Red Virus

"Okay, we have the Red Virus, ready to spread the plague!"

— Rebecca Grant introduces Red Virus

Red Virus was a competitor robot from Lakewood, California which fought in the first season of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors. While it was defeated at the Heat stage in the US Championship on a very close Judges' decision, it finished third in the Annihilator, losing to Drillzilla.

Team DreamDroid also entered Season 2 of Extreme Warriors with MechaDroid.

Design[]

"Red Virus, at 200 pounds, out of Lakewood California. It's got a lifter and steel fork for weapons, but in the past it's been a bit slow and sluggish."

— Stefan Frank describes Red Virus

Red Virus, as its name suggested, was a boxy wedge-shaped robot painted red with skull decals and with two outside wheels. Its weapon was a large three-pronged lifter, powered by two 24V linear actuators, and decorated with a pair of red-wigged skulls containing glitter for its US Championship battle. The robot was powered by three Hawker Odyssey PC535 12V batteries, with two wheelchair motors run at 36 volts, and was constructed with a mix of aluminium and steel. The two tyres were 10" in diameter and were powered by two NPC wheelchair motors. To allow the wheels to retain use even after sustaining damage, the tyres were filled with foam. The robot had a Vantec RDFR 47E speed controller for the drive, and a Innovation First Victor 883 speed controller to control the linear actuators. It was built over two and a half weeks at a cost of roughly $3500^[1].

While Red Virus proved fairly durable and tenacious, its lifter was fragile and rather ineffective, and the robot suffered from a low top speed and low weight.

The Team[]

"Meet Walter Martinez - mild-mannered network administrator by day, robo combat king by night! ... Walter's obsession with bots began when he was growing up in Honduras. He competed in science fairs, and dreamed of coming to the United States."

— Robotica on Walter Martinez

Red Virus was entered by Team DreamDroid (alternatively DreamDroid Robotics), consisting of Walter Martinez and his wife Michelle McQueen-Martinez (styled on the statistics board as M'chel McQueen). Originally native to Honduras, Walter Martinez came to the United States to study at California State University. He then worked as a computer network administrator, as that job allowed him to work with electronics and programming, and gave him the money he needed to build robots^[2].

In keeping with the robot's name, Team DreamDroid wore doctor's coats and carried hypodermic needles filled with a red liquid throughout their appearances.

Robot History[]

Season 1[]

With its skulls removed, Red Virus competed in the Annihilator, fighting Skullmania, Drillzilla, Conquering Clown, Rippa Raptor and Unibite.

"The Judges will have no trouble deciding the winner this time, we're ready to spread the virus!"

— Walter Martinez before Round 1

Red Virus picks an early target in Rippa Raptor

At the start of the battle, Conquering Clown, Unibite, Drillzilla and Rippa Raptor all came together, with Unibite driving into Conquering Clown's front and Drillzilla got behind it. Red Virus initially held back, then drove between Conquering Clown and Unibite. Drillzilla pushed Conquering Clown away, and Red Virus pushed against Unibite's side, but then turned away and drove after Rippa Raptor. With its forklift raised, Red Virus got behind Rippa Raptor and pushed it up the arena and into the side of Conquering Clown. Red Virus pinned Rippa Raptor against Conquering Clown as Drillzilla pushed Conquering Clown.

"Red Virus is backing up on Rippa Raptor, who doesn't seem to be doing too much."

— Stefan Frank as Red Virus pushes Rippa Raptor against Conquering Clown

However, Rippa Raptor managed to reverse, squeezing out from Conquering Clown and backing around Red Virus. Red Virus turned with Rippa Raptor, but Drillzilla pushed Conquering Clown against Red Virus' side, pinning Red Virus against an angle grinder. Drillzilla reversed, allowing Conquering Clown to turn away, and Red Virus got away from the wall. It tried to get under Drillzilla, but Drillzilla turned drove after Conquering Clown. As Drillzilla pushed Conquering Clown, Red Virus got behind Drillzilla and tried to get its lifter under the back, but couldn't get under its very low ground clearance. Red Virus turned away from Drillzilla and went after Unibite, pushing against its side, but when Unibite started spinning, Red Virus quickly turned and drove away.

"Red Virus trying to have a little bite of Unibite."

— Stefan Frank as Red Virus pushes Unibite

Red Virus drove towards the side of the arena, then as Conquering Clown pushed Drillzilla up the arena, Red Virus drove after Conquering Clown, only to change targets to Rippa Raptor, getting behind it with its lifter raised, pushing it into Sir Killalot's CPZ. Red Virus turned around, leaving Rippa Raptor to Sir Killalot as it drove towards the centre of the arena, but Rippa Raptor quickly got away from the CPZ before Sir Killalot could attack, and drove at Red Virus, hitting the back with its spinning discs as it drove past. Red Virus drove down the arena, and got its lifter under the spinning disc of Unibite, lifting it up and preventing it from spinning.

"Oh, don't tell me Red Virus has immobilized the only weapon on Unibite! Doesn't look to be doing too good out there!"

— Stefan Frank as Red Virus get under Unibite's spinning disc

Refbot tries to push Unibite and Red Virus apart

Unibite struggled against Red Virus to try and get free of the lifter, but Red Virus kept hold of the disc and pushed Unibite against Matilda. Red Virus pulled Unibite away from the CPZ, but because it had held onto Unibite for longer than the permitted time, Refbot came over to try and push Unibite off of Red Virus' lifter. Refbot pushed against the back of Unibite, but Conquering Clown was in the way, so Refbot merely pushed Unibite against Conquering Clown.

"And here comes Refbot, to break up the deadlock between Red Virus, Unibite and Rippa Raptor. The Clown's in there, they're all stuck in it together!"

— Stefan Frank as Refbot pushes the robots apart

Refbot reversed, and pushed against Unibite's side, pushing it free of Red Virus' lifter. Red Virus drove to the arena centre, and with its lifter raised, pushing against Conquering Clown, but Drillzilla got at Red Virus' side and tried to push, so Red Virus turned and drove away. Meanwhile, Skullmania's tyre's had come loose from the wheels, leaving it immobile, and it was counted out by Refbot, leaving Red Virus and the other four to go through.

Conquering Clown gets its wedge under Red Virus

In the second round, Red Virus was immediately targeted by Conquering Clown, which drove at its side. Conquering Clown got its front wedge under Red Virus' side and pushed it towards the arena wall, but Unibite accidentally turned into Red Virus whilst it was fighting Rippa Raptor, which pushed Red Virus free of the wedge, and as Conquering Clown turned, Red Virus slid off the wedge and was able to drive around Conquering Clown as Drillzilla got behind Conquering Clown and pushed.

"Clown straight into Red Virus, immediately putting Red Virus up on the side! A lot of people thought the Clown never had a chance in robot hell of surviving, but nobody told them!"

— Stefan Frank as Conquering Clown gets under Red Virus

Red Virus knocks off Conquering Clown's wig

Red Virus turned around, and as Drillzilla pushed Conquering Clown, Red Virus charged into the front of Conquering Clown with its lifter raised. One of the forks on the lifter briefly became snagged in Conquering Clown's body, and Drillzilla pushed it and Conquering Clown together, until Unibite hit Red Virus' side with its spinning disc, knocking it free of Conquering Clown. Red Virus turned around, then charged at Conquering Clown. Red Virus drove up Conquering Clown's wedge as it crashed into it, knocking off its wig.

"Red Virus decided the Clown's rainbow 'fro had to go!"

— Stefan Frank as Red Virus knocks off Conquering Clown's wig

Red Virus and Conquering Clown come together as Unibite becomes immobilized hitting the Clown

Red Virus pushes the immobile Unibite to the flame pit

Red Virus tried to push Conquering Clown, but Unibite hit the back of Red Virus, then Conquering Clown pushed Red Virus up the arena, pushing it against Refbot. Conquering Clown was able to lift Red Virus' wheels off the floor using its wedge, but Unibite hit the back of Conquering Clown, which allowed Red Virus to get its wheels back down. Conquering Clown turned, and Red Virus pushed against its side. Conquering Clown tried to turn away, but Drillzilla blocked it. Red Virus kept pushing, but Drillzilla reversed, allowing Conquering Clown to turn around Red Virus. Red Virus then pushed against the side of Rippa Raptor, so Conquering Clown got behind Rippa Raptor, and together the two pushed Rippa Raptor down the arena, until Drillzilla drove into the back of Conquering Clown and Red Virus, pushing Conquering Clown around so it was under Rippa Raptor's side rather than the back. Meanwhile, Unibite was immobile, having broken down after hitting Conquering Clown and being rammed by Drillzilla. Red Virus got its lifter under the disc, and tried to push, but Unibite slipped off the lifter. Red Virus then pushed the immobile Unibite to the edge of the Flame Pit, where Drillzilla pushed it fully onto the flames, before being counted out by Refbot and eliminated, and finally being pitted by Sgt. Bash.

Red Virus was through to Round 3, but its lifter was notably bent as the battle started.

"Red Virus, looking thoroughly thrashed!"

— Stefan Frank describes Red Virus before the battle

Drillzilla pushes Conquering Clown against Red Virus

Red Virus started by slowly driving forwards, and Conquering Clown drove into its side, getting the wedge underneath, but Red Virus turned away. Drillzilla got behind Conquering Clown and tried to push. Conquering Clown turned to Red Virus' side and tried to get the wedge under the side again, but Red Virus turned, and Drillzilla closely followed Conquering Clown, pushing against its side. Red Virus tried to drive away up the arena, but Conquering Clown kept beside it, until Red Virus turned away, and Drillzilla drove into Conquering Clown.

"The Clown's getting pushed around by Drillzilla, Red Virus trying to get out of the way!"

— Stefan Frank as Drillzilla pushes Conquering Clown against Red Virus, and Red Virus gets away

Red Virus targets Rippa Raptor in another round

Drillzilla pushed Conquering Clown around Red Virus, and as it reversed for another attack, Red Virus drove at the front of Conquering Clown, but then turned away, turned around and drove at the side of Rippa Raptor. Red Virus could not get its lifter under Rippa Raptor's side, as the forks of its lifter were bent up, and Rippa Raptor drove away as it tried to push it. Red Virus followed it, and got the forks of its lifter in the frame of its front spinning discs and pushed, blocking Rippa Raptor from driving away. Red Virus pushed Rippa Raptor down the arena, and Drillzilla drove into the front of Rippa Raptor, before reversing and turning back at Conquering Clown. Red Virus allowed Rippa Raptor to drive away, and it drove at the side of Drillzilla as it fought with Conquering Clown. Red Virus charged into the back of Drillzilla, getting the lifter under the rear drill.

"And now we've got some heavy traffic, nobody's moving around with too much momentum right now!"

— Stefan Frank as all four competitors come together

Red Virus pushes Rippa Raptor to the floor flipper

Together, Conquering Clown and Red Virus pushed Drillzilla, until Drillzilla turned, and managed to push Conquering Clown down towards a CPZ. Red Virus followed Drillzilla, and as Conquering Clown turned away, Red Virus got behind Drillzilla, but Drillzilla turned around to face Red Virus, so Red Virus reversed, accidentally backing into an angle grinder. Drillzilla drove at Conquering Clown, and Rippa Raptor drove down the arena, then got at Rippa Raptor's side and pushed it into the front of Conquering Clown. Drillzilla rammed into the back of Rippa Raptor, and Red Virus pushed Rippa Raptor up the arena. Red Virus pushed Rippa Raptor by the floor flipper, but Conquering Clown got beside Red Virus and pushed it away from Rippa Raptor. Red Virus reversed away from Red Virus, and Drillzilla got behind Conquering Clown and pushed it down the arena. Red Virus drove at Rippa Raptor's side and tried to attack, but Rippa Raptor turned and drove away.

"Red Virus and Rippa Raptor, still dosey-doing away!"

— Stefan Frank as Red Virus pushes at the side of Rippa Raptor

Red Virus fights with Rippa Raptor, whilst Drillzilla rams Conquering Clown, causing it to break down

Rippa Raptor drove into Drillzilla and Conquering Clown as Drillzilla was pushing Conquering Clown up the arena. Red Virus followed Rippa Raptor across the arena as all four robots drove near Shunt's CPZ. Drillzilla rammed Conquering Clown into Shunt's CPZ, whilst Red Virus tried to get behind Rippa Raptor. Conquering Clown escaped the CPZ, and drove into Rippa Raptor's side as Rippa Raptor pushed at the back. Conquering Clown pushed at the side, and Red Virus drove to Rippa Raptor's side, and pushed against it, trapping Rippa Raptor, until Drillzilla drove into Conquering Clown, forcing it to turn and drive away. Rippa Raptor got away from Red Virus, and Red Virus turned and drove towards Drillzilla, which was ramming Conquering Clown into the arena wall. Conquering Clown reversed away from the wall, and Drillzilla charged into the side, but Red Virus drove into Drillzilla just behind Conquering Clown, blocking it from attacking. Rippa Raptor drove behind Red Virus, so Red Virus turned to fight it, driving around to its side as Rippa Raptor backed away, and pushing it. Conquering Clown reversed into Rippa Raptor whilst trying to avoid Drillzilla, and Red Virus turned, pushing against Conquering Clown's wheel with its front lifter, allowing Rippa Raptor to drive away down the arena. Conquering Clown broke down, and Drillzilla rammed it onto a Flame Pit, where it burned and Refbot counted it out, putting Red Virus, Rippa Raptor and Drillzilla through to Round 4.

Rebecca Grant: "Red Virus, still alive, I think that Rippa has your name on it though!"

Walter Martinez: "Yeah, it looks like it. He's been after me for a while, so I hope he doesn't team up with the other guy and try to get me with this one."

Rebecca Grant: "Have you felt like maybe there's been an alliance formed?"

Walter Martinez: "I think so, I have a feeling!"

— Pre-Round 4 interview

Before the battle, Walter Martinez expressed his concern that the other two competitors would gang up on Red Virus. Robert Pitzer of Team Raptor stated his intent to rip the wheels off of Red Virus.

"Red Virus, half the weight of the other two guys. Its like a David and Goliath here, but there's two Goliaths!"

— Stefan Frank, noting Red Virus' significantly lighter weight compared to its opponents as the robots enter the arena

Red Virus pushes Rippa Raptor into the CPZ, but is attacked by Drillzilla

Refbot pushes Red Virus and Rippa Raptor apart

As the start of the battle, Red Virus drove at Rippa Raptor, whilst Drillzilla drove down the arena, behind Red Virus. Red Virus got its lifter in the front frame of Rippa Raptor and pushed it towards the arena wall, but Drillzilla drove into the back of Red Virus, pushing against its side, pushing it and Rippa Raptor together. Rippa Raptor was forced against the arena wall, with Red Virus pushed to the edge of Dead Metal's CPZ, caught on Rippa Raptor's front as Drillzilla pushed it against Dead Metal.

"The best bet strategy for this Red Virus team is to stay out of the action, but what are they doing? They're getting right into it! Oh, and boy do they get into it! Look at these guys, they're stuck right in the middle, right on the edge of the Corner Patrol Zone! Drillzilla, at twice the weight, pushing them right into Dead Metal."

— Stefan Frank as Red Virus pushes Rippa Raptor, but is rammed by Drillzilla

Drillzilla pushes Red Virus into Matilda

Drillzilla rammed into Red Virus' side a couple of times, as Red Virus lifted the front of Rippa Raptor and dragged it back away from the wall. Red Virus reversed around the edge of the CPZ, dragging Rippa Raptor with it. Red Virus tried to push Rippa Raptor, but as it started to push, Refbot came over and pushed the two apart. Rippa Raptor turned away from Red Virus, but before Red Virus could attack, Drillzilla drove into Red Virus' front and pushed it up the arena, away from Rippa Raptor. Drillzilla reversed for another charge, but backed into Dead Metal, so turned and drove away from the CPZ. Red Virus drove away from Dead Metal's CPZ, but Drillzilla charged at it, driving at its front and pushing it toward Matilda's CPZ. Red Virus turned away, nearly turning straight into Matilda's flywheel, which fortunately was not spinning. As Drillzilla reversed, Red Virus turned to avoid the flywheel, backing into Matilda's side right by the flywheel, then drove at Drillzilla, only for Drillzilla to push Red Virus into Matilda in her CPZ. Matilda turned around, hitting the back of Red Virus with her flywheel. Red Virus withstood the impact, and as Drillzilla reversed away, Red Virus turned to avoid Matilda's flywheel as she reversed at it, then drove out of the CPZ.

"And there's Drillzilla, pushing Red Virus into the Corner Patrol Zone, right into the back of Matilda. Boy you don't wanna be there, Matilda'll make a mincemeat out of him!"

— Stefan Frank as Drillzilla pushes Red Virus into Matilda

Drillzilla slams Red Virus into the Angle Grinders

Red Virus drove over the Flame Pit, and pushed against Rippa Raptor's side, but Drillzilla drove into its front and pushed Red Virus up the arena, pushing Rippa Raptor with it. After being pushed to the floor flipper, Red Virus reversed away, but as it turned around, Drillzilla rammed into its side and pushed it to the arena wall, then forced it against an angle grinder. Red Virus tried to turn away from the wall as Drillzilla reversed for another charge, but before it could get away, Drillzilla charged back into it, slamming it against the arena wall.

"Drillzilla back into Red Virus again! I don't know if Red Virus is fearless or foolish! Oh, into the angle grinder! Drillzilla havin' his way! Whoa, Red Virus took a real hit that time!"

— Stefan Frank, watching as Drillzilla rams Red Virus against the angle grinder

Refbot pushes Red Virus and Dead Metal apart

Drillzilla turned as it reversed for another attack, helping Red Virus turn away from the wall. Red Virus turned away from the angle grinder and drove up the arena. It fought with Rippa Raptor on the Floor Flipper, but Drillzilla rammed it against Dead Metal, which pinned Red Virus under his arms. Dead Metal pushed Red Virus against an angle grinder, then reversed. Red Virus weakly tried to turn, then stopped, and Dead Metal pushed it against the angle grinder. Red Virus turned a little, and reversed, but Dead Metal pinned it against the angle grinder. Dead Metal reversed, then slammed into Red Virus' side. As Dead Metal backed off, Red Virus turned away from the wall, only for Dead Metal to ram it against the wall again.

"Who would have guessed the tenacious Red Virus woulda lasted this long? But it doesn't look like it's much longer now! Dead Metal still trying to get his teeth into Red Virus without too much luck. Red Virus looking a little bit immobilised there. I think that grinder might have done one of the wheels in or something, 'cause he's not moving as quick as he was."

— Stefan Frank as Dead Metal rams Red Virus against an angle grinder

Dead Metal reversed, and Red Virus drove forwards away from the wall, but Dead Metal was in its way and Drillzilla charged into it, ramming it into the CPZ, where Dead Metal blocked its escape, pinning it down with his arms and cutting into the lifter with its disc. Refbot came into the CPZ to push Red Virus free of Dead Metal, and Dead Metal reversed away from Red Virus. Red Virus drove out of the CPZ, with Refbot giving it a push as it got away from the CPZ, but once it was out of the CPZ, it became clear that it was only working on one wheel. Drillzilla drove into the back of Red Virus, lining it up on the Floor Flipper, and Refbot counted it out. Red Virus was flung across the arena, before the House Robots held Red Virus over the flames and pitted it, eliminating it from the Annihilator.

"Looks like Red Virus is taking a guided tour of all the worst places Extreme Warriors' warzone's got to offer, and here's definitely one of the hotspots! But you've got to give little Red Virus, at half the weight, ten out of ten for effort, 'cause he's been looking pretty bleak at the moment, but he's been trying, he's been running around, and now, it looks like he's gonna get buried! See ya!"

— Stefan Frank as Red Virus is pushed onto the Flame Pit, then into the Pit

Rebecca Grant consoled the team, believing that they would have qualified over Rippa Raptor on a Judges' decision if the robot was not immobile.

Rebecca Grant: "I'm so sorry Red Virus, it looks like Drillzilla and Team Raptor found an immunity shot for you guys!"

Walter Martinez: "Yeah, I had a feeling they were gonna team up from the beginning, I sort of suspected that."

Rebecca Grant: "You know, as far as I'm concerned, I think that Team Raptor really didn't do that much. I mean, Red Virus was out there, really gave it its all, if it was down to a Judges' Decision, what do you think would happen?"

Walter Martinez: "I definitely did a lot more fighting than they did."

Rebecca Grant: "I think you'd be in the Final, what do you think?"

Michelle Martinez: "That would be great, because I think if you put up a fight that that should be rewarded, and if you're kind of keeping to yourself and staying out of the fight, you know, what does that prove? What are you showing?"

— Post-battle interview

Red Virus also fought in the US Championship, facing Medusa Oblongata, 6 Million Dollar Mouse, Falcon, Shuriken and The Brute in its heat.

Walter Martinez: "We are the Red Virus, and we are ready to sting you with the red virus!"

Rebecca Grant: "Eeee, look at those skulls! Watch out!"

— Walter Martinez shows off his hypodermic needle before the US Championship

Red Virus pushes Shuriken against 6 Million Dollar Mouse

Red Virus started the battle by reversing away from the others, then drove behind Shuriken, pushing it against 6 Million Dollar Mouse. However, this caused it to drive up Shuriken's wedge, so it turned and drove away from Shuriken. Red Virus pushed into the side of Medusa Oblongata, but Medusa Oblongata drove away, giving Red Virus a glancing blow with its spinning bar as it turned away. Red Virus chased after it, and Medusa Oblongata turned around and rammed into Red Virus' front, knocking off the top of its skulls, sending the glitter scattering.

"Shuriken and Red Virus, just kind of wandering around, looking to stay alive probably!"

— Stefan Frank questions Red Virus' tactics as it changes targets

Medusa Oblongata pushed against the side of Red Virus, then reversed away. Red Virus drove after it, and Medusa Oblongata hit its side with the spinning bar. Medusa Oblongata drove around to Red Virus' other side, but the bar was not spinning. Red Virus turned to try and use its lifter on Medusa Oblongata, but Medusa Oblongata drove away, so Red Virus turned to face The Brute. The Brute charged at Red Virus, but this caused it to drive up its front wedge, and as Red Virus' lifter was raised, it held The Brute. Red Virus turned, and The Brute slipped out of Red Virus' grip. Red Virus tried to attack Medusa Oblongata, but The Brute reversed against the two of them, pushing past and getting between the two. As it did so, Medusa Oblongata turned and tried to get away, but Red Virus kept after it, and as soon as The Brute was out of the way, it drove into Medusa Oblongata's side, and pushing against it with its raised lifter, knocking off Medusa Oblongata's head as it tried to force it into Matilda's CPZ.

"Oh, Medusa Oblongata. Look at the snake-ridden head! Red Virus goes in there with that forklift arm, and decapitates Medusa!"

— Stefan Frank watches on as Red Virus knocks Medusa Oblongata's head off

6 Million Dollar Mouse hits Medusa Oblongata as

However, as Red Virus pushed it to the edge of the CPZ, Medusa Oblongata turned away, and Matilda reversed out of her CPZ, hitting Red Virus with her flywheel. Red Virus jumped up a little with the impact, but was not damaged, and quickly drove away up the arena. Red Virus then chased after Medusa Oblongata, which drove down by the bottom left CPZ, whilst The Brute pushed Falcon into the same CPZ. Red Virus pinned Medusa Oblongata against The Brute, and though The Brute quickly drove off Medusa Oblongata's wedge, Red Virus kept Medusa Oblongata pinned down with its lifter. Red Virus turned and started to push Medusa Oblongata up the arena, then 6 Million Mouse rammed into Medusa Oblongata's side and quickly reversed away. Medusa Oblongata was left immobile, and as Red Virus left its immobile opponent, 6 Million Dollar Mouse drove into its side. Meanwhile, Shuriken was immobile, and Shunt pushed it onto the Floor Flipper. In the last few seconds, Red Virus fought with The Brute, pushing it by the arena wall. 'Cease' was called and the battle went to a Judges' decision, with Red Virus and The Brute being the only two mobile robots.

"Well nobody was bashful from the beginning of this one! They all went in there and wanted to get a piece of each other, unfortunately for Medusa, the first piece was her!"

— Stefan Frank reviews the highlights

Red Virus lost the decision to The Brute, and was eliminated from the US Championship.

Results[]

RED VIRUS - RESULTS
Season 1
US Championship Heats
Heat	vs. 6 Million Dollar Mouse, Falcon, Medusa Oblongata, Shuriken, The Brute	Eliminated
Annihilator Third Place
Round 1	vs. Conquering Clown, Drillzilla, Rippa Raptor, Skullmania, Unibite	Qualified
Round 2	vs. Conquering Clown, Drillzilla, Rippa Raptor, Unibite	Qualified
Round 3	vs. Conquering Clown, Drillzilla, Rippa Raptor	Qualified
Round 4	vs. Drillzilla, Rippa Raptor	Eliminated

Wins/Losses[]

Wins: 3
Losses: 2

Series Record[]

US Series	Red Virus Series Record
Season 1	Heat (Round 1)
Season 2	Entered with MechaDroid
Nickelodeon	Did not enter

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

Walter Martinez was a member of the Robotics Society of Southern California, and acted as the society's webmaster^[3]. He first became interested in televised robot combat when Dan Danknick demonstrated his robot Agrippa.

He attended the 1999 BattleBots event at Long Beach, California, then decided to build his own robot. He was then approached by Randy Eubanks, to compete as part of his team, Team Boomer, when they entered the 2000 seasons of BattleBots with Subject to Change Without Reason.

"I have always liked robots and I was starting to build some small semi-autonomous robots at the time. I had heard about RobotWars in San Francisco but I did not actually get to see a real fighting robot until one day Dan Danknick (TeamDelta) came over to the Robotics Society of Southern California and demonstrated his killer robot Agrippa. I heard about the new BattleBots competition at Long Beach and that is because I actually work at CSULB so I was very excited. ... From that point I knew that one day I would be doing this. Randy Eubanks who is also part of the Robotics Society of So. Cal. was more familiar with the robot fighting scene so a couple of guys and I met with him and he explained to us how the whole thing worked. After that I went and purchased a Vantec speed controller. I started to build a robot but I quickly ran out of time and the cost for parts was very high. I continued working on my masters degree and I put the robot building on the side. In 2000 Randy Eubanks needed some help with his two robots Subject to Change Without Reason and Gold Digger."

— Walter Martinez on entering BattleBots^[4]

Walter Martinez entered his first robot of his own in Season 1 of Robotica. He became involved with Robotica in December 2000 when a producer came to the RSSC, asking for contestants for the upcoming show^[5]. He built i-Droid in 2 months, using an old wheelchair as a base. It lost in the Heats, losing to Wendingo. It lost in the Speedway and Maze, and though it won the Gauntlet, it did not gain enough points overall to qualify for the Fight to the Finish. Many of the parts from I-Droid were re-used to make Red Virus.

The team also entered BattleBots Season 3.0 with Shaka, a modified version of Red Virus, in the Heavyweight division and axebot Zulu in the Middleweight division, losing to Son of Whyachi and Short Order Chef in their respective only battles. The team re-entered the Middleweight division in Season 5.0 with Myter Byter, beating Logos then losing to Armadillo.

Papitostein in Tania — Papitostein in *Tania*

Walter Martinez also built a robot called Papitostein for the Nickelodeon sitcom Taina, in the episode "Crouching Actor, Hidden Chicken"^[6]^[7]. Martinez would also create the robot Floor Waxer (alternatively Remote Control Floor Buffer) for the pilot of proposed TV show Amber Amber^[8] presented to Nickelodeon which ultimately did not make it to air.

The team also competed with a number of antweight robots, includig CHICHO, Nano and Scara for SOZ Bots 2002, also beginning progress on the autonomous robot Eureka^[9].

Trivia[]

Red Virus holds the record for most battles fought in Robot Wars without ever fighting one-on-one, with five melee battles.

References[]

External Links[]

Navigation[]

[1] DreamDroid website (Archived)

[2] Robotica Season 1 Episode 3 (Archived)

[3] DreamDroid Robotics website - Robotics Society of Southern California (Archived)

[4] DreamDroid Robotics website - BattleBots Long Beach 1999 (Archived)

[5] DreamDroid Robotics website - Robotica 1, Los Angeles, California - March 2001 (Archived)

[6] DreamDroid Robotics website - News (Archived)

[7] YouTube - Papitostein Death Robot from Taina tv show Battle Robots

[8] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20021205122819/http://dreamdroid.com/dd/contact.htm

[9] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20021205122819/http://dreamdroid.com/dd/contact.htm

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]