Julie-Bot was a lightweight robot which competed exclusively in the 1994 US Robot Wars competition. The first of several robots built and entered by Will Wright, founder of video game developer Maxis, it would win the inaugural Lightweight Face-Off championship upon defeating Andy Roid in the final.[1] Julie-Bot would also compete in the one-off Escort event and the inaugural Lightweight Melee, losing the latter to Bloodletter.
Design[]
Julie-Bot was a wedge-shaped robot with two drive wheels and a smaller castor wheel underneath the wedge lip. As weaponry, it was equipped with a 'sharpened jackhammer spike' at the flat end to ram and impale opponents.[1] The robot's aluminum[2] body incorporated additional foam padding as shock absorption, also placed at the flat end.
Unusually, the top of Julie-Bot had a disembodied doll's head, decorated with orange and purple 'war paint', facing in the same direction as the wedge shape. The head, from the "Julie" doll produced by defunct toymaker Worlds of Wonder, was capable of speaking random pre-programmed phrases. Will Wright explained that the head on top of Julie-Bot was a 'decoy', intended to distract opponents from damaging the robot's main chassis and components.[1][3][4]
Robot History[]
1994 US Championship[]
Julie-Bot first fought Slow-Mo in the Lightweight Championship. Slow-Mo charged around the arena and slammed Julie-Bot from behind causing it to bounce. As Julie-Bot adjusted itself it went in and slammed into Slow-Mo. The two robots ran around the arena, chasing each other until Slow-Mo uncontrollably charged straight forwards into the arena side wall where it immobilized itself.
In the second round, Julie-Bot faced Pain Mower. Currently no information exists on this battle other than Julie-Bot winning the fight over Pain Mower.
In the final, Julie-Bot faced Andy Roid. The final began with Andy Roid darting across the arena only for Julie-Bot to ram the side of Andy Roid, almost toppling the robot. Not much else is known about the battle other than Julie-Bot winning the fight over Andy Roid.
Julie-Bot also competed in some extra events, the first being the "Escort" where it was challenged to protect a White Drone and escort it from one side of the arena to the other and avoid House Robot who patrolled the arena and attacked the White Drone or competitor. Here, both Julie-Bot and the White Drone sped off side by side before being approached by House Robot who darted out and attacked Julie-Bot. Distracted, the White Drone reached the end but Julie-Bot was flipped upwards by House Robot which managed to knock it out.
The last event Julie-Bot competed in was the lightweight melee where it was one of eight robots. Here it fought Andy Roid, Pain Mower,Spiny Norman, Bloodletter and Zomo. Zomo was immobile from the start as Andy Roid made a fatal driving error and drove into a mousetrap, toppling it over. Meanwhile Bloodletter, Julie-Bot and Spiny Norman attacked one another as Bloodletter span up to speed but managed to spin its body due to gyroscopic instability. Eventually, an attack from Bloodletter caused Julie-Bot to become immobile on one side as it fought Spiny Norman alone, with both machines tentatively backing up and slamming into each other.
Results[]
| JULIE-BOT - RESULTS | ||
| 1994 US Championship | ||
| Lightweight Face-Off Champion | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Slow-Mo | Won |
| Round 2 | vs. Pain Mower | Won |
| Final | vs. Andy Roid | Won |
| Escort Successful | ||
| Escort | Drone Survived | Successful |
| Lightweight Melee Lost | ||
| Lightweight Melee | vs. Andy Roid, Pain Mower,Spiny Norman, Bloodletter, Zomo | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 3
- Losses: 1
Honours[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'ROBOT WARS ® Photos -- 1994 Winners', US Robot Wars website (archived February 2 1999)
- ↑ 'Robot Wars '94: The Story of Slow-Mo', Marc Bloch, reproduced on the Klaas Langhout website (archived)
- ↑ Brad Stone (2003), Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports', p.43
- ↑ 'next step', compilation of Next Step segments on the 1994 US Robot Wars event uploaded by garth knight (YouTube), March 1 2009
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