Pathetica

Pathetica
Participation Information
Dutch Series	1
Team Information
Team	Team Bohica
Team Members	Niels Brouwers Rene Tor Horst Erik Hietbrink
Other Entries	Vortex Inducer (Dutch Series 2)
Robot Statistics
Weight	99kg
Dimensions	1.04m x 0.97m x 0.29m
Drive	2 x Industrial Motors
Weapons	Pneumatic Axe & Saw
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Pathetica, blood sweat and steel!"

— Eric Corton (translated from Dutch)

Pathetica was a competitor robot that fought exclusively in Dutch Robot Wars: Series 1. It reached the second round of its Heat, beating Shapeshifter before being eliminated by Sater.

Team Bohica also entered Series 2 of Dutch Robot Wars with Vortex Inducer.

Design

"We have an axe to pulverize them and a saw to saw them! We are here to win, and uh, to make a bit of fun!"

— Niels Brouwers in Pathetica's intro (translated from Dutch)

Pathetica in the arena

Pathetica was a boxy, T-shaped robot painted in red, blue, black and white, armed with an axe and a rear-mounted circular saw. The axe was not particularly powerful, failing to punch through the wooden armour of Shapeshifter, although the weapon was at least somewhat aggressive - the secondary saw weapon hardly featured in either of its battles. Pathetica also proved unreliable, breaking down under mild pressure in its second fight while also getting stuck in reverse drive during testing.

The robot also had a "Help" message painted in blue on its underside. It is unknown whether Pathetica could self-right from this position, as reliability issues led to its defeat against Sater.

Etymology

According to Leo van Miert, Pathetica's name came from a comment by Mario "Maddox" de Jongh, who said that the robot's weaponry was 'nogal pathetisch' ('rather pathetic').

The Team

Pathetica with Team Bohica

Pathetica was entered into Dutch Series 1 by Team Bohica, a three-man team captained by Niels Brouwers, accompanied by Rene Tor Horst and Erik Hietbrink. The team all wore leather jackets and sunglasses on camera.

Team Bohica would later enter Dutch Series 2 with the innovative Vortex Inducer.

Robot History

Series 1

Bridget Maasland: "I understand that Pathetica almost didn’t make it?"

Team Bohica: "Yes, it was very tight. In the first test when we tried to see if it could drive, we went to a snack bar near us in their parking lot, and we had this piece of steel and some motors obviously, and we put it down there, connected all the circuits, and yes, those people at the snack bar were looking at us like “oh what are those guys doing over there”, you know? And uh, yeah, we were trying, we neatly stood behind it so that we at least wouldn’t get hit, we went full speed ahead, and then it drove backwards very fast! And that, erm, was a little bit painful!"

Bridget Maasland: "Right through the snack bar place??"

Team Bohica: "Well no, not that far, but it did go through us because we were lined up behind it!"

Bridget Maasland: "Oh my god, and did it get a little damaged then, or like, super damaged?"

Team Bohica: "Uh, well my ankles were completely cut open, but other than that it was OK!"

Bridget Maasland: "Well OK I guess that doesn’t matter in the end, as long as your hands are OK then you can steer it!"

Team Bohica: "Yes, we don’t need anything else!"

— Team Bohica reveal their struggles in testing (translated from Dutch)

Pathetica had a simple enough first round battle against Shapeshifter, although the team were forced to admit to Bridget Maasland that Pathetica was fortunate to be ready for the fight at all.

"Well at least it doesn’t look as pathetic as the name might imply!"

— Eric Corton (BNN broadcast, translated from Dutch)

Pathetica axes the immobile Shapeshifter

Pathetica's final few blows before backing off

Pathetica only required a single axe blow to chip the weak wooden armour of its opponent, who reversed into the pit release button and became immobilised there, largely on its own accord. Pathetica continued to attack its beaten opponent with its axe, causing no real damage but landing a high number of hits. Ultimately it was the House Robots that caused the significant damage after Pathetica backed away and allowed Shapeshifter to be counted out, with Pathetica winning in one of the series' quickest knockouts - indeed, the only damage Pathetica sustained was from cutting into itself with its own saw.

Team Bohica: "No damage, no nothing, it’s all good, it went well."

Bridget Maasland: "What did you guys feel when Shapeshifter got flipped for a second, and not just a little bit, but like all of its parts were flying through the air?"

Team Bohica: "That was pretty spectacular! It was fun!"

Bridget Maasland: "It was a bit mean-spirited of you that you continued axing it, wasn’t it?"

Team Bohica: "Well it was already completely in pieces! It was not yet broken enough, it had more pieces yet to be broken off!"

Bridget Maasland: "So are you guys ready for the semi-finals?"

Team Bohica: "Oh, sure. We have to make just one small adjustment to the cover because we accidentally sawed into ourselves, which is of course not very wise!"

Bridget Maasland: "You started sawing into yourself?"

Team Bohica: "Yeah, just a little piece, miniscule. The cover is so tough that we ourselves couldn’t get through it either, so that’s very promising for our opponents!"

— Team Bohica reveal Pathetica's unusual piece of self-damage (translated from Dutch)

Pathetica was through to the second round, where it met Sater.

The immobile Pathetica is rammed by Sater

Pathetica's "help" message

Pathetica chased Sater, but could only graze with its axe blow. After missing a few more attacks, Pathetica came to a halt in the middle of the arena, and was counted out by Refbot. Sir Killalot crushed the rear end of Pathetica. He then had it flipped by the floor flipper, revealing a "help" message underneath the robot, before Sir Killalot burnt Pathetica over the flame pit. Dead Metal had time to cut into Pathetica before the smouldering wreck was pitted. Pathetica was therefore eliminated at this stage, while Sater went on to win the heat.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

Series Record

Official image of Pathetica for Dutch Series 1

Dutch Series	Pathetica Series Record
Series 1	Heat, Round 2
Series 2	Entered with Vortex Inducer

Trivia

• Pathetica was featured in an interview found in Issue 19 of the Robot Wars Magazine. Although the magazine claimed to be interviewing the Pathetica team, the real interviewee was Marien van der Meer of the Scraptosaur team. Nevertheless, Pathetica and its team were still pictured, and Marien van der Meer was said to be Pathetica's team captain.
• The Pathetica team captain was injured by his robot in testing, cutting his leg after Pathetica became stuck in reverse drive.
• In the Mech+ version of Heat E, the subtitles for Pathetica's statistics claimed that its weakness was "No automatic pointing mechanism", suggesting that its axe could be equipped with a targeting system. The Dutch "Geen zelfrichtend mechanisme" actually translates to "No self-righting mechanism", highlighting the weapon's limited power.