Lifting scoops

Lifting scoops
Behemoth throws Apollo over
Weapon Category	Lifting weapons
Robots
Pioneer(s)	Arsenic, Gladiator Rodney, The General, Up & Over (1996 US competition) Barry (televised series)
Notable Robots	Behemoth, G.B.H., Panzer Mk4, Shockwave
House Robots	Shunt

Lifting scoops are a type of lifting weapon found in Robot Wars. They are a variation of conventional lifters with a shovel-type blade, often providing a wider and/or taller surface area to lift and tip robots over.

The first robots to feature these weapons in televised versions were Series 1 competitor Barry and - from Series 2 onwards - House Robot Shunt. Among the most notable and successful scoop-wielding robots include long-time UK Series veteran and Series 10 Grand Finalist Behemoth; Series 2 Semi-Finalist G.B.H.; Series 8 Grand Finalist Shockwave and US Season 2 champion Panzer Mk4.

Prior to televised series, the lifting scoop was first pioneered at the 1996 US competition, adopted by no fewer than four competing robots. Among these were featherweight Arsenic - profiled in the American Robot Wars 1996 VHS - and Autonomous champion Gladiator Rodney. In some cases, even smaller-sized lifters were occasionally described as 'scoops' during this era, especially if the weapon had a curved, angled or forked blade. Examples of the latter include the four-bar lifting arm of 1996-1997 heavyweight champion BioHazard; builder Carlo Bertocchini specifically applied the term to its spring-loaded front plates.

Definition

Shunt lifts King Buxton with his scoop

• A lifting scoop differs from a static scoop in that it is designed to move through a pneumatic, hydraulic, electric or even a spring-loaded mechanism. Many static scoops existed as auxiliary or even primary weapons (such as the one used by Scutter's Revenge) but did not possess lifting capabilities. Therefore, they are classified as Ramming blades.
• They are designed to lift or tip opponents over in the same way as lifters, rather than launching or throwing them over a long distance like flippers. However, some scoop-wielding robots are powerful enough to flip opponents completely over, such as Barbaric Response, the Series 5 version of Diotoir and the Series 8-10 version of Behemoth.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

Behemoth overturns General Carnage

Panzer Mk4 lifts Tricerabot 3.0 during the US Season 2 final

Behemoth's scoop and axe demonstrate their synergy on Stinger

• Because of their large surface area and usually shovel-like design, scoops are easily able to lift and tip over other robots. Behemoth's performances, especially in Series 3 and 4, are indicative of this.
• By being able to lift opponents off the entire floor, they could simultaneously remove the robot's resistance to being pushed by removing one or more of its wheels/tracks off the arena floor, especially through side-on attacks. Shunt was able to demonstrate this capability multiple times, especially in the Sumo Basho side competition held during Series 4, as did Behemoth, Diotoir, Panzer Mk4 and Shockwave on various occasions.
• Scoops can offer an effective weapons synergy in tandem with overhead weapons such as axes and hammers, or even vertical crushers. Shunt famously used his scoop to free his axe on numerous occasions, while Behemoth once used its axe and scoop to simultaneously catch, lift and carry Stinger around the arena during their Extreme 1 Challenge Belt battle.
• Even when they are not used to lift opponents, scoops are ideal pushing weapons due to their shovel-like blades and ability to breach even low ground clearances. Shunt, Behemoth, Panzer Mk4 and Diotoir all demonstrated this quality on various occasions.
• When lowered, lifting scoops offer the robot a great deal of protection against front-on collisions with spike or spinning weapons. Behemoth was especially notable in that it was able to deflect blows from Hypno-Disc and PP3D's flywheels using its bucket and angled scoops respectively, contributing towards its victories against both machines.

Disadvantages

Diotoir lies on its side and in flames after getting flipped by Firestorm 3

Razer crumples Behemoth's scoop in the Extreme 1 All-Stars

• Being generally smaller than other lifting or flipping weapons, lifting scoops are not usually effective as self-righting mechanisms compared to other types. Only a handful of scoop-wielding robots have a self-righting capability; either through the weapon itself (Barbaric Response, the Series 8-10 version of Behemoth), or additional mechanisms (e.g. Behemoth's side arms).
• Despite their larger surface area, they still have a very narrow attack range, requiring the scoop to get fully underneath opponents from the front in order for them to work effectively. Behemoth's loss against Crushtacean in Series 5 partially resulted from it being unable to attack the latter from the front without being turned onto its back.
• They are vulnerable to being damaged by overhead weapons or sustained attacks from spinning weapons. Behemoth's bucket scoop, for example, was damaged by Razer's crusher, Shunt's axe and the spinning weapons of Disc-O-Inferno and Carbide at various points throughout its appearances. Meanwhile, in Series 8, Shockwave's HDPE scoop was gradually destroyed by Thor's axe, after it was used to absorb the latter's axe blows during their Head to Head battle.

List of Robots with Lifting Scoops

Robots are listed alphabetically.

DESKTOP MODE ONLY: Robots which are not heavyweight competitors are listed with a green background. House Robots are listed with a gold background. Robots from the 1994-1997 US competitions are listed with a purple background.

Robot	Series Appearances with Scoops	Notes	Image
Anty B	Extreme 1-2	Extreme 2 Antweight champion. Essentially an antweight version of Behemoth.
Arsenic	1996 US Championship	Featherweight; one of the first combat robots to feature a lifting scoop. Rear forklift-style weapon described as a 'scooper' by builder Steven J. Winter; featured three ground-scraping forks at its tip.	Arsenic (background) raises its scoop during its Featherweight Melee match
Barry	Series 1	First UK competitor to feature this weapon, predating its adoption by House Robot Shunt. Scoop was pneumatically-powered and suspended from the chassis with springs. Maximum travel of only 60mm according to Oliver Steeples. Weight comparable to a super heavyweight entry.
Behemoth	Series 2-10, Extreme 1-2	Only scoop-wielding robot to hoist opponents out of the arena. Combined with an axe between Series 5-7. Capable of acting as a srimech in Series 8-10, where the weapon was usually referred to as a low-pressure flipper. The regular titanium bucket scoop was made interchangeable with a set of grabbing arms and two aluminium anti-spinner ploughs in Series 9-10. Third Place finisher in Series 10 and First World Championship runner-up.
Corporal Punishment	Series 2-3	Only robot made by Adam Clark to compete in more than one UK series.
Coyote	Series 10	Used an interchangeable lifting shovel in addition to the lifting/grabbing jaws first used in Series 9.	Coyote in The Pits with its lifting scoop fitted
Diotoir	Series 5, Extreme 1-2	Powered by a spring-loaded mechanism, replaced an earlier lifting arm. Extreme 1 Tag Team Terror champion along with Pussycat.
Foxic	Series 8-9	The Series 8 version had a wedge-like scoop which could either be attached to the end of a lifting arm, or mounted separately. A thicker wedge-like scoop was made as one of three attachments for the Series 9 version's lifting arm - along with a lifting 'head' and a set of hooks - but was never seen on television.	The Series 8 Foxic with its arm-mounted wedge scoop
G.B.H.	Series 2, 6	Original version had a front-mounted pneumatic scoop capable of lifting 12 stone. GBH 2 featured a rear scoop-like flipper, again pneumatically-powered, which was used alongside a forward-facing front-hinged flipping arm. Series 2 Semi-Finalist under its original incarnation.	The original Series 2 incarnation of G.B.H.
Gladiator Rodney	1996 US Championship	1996 Autonomous Champion. Consisted of a hinged aluminium panel operated by a gearmotor, which was also designed to accommodate an optional chainsaw weapon. Replaced by the chainsaw itself for its 1997 incarnation (Gladiator Rodney II).
Immortalis	Series 5	Pneumatic three-sided plough.
Kill Dozer	Series 2	Large front hydraulic scoop, which featured several spikes and could lift in excess of 12 stone.
Leighviathan	Series 2	Referred to as a lifting type by Oliver Steeples, who noted the front-mounted weapon as being 'inefficient' in competition.
Lightning Tracks	US Season 2	Angled lifting plate at the back of the robot, powered by a linear actuator. Referred to as a 'flipper' on the robot's statistics board.
Malfunktion	Series 3	Robotic Soccer competition only.
Onslaught	Series 3-5	Originally, the scoop was a static weapon, being converted into a pneumatically-operated lifting type from Series 3 onwards. A front-hinged self-righting mechanism was added to the top of the scoop in Series 4, along with a revised pneumatics system. Quoted lifting capacity of 140kg in Series 3, later being shown to lift greater weights than this in combat. Series 4 Southern Annihilator runner-up.
Panzer Mk4	US Season 2	Pneumatic scoop was intended to offer the robot an adjustable ground clearance, rather than to flip other robots as with its earlier incarnation, Panzer Mk2. US Season 2 Champion.
Piece de Resistance	Series 2	Flexible front scoop with a blade originally sourced from a snow shovel.
Pressure	Extreme 2	Featured front and rear lifting scoops, two of five C02 powered weapons.
Rampage 2	Series 7	Featherweight. Referred to as an 'electric-powered flipper' by Jonathan Pearce.
Shapeshifter	Dutch Series 2	Pneumatically-powered scoop mounted at the front.
Shark Attack	Series 3	Outer edges were modelled on a shark's head; the bucket scoop also featured a spiked lip made out of several sharpened hedge-trimmer blades.
Shockwave	Series 8	Features interchangeable scoops - including a wedged type and a shovel made out of HDPE panels - and 360 degrees of lifting range. Series 8 Grand Finalist.	Shockwave with its wedged scoop
Shunt	Series 2-10, Extreme 1-2, US Seasons 1-2, Nickelodeon, Dutch Series 1-2, German Series	House Robot. Scoop was a secondary weapon in addition to his axe and front plough, with lifting capabilities introduced in Series 2. Series 8-10 iteration made out of 3mm HARDOX, capable of lifting up to 350kg.
Six Pac	Series 3	Pinball Competition only.
Storm Force	Series 5	Claimed to be powerful enough to lift a small car.
Suicidal Tendencies	Series 5, Extreme 1	Combined with a vertical crusher.
The General	1996 US Championship	Middleweight. Flat panel-like scoop, potentially capable of operating while inverted.
Track-tion	Series 10	Was lent Vulture's angled wedge by Team Immersion to protect the robot against spinning weapons. The wedge itself was attached to the actuator for the robot's usual crusher weapon, enabling it to function as a lifting scoop.	Track-tion with the lifting wedge loaned from Vulture
Up & Over	1996 US Championship	Middleweight. Weapon was designed with the intention of throwing opponents into an open 'box' at the back, with the aid of a metal tube 'hook' on the front-left corner. Robot was prone to toppling forwards while lifting opponents.
Velocirippa	Series 7	Spring-loaded front scoop, referred to as a 'flipper' on its Series 7 statistics boards. Replaced a set of ramming spikes which the second incarnation formerly used in Extreme 2.
Wolverine	Series 5	Angled lifting plough, capable of lifting railway sleepers.
Wyrm	Series 9	HARDOX lifting plate doubled as a 'spinner killer' wedge and fired forwards to function in a similar way to a front-hinged flipper. Weapon often referred to as a 'Sewer Snake' lifter due to its similarities to the weapon used by the highly successful American robot.
X-Terminator	Series 3-6, Extreme 1-2	Series 4 Semi-Finalist, used in tandem with a pneumatic axe (Series 3-6, Extreme 1-2) or flipping arm (Series 4 only). The scoop underwent several design changes throughout X-Terminator's appearances, and would later become a static weapon for its Series 7 incarnation.	X-Terminator in Series 6
Zeus	Series 3	Powered by a five-tonne airbag mechanism, capable of lifting a Ford Transit van.