Peaches was a middleweight robot entered by Bill Nicoloff into the 1997 US Robot Wars competition. Participating exclusively in that year's Middleweight Face-Off, it initially lost to Anubis in the first round,[4][5] but recovered with a win over Stuffie in the Loser's Bracket.[6][7] A second defeat against eventual middleweight champion Vicious-1 eliminated Peaches from the competition.[8][9]
Design[]
Described by Andrew Lindsey as a 'simple, fast ramming robot', Peaches featured an invertible trapezoidal-shaped design with wedge shapes at both ends and an unusual twelve-wheel drive system. Three pairs of wheels would be placed on the top and bottom, connected to each corresponding pair using chain drives. As a measure to allow Peaches to free itself from opponents or arena walls/hazards, the chain mechanisms were designed to allow the wheels to spin in opposite directions to each other. Bob Nicoloff thus described the arrangement as a 'serpentine system'. Drive power was supplied by an array of electric bicycle motors, giving Peaches an intended top speed of 'around 25mph'.[3][2]
Peaches' shell was made out of welded steel, featuring a silver exterior with a bright blue stripe across the middle. The robot was armed with two long spikes at the front. Alongside its ramming power, the robot was equipped with an optional pair of long spikes, which were seen in its debut battle.[3][2]
While designed to be fast and powerful, Peaches suffered from recurring reliability issues with the speed controllers used throughout the event. The 1997 UPS strike resulted in its original controllers not being delivered in time, and Bob Nicoloff having to make 'homemade' controllers from scratch. The first of these was completed three days ahead of the event, but overheated and 'self destructed' during Peaches' first battle. The second used a relay-based system, which, while reliable, could not allow Peaches to drive in reverse. Other issues encountered included a blown MOSFET transistor and the sprockets for two of the bicycle motors shearing, also during the debut match against Anubis.[3][2]
Robot History[]
1997 US Championship[]
In the first round of the Middleweight Face-Off, Peaches faced Anubis. In the opening moments, Peaches shuttled back and forth towards an approaching Anubis. The diminutive six-wheel drive machine spun around, then rammed and scratched the side of Alexander Ko's entry. Peaches survived a close encounter with one of the arena flippers, before charging at Anubis again and causing it to mis-time a flip. Ironically, the former swiped the nearby 'robo-cam', and found itself behind another flipper with Anubis in pursuit.[4][5]
Peaches' speed controller suffered major issues during the early part of the match, due to an resistor inside it overheating. As a result, the robot drove erratically and briefly stopped upon colliding with a nearby spike trap. Smoke began pouring from the top of Peaches as Anubis closed in and flicked it onto its side against the trap barrier. Peaches tried to respond with a sluggish nudge, only for Anubis to flip it upside-down almost immediately after. Still smoking, it crawled across the arena floor, but missed its next charge and was disrupted by a spike trap.[4][5]
Anubis shuttled around Peaches as it struggled to maintain mobility. Peaches then drove head-on into the wall, at which point its internals had completely malfunctioned and it began smoking more copiously. Anubis nudged its immobilized opponent again before backing away and being declared the winner.[4][5]

Stuffie's shell falls off after a ramming attack from Peaches
In the loser's bracket, Peache faced Stuffie. Immediately, Stuffie drove into the upper spike trap, the collision knocking its toy Jeep shell loose. Peaches, itself suffering problems with its 'homemade control system', rammed Stuffie, which reversed and turned to face its much smaller opponent. After both robots drove past each other, Benjamin Chapman's entry twice drove into the wall on the opposite side of the arena, which allowed the shell to fall back into place. Neither robot made contact with each other during this phase, until Peaches removed Stuffie's shell entirely with another ram.[6][7]
- "Stuffie, without Stuffie, refuses to go down!"
- — Michael Meehan, seconds after Stuffie begins to be dismantled[6]
The plywood base of Stuffie kept driving on, bumping Peaches and the lower-left flipper. It too began encountering control problems, spinning around while taking another whack from the flipper paddle. Peaches, after a few moments' hesitation, rammed and pushed Stuffie's remains against the left wall. Stuffie, left in the top-right corner, struggled to regain its bearings as it circled around and got whacked by the nearby flipper. Peaches drove underneath and pinned Stuffie in place. This attack proved problematic for Bill Nicoloff's machine, however; not only did its front spikes become embedded in the wall, but the robot also lacked reverse drive, as a result of the relay-based control system installed for this battle.[3][6][7]
Stuffie's wheels kept spinning during the 'embrace', but it was only able to turn around from the side while taking further hits from the flipper. With 49 seconds remaining, the battle was stopped to allow for a separation, performed by two separate Robot Wars crewmembers. The teddy bear from Stuffie's Jeep shell was retrieved and placed into its plywood frame, which was jettisoned as soon as it started circling around again. Peaches was turned around to face the left-hand side of the arena, and the match resumed.[6][7]
Peaches, after being hit by the flipper, shot forwards and drove past the spinning Stuffie. It eventually rammed Benjamin Chapman's machine twice more before spearing itself into the left wall section. Stuffie gingerly approached, then bumped Peaches just before the end bell rang. The resulting Judges' decision quickly ruled Peaches as the winner.[6][7]
In the loser's bracket second round, Peaches faced Vicious-1. In exchange for its pipe-based weapon, Vicious-1 was equipped with a set of spinning hammers. Peaches, meanwhile, had its ramming spikes removed altogether to prevent it from being beached on the side walls.[8]
Peaches quickly weaved towards and around Vicious-1, driving up its opponent's wedge shape during a head-to-head exchange. This, however, allowed Vicious-1 to strike the underside of Bill Nicoloff's machine while pushing it back a short distance. Peaches, undamaged by the hammers, backed off to line up a second ram with similar results. A third similar attack allowed it to target, but not puncturing Vicious-1's right tire. This was followed by a series of slow pushing matches, again allowing Vicious-1 to control the faster Peaches in short bursts.[8][9]
Dodging a spike trap, Peaches lured and darted around Vicious-1, before again driving into and up the front wedge shape of Mike Regan's entry. Using its own body spikes, Vicious-1 pushed Peaches around once more, before the two competitors separated again and Peaches scrambled to the upper-right wall. Another nudge prompted Vicious-1 to again steer Peaches back, towards the spike trap, as the latter began slowing down noticeably across the arena. The struggle allowed Peaches to steer Vicious-1 directly under the trap, which briefly struck behind the latter's right wheel.[8][9]
Vicious-1 escaped; a malfunction left Peaches immobile on one side, smoke pouring from its top-right wheel as Vicious-1 repeatedly pushed it into and against the wall. This additional pressure caused Peaches to become fully immobilized just before the end bell rang. Vicious-1 was declared the winner on a subsequent Judges' decision.[8][9]
Results[]
PEACHES - RESULTS | ||
1997 US Championship | ||
Middleweight Face-Off Second Round | ||
Round 1 | vs. Anubis | Lost |
Loser's Bracket, Round 1 | vs. Stuffie | Won |
Loser's Bracket, Round 2 | vs. Vicious-1 | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 2
Series Record[]
Events | Peaches Event Record |
---|---|
1994 | Did not enter |
1995 | Did not enter |
1996 | Did not enter |
1997 | Middleweight Face-Off, Round 2 |
References[]
- ↑ 'Contestants: Middleweight Class', 4th Annual Robot Wars (1997) souvenir programme, p.3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 'Robot Wars 1997 Interview: Bill Nicoloff with Peaches', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 2 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 'PEACHES', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 'Robot Wars 1997 Middleweight match: Peaches versus Anubis', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded April 17 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 'MATCH: ANUBIS VS PEACHES', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 'Robot Wars 1997 Middleweight match: Stuffy versus Peaches', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 4 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 'MATCH: PEACHES VS STUFFIE', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 'MATCH: VICIOUS 1 VS PEACHES', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 'Robot Wars 1997 Middleweight match: Vicious-1 versus Peaches', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 4 2021
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