Kill-O-Amp

Kill-O-Amp
Participation Information
US 1994-1997 Events	1997
Team Information
Team	Operation Boilermaker
Team Members	Curt Meyers Amy Sun
From	San Jose, California
Robot Statistics
Power	2-wheel electric drive
Weapons	Ramming Power
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Kill-O-Amp was a heavyweight robot from the 1997 US Robot Wars Championship where it got to the second round of main championship beating DooAll in a quick first round battle before losing to La Machine in the second. Curt Myers also competed in both the 1996 and 1997 middleweight competitions with Pokey.

Design

"There's no speed controllers, all it is is on and off, forward and reverse for each of the two motors, it drives like a tank and drives really fast."

— Amy Sun on Kill-O-Amp's design

Kill-O-Amp in the arena

Kill-O-Amp was a two wheeled box-shaped robot built from a percplex armour with aluminium borders. The robot featured no weapons and its control featured no speed controls instead it was built with a "tank controls" scheme, allowing the robot to ram into others at incredible speeds at the reduction of turning. The robot was powered by a Ford truck starter motors, connected to a deep cycle marine battery by golf cart relays

Etymology

"It's a pun on kiloamp which means a thousand amps and our motors draw a thousand amps."

— Amy Sun on Kill-O-Amp's name

The name is a pun on the word kiloamp which also references how much power is behind the motors of the robot.

Robot History

1997 US Championship

DooAll in pieces after a single ramming attack from Kill-O-Amp

In the first round of the heavyweight face-off, Kill-O-Amp faced DooAll. With its circular saw already up to speed, DooAll shuffled back and forth before the initial countdown, and proceeded to stand off against Kill-O-Amp in the center. Following a brief pause, Kill-O-Amp slammed into Scott LaValley's tracked entry, flinging the saw arm upwards and breaking the entire weapon off its mountings. Both of DooAll's tracks also split in this exchange, leaving it completely immobilized as it tried to drive away. While victorious, Kill-O-Amp lost a chain as well, forcing it to shuffle and spin on its left drive wheel. Upon pushing the discarded right track back into DooAll, Curt Meyers' rammer celebrated its victory with a few quick spins.

In the winner's bracket, second round, Kill-O-Amp faced La Machine. In this very short battle, La Machine collected the slower-starting Kill-O-Amp, before flipping it over with a sudden second charge. With no way of self-righting, Kill-O-Amp lied on its back as La Machine spun triumphantly and returned to its starting position.

Kill-O-Amp wasn't finished yet as it fought in the heavyweight melees. In its qualifier melee, Kill-O-Amp faced Hercules, The Landshark and Prometheus. The Landshark slowly trundled from the lower-right corner, turning around to face the wall and its approaching opponents. Kill-O-Amp, under pressure from Prometheus II, launched over the wedge shape of Hercules, which became sandwiched between The Landshark and Prometheus II. The collision damaged the lifter of Jim Smentowski's machine sufficiently for it to be rendered 'useless' at this early stage. Kill-O-Amp drove around the side of and began pushing Richard Brull's machine around in circles, collecting both of their opponents in the process.

All competitors converged near the center. Hercules attacked Kill-O-Amp's left wheel with its twin saws. Kill-O-Amp surged forwards, still pushing Prometheus II around, and suddenly stopped moving. Curt Meyers' machine spun around under further attacks from Hercules, after which it again stopped, and became immobilized after ejecting its own drive chains. The three remaining robots pulled away one-by-one; Prometheus II, itself suffering from power supply issues, backed up and stopped between Kill-O-Amp and The Landshark, which turned into its side. Hercules attempted to lift the immobile Kill-O-Amp, managing to hook and drag it back across the arena while bumping into both of its mobile opponents.

Kill-O-Amp lays immobile in the background as Hercules and Prometheus attack The Landshark

Prometheus II bumped the lifeless Kill-O-Amp as Hercules began a second lift. The two machines proceeded to gang up on The Landshark, which also rammed Kill-O-Amp before being rammed itself by Jim Smentowski's machine. As Hercules tried to battle The Landshark, with one of its sawblades also shattered, Prometheus II nudged Kill-O-Amp forwards, while firing its spike repeatedly in thin air. A very tentative phase saw The Landshark retreating to the lower perimeter. Hercules, in pursuit, rammed the front of The Landshark just as the spike trap removed one of the latter's front panels.

The Landshark lay motionless for several seconds, before charging at Hercules and pirouetting in the upper-left corner. Hercules rammed and chased The Landshark a few more times, while Prometheus II still struggled for mobility with Kill-O-Amp by its side. At the start of their next duel, The Landshark whacked Hercules with its tail, though Willis Wong's machine was unable to cause any significant damage. Hercules dodged the spike trap as it began chasing The Landshark once more, only for both robots to get caught by the lower-left flipper. A head-to-head collision left Hercules and The Landshark in a temporary embrace as the Melee entered its final minute.

Following another tentative series of events, Hercules, The Landshark and Prometheus II all met again in the inner-right perimeter. All three were deemed to be still mobile, though Prometheus II was 'retired' following this match. Despite having become immobilized for a substantial portion of the Melee, Kill-O-Amp was still chosen to qualify for the next round alongside Hercules and The Landshark.

In the Heavyweight melee final, Kill-O-Amp faced The Landshark again and Vlad the Impaler. Vlad the Impaler charged across the arena, lifting and stacking Kill-O-Amp against the entry/exit doors. The Landshark, meanwhile, spun on the spot in its corner, and was promptly flicked over by the forks of Gage Cauchois' machine. Vlad the Impaler backed away, turned and stopped near the center, marking an exceptionally quick knockout victory.

Results

Wins/Losses

Kill-O-Amp with its team

• Wins: 2
• losses: 2

Outside Robot Wars

Kill-O-Amp in the 1999 events and Season 1.0 of BattleBots

Kill-O-Amp in Season 2.0 and Season 3.0 of BattleBots

After the US Robot Wars events came to a close, Kill-O-Amp would go on to compete in BattleBots, receiving an upgrade with larger wheels and invertability. It first appeared in the 1999 events, in the 1999 Long Beach event it automatically won against Ronin and Mr Bonestripper, after the two withdrew, then it beat Crock in its first actual battle before losing to BioHazard and Razer in destructive fashion. In the 1999 Las Vegas event, Kill-O-Amp beat Blunt Force Trauma before losing the following round to Vlad the Impaler. In the Comedy Central show, Kill-O-Amp performed poorly, losing its first battle against Punjar in Season 1.0 and Son of Whyachi in Season 3.0, it only won a single match in Season 2.0 against Circuit Breaker before losing to Tazbot. After Season 3.0 Kill-O-Amp was retired.

External Links

• Kill-O-Amp (BattleBots Wiki)