Killalot who dangled it over the flame pit and then dropped it into the pit.

G.B.H. flips Ivanhoe over

Ivanhoe is pitted by G.B.H.

Into the Heat Final against Team Joint Effort's G.B.H., Ivanhoe was quickly turned over by G.B.H.'s scoop. Ivanhoe was meant to roll back onto its wheels, but not enough momentum had been gained so it didn't roll, thus eliminating Ivanhoe from the competition. G.B.H. then pushed Ivanhoe into the pit as the show's credits rolled.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

NOTE: Ivanhoe's successful Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included

Series Record

Ivanhoe being painted

Main Series	Ivanhoe Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Heat Final
The Third Wars	Failed to qualify as Ivanhoe 2 Failed to qualify with Splinter
The Fourth Wars	Entered with Splinter
The Fifth Wars	Entered with Splinter
The Sixth Wars	Failed to qualify with Splinter
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter
Robot Wars Extreme	Appearances
Series 1	Entered with Splinter
Series 2	Did not enter

NOTE: Splinter failed to qualify for the Seventh Wars, but this was under ownership of Team RCC

External Links

• Ivanhoe website (archived)