Miss Struts

Miss Struts
Participation Information
UK Series	3
Team Information
Team	Team EyeEye
Team Members	Ian Inglis Kerry Inglis William Inglis
From	High Wycombe
Robot Statistics
Weight	136kg
Dimensions	0.80m x 1.00m x 0.90m
Power	4hp Briggs and Stratton Vanguard engine
Weapons	Spikes
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"We wanted to build another walker, but our aims with Miss Struts were a lot different to those for Jim Struts. We wanted Miss Struts to be within the heavyweight walker limit, and hence be in the main heavyweight competition. There was a big emphasis on keeping her weight within the rules. From the experience of Jim Struts we decided we liked the hydraulics, despite them being heavy and slow and difficult to control."

— Team EyeEye website

Miss Struts was the second walkerbot built by Team EyeEye for UK Robot Wars series. Like its predecessor, Jim Struts, it won its only televised battle, the first Walker Battle of Series 3.

Design

"For Miss Struts we started in February and finished her first evolution for the auditions at the end of May this represented about 400 hours of work. Since then we have being making minor changes which probably represents 200 hours of work."

— Ian Inglis on building his first two robots

Miss Struts in the arena

Miss Struts was a large, four-legged machine intended to comply with the 136kg weight limit for early UK heavyweight walkers. The robot was driven by hydraulic systems powered by a 4hp Briggs and Stratton Vanguard petrol engine, as previously installed in Jim Struts for its televised victory. Aluminium and polycarbonate were extensively used for the chassis, armour, reservoir tank and leg construction, which resulted in a boxy shape with a tapered top and base. The legs of Miss Struts were placed at each corner, supported by bungee cords for suspension and driven by top-mounted actuators, resulting in a much simpler and 'better balanced' design than the mechanisms used by Jim Struts.

In order to maintain good balance, Team EyeEye programmed two separate walking cycles for the robot, requiring two or three feet to be on the floor at certain times. The three foot sequence was intended to offer optimal balance and performance, along with a zero-degree turning circle, at the cost of slower speed. The two foot sequence, by comparison, had the added risk of Miss Struts tipping onto one side while in motion. Jim Struts' transmitter was repurposed for Miss Struts, with extra controls to account for the more complex walk cycles. Two PIC chips - a 16C73A and 16C77 - were used to decode receiver data and operate the leg mechanisms respectively.

During construction, Team EyeEye initially made Miss Struts' reservoir tank out of polycarbonate, though this was prone to leaking and small enough to cause the hydraulic oil to froth. Attempts to replace this with acrylic tanks - made out of macaroni jars - frequently resulted in the acrylic cracking due to vibrations caused by the petrol engine. A custom copper tank was eventually made ahead of Miss Struts' Series 3 appearance, with 'patches' soldered on to mitigate flex-induced fractures, and a drilled polycarbonate baffle plate inserted into the tank to cure the frothing oil issues.

Miss Struts was consistently decorated with custom-painted face panels, mock hair and hair curlers at the front. Ahead of Series 3, the bungee cords were also replaced and changes to the software made to improve general responsiveness and smoothness in the second walking programme. Pairs of yellow (front) and purple (back) boots were added above the main feet, which were supported by rubber stops at the base to provide extra grip on the arena floor. The stops were implemented following difficulties encountered at the Series 3 auditions (see Qualification), and fully adopted following successful trials at the Bledlow Ridge School Fete prior to filming. The Team EyeEye website listed Miss Struts' legs as capable of 'Lifting', 'Ramming' and 'Kicking' opponents. A further change seen in Series 3 was the addition of a triangular yellow beam to the base of the chassis, providing spiked rams at both ends.

For its attempted entry into Series 4, Miss Struts received various design improvements based on experiences gained after its time as Tina Treks. Changes included a more compact and secure reservoir tank, revised attachment points for the leg actuators and a more powerful 6hp engine. Each leg was fitted with a 'polycarbonate sleeve' to limit the risk of the bungee cord suspension being cut. An active weapon was also installed in the form of an electric forklift, driven by a winch mechanism, and extra polycarbonate top armour added to cover the leg ram sensors.

Qualification

Miss Struts initially attempted to enter Series 3 through attending the auditions held at the end of May 1999. Amidst stormy conditions - resulting in the studio car park being flooded - Team EyeEye arrived to register and carry out its weight and technical checks. Miss Struts' weight at the time was confirmed to be 123.1kg.

"We then fuelled her up and went over to the arena and waited our turn to give a demonstration. Our turn, we set Miss Struts up at the bottom of the ramp, started her up and tried walking her up the ramp. No luck, the feet just slipped on the ramp. Typical, at home we tried her with rubber feet on a loose surface and she would not walk, so took them off (Sounds like the opposite problem we had with Jim Struts and rubber toes). She walked fine on the hard surface and it looks like she would have gone up the ramp if we had the rubber toes on. We then walked her onto the wooden surface, but one of her feet got caught under the wooden board and we could not free it. We where then give permission to go and unhook her foot and carried on (would probable not have happened if the toes where fitted). We gave a demonstration of the fail safe when the transmitter is turned off. We walked her to the end of the arena, and demonstrated the left-right tilt and the front-back tilt. We where then asked to stop, so we manoeuvred her and put her legs in a position that makes her easier to put on her trolley. Killed the engine from the remote control, to be greeted by a round of applause."

— Team EyeEye's account of Miss Struts' Series 3 audition

During the audition itself, Miss Struts suffered multiple issues navigating the varying surfaces and gradients of the assault course. After slipping on the ramp, it ended up wedging one of its own feet under one of the wooden boards. Team EyeEye freed Miss Struts after being granted permission from Robot Wars staff; after this, they demonstrated its failsafe and tilting systems, along with further walking movements. Despite the difficulties encountered, Miss Struts was confirmed in June 1999 to have passed the first stage of the auditions. Further maintenance and revisions were made, some in response to feedback from Mat Irvine and Derek Foxwell. By September, Team EyeEye received notification that Miss Struts had not been selected for the main competition, but would instead participate in a Walker Battle and the Robotic Soccer side competition.

Miss Struts also attempted to qualify for the main competition of The Fourth Wars. To do so, it attended the 30 July 2000 shows of the Robot Mayhem live event, where it was drawn to battle newcomer Destruct-A-Bubble. Miss Struts made slow progress in the qualifier's opening moments, unable to get its forklift underneath Destruct-A-Bubble. However, its weight and stability helped negate Destruct-A-Bubble's pushing attacks from the front or side, until an unidentified House Robot intervened by pushing both competitors towards the Pit. Miss Struts resisted by leaning against the shove. However, a mistake resulted in it leaning too much and in the opposite direction. Despite Team EyeEye's attempt to correct the lean, Miss Struts ended up being pushed into the Pit 'head first', and Destruct-A-Bubble was declared the winner. Having suffered a hydraulic leak in the process, Miss Struts ended up not qualifying for The Fourth Wars. Team EyeEye would appear in the series regardless with Arnold, Arnold Terminegger, which won its qualifier over Judge Mech at the same 30 July shows and used Miss Struts' winch system for its own lifter in televised appearances.

After Miss Struts' failure to qualify, Team EyeEye stated their intention to build another walker named Master Struts.^Citation?

Robot History

Series 3

Miss Struts made its only Third Wars appearance in Heat H, where its Walker Battle was broadcast as the episode's Special Event. There, it faced the much smaller, lighter and reportedly faster Stomp.

"And so we begin, with Miss Struts. An... "electrifying" start. Walking... very much, actually, as I do on a Sunday morning. Well, teetering, really, tottering..."

— Jonathan Pearce as Miss Struts steadily approaches Stomp

Miss Struts walks around in victory while Stomp is attacked by Sir Killalot

A very tentative start saw Miss Struts slowly walk across the arena towards Stomp, whose movements were hampered early on by a drivetrain breakage. It continued walking as Stomp resorted to spinning on the spot, tanking repeated swipes to its front-left leg as both robots began colliding. Miss Struts turned left during this exchange, continuing to disrupt its opponent's spinning in the process. Having turned away from Stomp, Miss Struts was next seen in the televised edit trying to push the former backwards. Struggling for traction, and almost having its right-rear leg pinned by Stomp, it gingerly inched Stomp across the inner-right perimeter, just as Sergeant Bash, Sir Killalot and Dead Metal all closed in.

"She reminds me of an old geography teacher I had; she didn't move very quickly either."

— Jonathan Pearce's thoughts on the speed of Miss Struts

Dead Metal and Shunt proceeded to damage Stomp's feet, while Miss Struts seemingly struggled to pull away. Miss Struts turned around at a later point to ram Stomp against the right side wall; Sir Killalot proceeded to drag, carry and tear part of Stomp's bodywork open before 'Cease' was called.

Miss Struts was declared the winner of the first Walker Battle, but not without the Briggs and Stratton engine overheating in the process. The robot was placed into 'quarantine' by the time Team EyeEye were interviewed on their victory - their second in as many UK Robot Wars appearances.

Philippa Forrester: "Those boots were made for walking, and that's just what they did! They carried on walking, and they didn't stop."

Ian Inglis: "That's true."

Philippa Forrester: "But now, your robot is in quarantine. Why?"

Ian Inglis: "It's in quarantine because it's a bit hot. It gets hot, because of the engine."

Philippa Forrester: "Maybe it should have ventilated boots?"

Ian Inglis: "They are ventilated."

— Post-match interview

In moments not seen in the televised broadcast, Miss Struts reportedly pushed Stomp close to a CPZ, though both competitors managed to dodge the stationed House Robot. A close call with an Arena Spike saw Miss Struts step over, then away from the hazard just before it fired. Upon emerging as the winner, Miss Struts 'bowed to the audience' in celebration before being parked up.

Miss Struts' background cameo in Series 3, Heat N (centre, behind PC Plod)

The Walker Battle proved to be Miss Struts' only event appearance in The Third Wars. Though initially planned to compete in the Robotic Soccer competition, scheduling changes resulting from a behind-the-scenes accident caused it to be dropped from the Soccer line-up. Though not reallocated to compete in any other events, Miss Struts still made further background cameos in other episodes. In Heat N, it and PC Plod can be seen lined up in preparation for interviews, while the Cerberus team are themselves being interviewed on their Round 2 victory over Griffon.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 0

Series Record

Main Series	Miss Struts Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Reserve Rumble with Jim Struts
The Third Wars	Walker Battle
The Fourth Wars	Failed to qualify Entered with Arnold, Arnold Terminegger
The Fifth Wars	Failed to qualify with Arnold A. Terminegger
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
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 Arnold A. Terminegger
Series 2	Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars

Techno Games

Miss Struts after being converted into Tina Treks.

A rebuilt Miss Struts at Techno Games 2001

Miss Struts in motion during its Internal Combustion Sprint heat, Techno Games 2001

The body of Miss Struts was used for the lower chassis of Team EyeEye's first Techno Games entrant, Tina Treks but it lost to Tecumseh. A rebuilt and updated iteration of Miss Struts - minus weaponry - also competed in Robot Wars' sister show Techno Games, entering the Internal Combustion Sprint discipline in the 2001 series. To improve its walking capability further, the legs were rebuilt with extendable inner sections, allowing them to reach a higher maximum length while in motion. Team EyeEye stated that the legs were extended by 'about 20cm' with this design change. Despite demonstrating noticeably improved walking and steering during testing, Miss Struts lost its heat to Ulysses.

Charity Events

Following its run at the Series 3 auditions, Miss Struts began appearing at charity events alongside Jim Struts and other Team EyeEye machines. Appearances in 1999 included the Bledlow Ridge School Fete, where it performed two demonstration fights involving scuffles with Panic Attack and Griffon respectively. Though Griffon succeeded in toppling and causing Miss Struts to stall, the demonstrations resulted in consistent running and the adoption of the rubber foot stops ahead of the main series. Further demonstrations followed at the Wilson School Fete - ending with a jammed leg - prior to a static display at the Rover Model Flying Club show in Oxford.

Miss Struts on display during the filming of Series 5

On 26 November 1999, Miss Struts was among the Robot Wars competitors attending a Children in Need charity event in Plymouth. Alongside a 'tug of war' match against Shrapnel, it fought in a car park melee alongside it, Suicidal Tendencies, Panic Attack, Eye of Newt and Dundee. Miss Struts, while too slow to trouble most of its opponents, briefly pinned and found itself being carried by Suicidal Tendencies at one point in the battle. Other exchanges saw fellow competitors ram and drag Miss Struts around in circles by one of its legs. Despite its efforts, the judges deemed Miss Struts to have lost the melee to Panic Attack and Suicidal Tendencies.

Trivia

• As the other of the two Walker Battles ended in a draw, Miss Struts was the only robot to win these in The Third Wars.
• Because it failed to qualify for the Fourth Wars and did not compete in any other side competitions, Miss Struts is one of the few robots to have never lost a televised battle.
• The team's walking entry in Techno Games 2000, Tina Treks, was incorrectly referred to as Miss Struts by Martin Smith, who served as a 'techspert' on the programme.
  • Whilst Tina Treks was incorrectly referred to as Miss Struts, it used the same lower chassis and leant many of its design improvements when restored to its Robot Wars form.
• Miss Struts was the only heavyweight walker to compete in the Series 3 Walker Battles; the remainder were all likely classified as middleweights due to the build rules allowing them to enter one class beneath their actual weight.

External Links

• Team EyeEye website page on Miss Struts (archived 17 October 2002)