Project One

Project One
Participation Information
Dutch Series	1
Other Names	Project I P1 Project 1 (Mech+ subtitles)
Team Information
Team	Team Madmen
Team Members	WJ Dijkstra Greg Cathalina Mario "Maddox" de Jongh
Other Entries	Project Two: Hex'em (Dutch Series 2) Gravity (Dutch Series 2, UK Series 7) √3² (Dutch Series 2)
Robot Statistics
Weight	99kg
Dimensions	1.12m x 0.84m x 0.9m
Power	Converted car engine
Weapons	Pneumatic axe & flipper
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Project One (alternatively Project I or P1, additionally formatted in Mech+ subtitles as Project 1) was a competitor robot that fought exclusively in the first series of Dutch Robot Wars. It fell in the first round of its only series to Blue, as well as the subsequent Losers' Melee, due to several technical problems that affected its mobility throughout both battles.

Like many robots in Dutch Series 1, Project One was built on a very tight schedule, and was finished just six hours before being brought to the studio.

Design

"Air is good armor, but armoring air is stupid."

— Maddox's justification of Project One's minimal armour

Project One with its lifter raised

Project One was a tall wedge-shaped robot with an exposed metal chassis, and equipped with a pneumatic axe and lifting arm (described as a flipper) positioned parallel to each other. The robot was unusual in that it had very few armour panels protecting its internals, which the team had to sacrifice in order to allow more weight for its weapons and was one wheel driven. In terms of armament, appearance and engineering, Project One could be likened to former UK Series competitor Mortis, and its axe proved reasonably effective against fibreglass and other fragile types of armour, although the axe shaft and lifter could also collide with each other when not fully reset. While Project One's internals were left exposed largely by intention, with many of its internals relatively buried far out of reach, key components were nevertheless exposed, and its removable link proved suspect to pulling loose in battle.

The robot suffered numerous technical problems that prevented it from achieving any significant success during its only appearance, particularly with its speed controller which was underpowered in its first fight, and replaced with a direct motor system in the losers melee which fed too much power through the machine and caused its wheel gears to strip and prevent movement in a straight line.

The Team

Main article: WJ Dijkstra

Team Madmen with Project One

Project One was built and entered by Team Madmen (later Team Mad Science), which was made up of Dutch roboteers WJ Dijkstra and Greg Cathalina, and Flemish roboteers Mario "Maddox" de Jongh and Babeth van Son (the latter of whom did not appear on TV because of the three team members limit).

After Dutch Series 1, the team temporarily split into two for Dutch Series 2. This was because it proved difficult for team members based in the Netherlands and Belgium to come together to work on building robots, so the two parts of the team decided to work on separate projects. Team captain WJ Dijkstra worked mostly on his own to build Gravity and Elevation (one third of the clusterbot √3²) while Maddox and Babeth formed Team Warlocks, which built Project One's sequel robot Project Two: Hex'em.

Maddox was also a team member of both Tough as Nails and Scraptosaur at various stages and is now a member of Team RCC along with Babeth, who was also a team member of Flextreme. Meanwhile, Greg went on to join the Impact team.

Qualification

Project One successfully entered Dutch Series 1 through attending the rehearsals at Eindhoven. Footage of a weapon test was included in Robot Wars: The Kick-Off, showing the robot's axe cutting into and lifting a wooden beam.

Robot History

Dutch Series 1

Bridget Maasland: "OK so I just communicated with the gentlemen of Team Blue, it was difficult, but it seems like it wasn’t capable of much. Is yours capable of much?"

WD Dijkstra: "Yes actually, it is."

Bridget Maasland: "OK, like what?"

WD Dijkstra: "Uh, flipping, axing, driving fast, so pretty much everything. Well, except for self-righting. That we’re not sure of."

Bridget Maasland: "Shouldn’t you have tested that beforehand, you’re about to go into the arena?"

WD Dijkstra: "Yes, but today was actually the first day we had it finished!"

Bridget Maasland: "Oh that’s a shame isn’t it, that could cause some dangers down the road."

WD Dijkstra: "True, oh well, we’ll see when it comes to that!"

— Pre-match interview with Bridget Maasland (translated from Dutch)

Project One competed in Heat D, and faced Blue in its first round battle. The team revealed before the fight that Project One was completed earlier in the same day, and factors such as self-righting had yet to be tested.

"The big guy with the beard (Maddox) pointed out a pneumatic valve which if hit would disable the robot, but it was so well protected we would never be able to reach it."

— Karl Jones of the Blue team reveals advice given to him by the Project One team

Project One uses its lifter to clamp down on Blue

Both robots started sluggishly, with Project One raising its lifting arm and spinning close to an angle grinder as Blue eventually tapped its rear with its own spinning disc. Eventually, they collided head-on, with Project One's axe landing on Blue before the latter darted away, with Project One unable to move quickly across the arena due to its speed controller issues.

"It seems that Project One is hitting itself with its weird construction, is it designed properly, oh apparently it is because it just hit. Still, something seems to be wrong with the construction. Look, the arm is holding onto Blue and the axe is trying to hit it, but it’s actually hitting its own construction."

— Eric Corton notes that Project One's axe is also hitting its lifting arm (translated from Dutch)

Project One is counted out by Refbot

Despite this, Project One drove side-on into Blue and clamped it with its lifting arm, before axing it a few times and ripping part of Blue's side armour off as the lifting arm closed, although Project One's axe shaft was also striking its own lifter in the process. The two robots converged in the arena, with Project One eventually tearing off the entire right-hand side of Blue's shell off before becoming immobilised completely. Refbot counted Project One out, and 'cease' was called shortly afterwards, resulting in Project One being relegated to the Losers' Melee.

"Oh, this looks like a suicide attempt from Project One because it drove onto the flames, so that means it’s time for Blue to deliver the final blow because Project One doesn’t seem to be moving anymore!"

— Eric Corton as Project One stops moving (translated from Dutch)

The robot's sluggish movement in its first-round battle was due to its speed controller being set at 50 amperes, not 150 amperes, making the starter motor almost powerless. The robot ultimately became immobilised after its removable Anderson link fell out. The team remarked that they would have liked to tape the link in place to reduce the possibility of this happening, but this was not acted upon as Project One was activated by a member of the production crew, not any of the Team Mad Science members.

Bridget Maasland: "Oh so you guys are gonna win, what’s the secret weapon?"

WJ Dijkstra: "Sabotage!"

Bridget Maasland: "Oh, that was you guys?"

WJ Dijkstra: "Yeah, of course!"

— WJ Dijstra jokingly plans to sabotage his opponents after Enderbot had already claimed to be sabotaged in its first round fight (translated from Dutch)

In the Losers' melee, Project One faced fellow first-round losers Enderbot and Flextreme. For this battle, the team removed their faulty speed controller and compensated with a reworked, overvolted starter motor.

"Sgt. Bash is now clinging onto the most fragile part, the barrel of the hammer which seemed to be having issues anyway."

— Eric Corton notes Project One struggling to use its axe (translated from Dutch)

Project One (middle) is struck by Enderbot

Project One axes Flextreme

With its speed controller removed, Project One immediately started the battle faster than before, turning round to axe and lift Flextreme while Enderbot charged in and attempted to lift it over. However, it became apparent that it was unable to drive in a straight line as all three robots separated, and continued spinning in circles as it axed Flextreme again while being pushed by the fish tank-shaped robot. Project One was then attacked by Sgt. Bash, whose pincers grabbed hold of its axe and allowed him to pull Project One into the CPZ, before it spun round and was dragged away by Sir Killalot.

"I actually think that against our Sir Killalot, Project One is putting up some resistance."

— Eric Corton praises Project One for its attacks on Sir Killalot (translated from Dutch)

Project One knocks Sir Killalot's breast plate loose

Project One at the end of the Losers' Melee

It then repeatedly axed Sir Killalot as he pushed it around the arena, dislodging his breastplate and nearly hitting his on-board camera. Project One continued to spin around and be attacked by Sgt. Bash before 'cease' was called, with its final spin appearing to lift the robot off the floor completely. Time expired on the battle and all three were sent to a Jury's decision, with both Rob Kamphues and Eric Corton noting they had no idea who had won and largely praised Project One only for its attacks on Sir Killalot.

"I can only say one thing: I have no idea who won this ... At the start of the fight, Enderbot uses its hammer successfully against both other robots, and that initial aggressiveness is something that the Jury will look out for. But Project One also showed aggression, especially against Sir Killalot."

— Eric Corton on Project One's chances at winning the decision (translated from Dutch)

The resulting Judge's decision was noted as being a split decision, though without specifying which of the two losing robots received a vote - nevertheless, Enderbot was awarded the win, and Project One was eliminated here.

It was later revealed that the 3kW+ motor used without the standard speed controller proved too powerful for the robot's steering, stripping the teeth from its nylon gear and causing the wheel to lock at an angle of 30°. While this did not prevent Project One from moving entirely, it effectively prevented it from being able to drive in a straight line, digging into the arena floor and sending up a shower of splinters as the robot spun in circles for almost the entire battle.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 2

Series Record

Dutch Series

Dutch Series	Project One Series Record
Series 1	Heat, Round 1
Series 2	Entered with Project Two: Hex'em Entered with Gravity and √3²

UK Series

Series	Project One Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Did not enter
The Fourth Wars	Did not enter
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Entered with Gravity
Series 8	Not selected with Gravity
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars

Following its appearance in Dutch Series 1, Project One received numerous modifications, including the removal of its axe, modifications to the pneumatics for its lifter, and improved armour. The only outing for this version of Project One was at the Dutch event in Zwolle in December 2001. Some of Project One's chassis was later used in Project Two: Hex'em, but most of its remaining components presently reside in the team's garage; "Castle Black". Other components were given to fellow Dutch teams:

• The ram for the lifter was passed on to the Shapeshifter team, and used in the Dutch Series 2 version of that robot;
• The drive motor was mated to a hydraulic pump by Kos, and installed in Scarab, which also entered Dutch Series 2.
• The large SMC rotary actuator and axe ended up with Nanning Buitenhuis, the sponsor of the DRG website.

Trivia

• WJ Dijkstra's website notes Gravity from Dutch Series 2 as being the first heavyweight robot to be 'built by himself and noone else', suggesting the great involvement of his teammates on Project One despite his own captaincy.