- "...when Robot Wars started initially, Zander and I were like "Oh yeah, we can do that. It's like, two weeks away." So we totally had enough time, and we had like three-hundred bucks, so we're like "We'll build a robot.", and... it didn't work out very well. But from that point, we were really hooked..."
- — Inertia Labs co-captain Reason Bradley, on his and Alex Rose's experience with SWAK[2]
SWAK (also referred to as SWACK[3] or Swack[1]) was a heavyweight robot which competed exclusively in the 1996 US Robot Wars competition. The first entry from Alex Rose and Reason Bradley, future co-captains of BattleBots mainstays Inertia Labs, it lost in the first round of both the Heavyweight Face-Off and Heavyweight Melee events.[4][5]
Design[]
The smallest and lightest heavyweight competitor of the 1996 event (classified as a middleweight in the official entry list[1]), SWAK was a diamond-shaped robot armed with an overhead cable flail. On each end of the steel cable was a weight, which when activated would swing outwards as the cable itself 'whipped around violently'. Powering the weapon system was a lawnmower motor.[3] According to Reason Bradley, SWAK was built just two weeks before the competition, at a cost of $300.[2]
Etymology[]
SWAK is an acronym for "Seal With A Kiss".
Robot History[]
1996 US Championship[]
SWAK's 1996 campaign began in the Heavyweight Face-Off, where it fought fellow newcomer Killbborg in the opening round.
Both robots were slow to engage in combat at first, with SWAK trying to get its cable flails up to speed. This caused the robot to shake violently as it gyrated in circles, before it was pushed towards a nearby flipper and a descending mousetrap by Killbborg. SWAK attempted to dodge Ken Atkinson's machine, but was unable to do so as it was eventually pinned against the wall opposite the mousetrap. The collision with the hazard stalled the lawnmower motor, which was enough to disable the flail weapon. Killbborg prodded SWAK with its own retracting spears, before proceeding to ram it against the wall and the left spring for the mousetrap. As a result, SWAK became trapped between the wall and the back of the mousetrap, which counted as a pin. It was soon counted out, and eliminated from the Heavyweight Face-Off.[3][4]
In the Heavyweight Melee event, SWAK was drawn against five other robots in its first-round battle: Frank, Gutrip, Marvin, Robot Redford Jr and TerMinal frenZy.

SWAK (left) struggles for controlled movement as Marvin attacks TerMinal frenZy
In the opening moments, it converged with Frank, Marvin and TerMinal frenZy and SWAK in the upper-right corner. Clouds of blue smoke filled the arena as SWAK's lawnmower motor got up to speed. However, the robot displayed very little mobility as it was nudged by Marvin. When the motor seized, SWAK was left spinning rapidly opposite the wall bumper by 'the momentum of its own crankshaft', until it became fully immobilized. Thus, it took no further part in the fight, and was not chosen to advance into the Heavyweight Melee Final.[3][5]
Results[]
SWAK - RESULTS | ||
1996 US Championship | ||
Heavyweight Face-Off Round 1 | ||
Round 1 | vs. Killbborg | Lost |
Heavyweight Melee Round 1 | ||
Melee | vs. Frank, Gutrip, Marvin, Robot Redford Jr, TerMinal frenZy | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 2
Outside Robot Wars[]
After 1996, SWAK was succeeded by Rhino, which competed in US Robot Wars and BattleBots events between 1997 and 2000. For more information, see Rhino (1997).
Following Rhino's retirement, Inertia Labs (also formatted as Inertia-Labs) constructed and enjoyed major success in the televised Comedy Central BattleBots series with four robots, all incorporating pneumatic weapon systems. These included:
- Toro - A superheavyweight with a powerful rear-hinged flipper, capable of throwing other competitors at a force of 7,000lbs (Seasons 2.0-5.0). Superheavyweight champion of Season 4.0, and winner of the Superheavyweight Royal Rumble in Seasons 2.0-3.0.[6]
- T-Minus - A two-wheel drive middleweight counterpart of Toro, harnessing half of the latter's flipper power (Seasons 3.0-5.0). Season 5.0 middleweight champion and Season 3.0 Middleweight Royal Rumble winner.[7]
- The Matador - A heavyweight flipper with a quoted 'flipping force' of 20,000lbs, capable of throwing opponents 'over 12 feet' in the air. Round of 16 finisher in Seasons 4.0 and 5.0.[8]
- The Butcher - Another superheavyweight armed with a unique 'pneumatic rotary blade', mounted horizontally and powered by an air motor operating at 150psi. Competed exclusively in Season 5.0, but did not progress beyond the preliminary rounds.[9]
With Comedy Central declining to continue their BattleBots series beyond Season 5.0, Alexander Rose helped establish the Robot Fighting League, a governing body for robot builders and live event organizers in the United States. Ahead of their inaugural meeting on November 8 2002, coinciding with the Las Vegas Street Fight event, he was responsible for creating a unified set of rules for events to be sanctioned under the RFL. These were immediately approved, and the Robot Fighting League was founded, with Rose as one of their inaugural members. Toro, The Matador and T-Minus are also known to have attended as competitors for the Street Fight event itself, the fourth to be organized by RoboJoust.[10][11]
For BattleBots' televised revival in 2015, Inertia Labs prepared a new heavyweight - Bronco - once again armed with a powerful rear-hinged pneumatic flipper. Bronco fought in the first four seasons, immediately finding success by reaching the semi-finals of the 2015 ABC season. At that point, it was eliminated by Tombstone in a brutal knockout loss. Bronco's design would be continuously updated for its remaining appearances, to the extent that two separate chassis were built and used as a measure to counter opponents with powerful spinners. However, it could not repeat its 2015 form, finishing in the quarter-finals in 2016 (losing to Minotaur) and the 2018 Discovery season (losing to Whiplash), despite claiming a 4-0 match record in the Fight Night stages of the latter. Conversely, a winless Fight Night streak eliminated Bronco early from the 2019 season; the last time it would compete in the main series. Bronco later took part in the re:MARS all:STARS BattleBots Challenge event, as one of ten selected robots to compete for the Giant Bolt Trophy. Here it picked up its first win since the 2018 season over Free Shipping before losing in the final to Witch Doctor. Bronco made a one-off return in the 2020 spin-off BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, as one of the six "Bounty Holders", but was unable to defend its bounty from Victor Soto's ROTATOR.
In June 2023, Bronco began reappearing at the BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon live shows, taking part in unscripted battles alongside a fleet of purpose-built ShowBots. In a Team Skorpios builder blog from January 2024, Reason Bradley otherwise clarified that the robot itself was fully retired, with Inertia Labs having sold it to BattleBots along with its spare parts and IP rights.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 'Robot Wars III 1996 Event Report', Team Minus Zero website (archived)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 'Inside The Legendary BATTLEBOTS BRONCO Workshop!', Skorpios Battlebot (YouTube), uploaded January 31 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 'SWACK', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 'Robot Wars 1996: Killbborg versus Thwack! (Heavyweight)' Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded December 24 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 'Robot Wars 1996 - Heavyweight Melee 2', diabolicalmachine (YouTube), uploaded July 25 2008
- ↑ 'Inertia-Labs' [Toro], Inertia Labs website (archived November 5 2002)
- ↑ 'Inertia-Labs' [T-Minus], Inertia Labs website (archived December 12 2002)
- ↑ 'Inertia-Labs' [The Matador], Inertia Labs website (archived 10 December 2002)
- ↑ 'Inertia-Labs' [The Butcher], Inertia Labs website (archived November 5 2002)
- ↑ 'About the Robot Fighting League', Robot Fighting League (archived March 12 2005)
- ↑ 'Las Vegas Robot Joust IV VHS - Fighting Robots 2002', BotCast (YouTube), uploaded December 7 2020
External Links[]
[]
|
|