- "The important thing to understand about Robot Wars is that it is a television program, not an engineering competition. Above all the robot must look good on TV. I therefore wanted a machine with a good image."
- — Andrew Wylie on Skorpizoid's aesthetics[1]
Skorpizoid was a competitor robot which attempted to enter Series 7 of Robot Wars. It ultimately failed to qualify for the series after suffering major control issues during both of its known qualifiers, caused by the removal of one of its unusual rotating blade weapons.
Design[]
Skorpizoid from the right-hand side during the Series 7 qualifiers. Note the plastic bottle used to cover its rotors in The Pits
Skorpizoid was a two-wheel drive, box-shaped robot with a narrow rectangular chassis made out of 1-inch square steel tubing, and protected in steel plating between 1 and 3mm in thickness. Its construction also incorporated a front angled plough decorated to resemble a menacing face, in keeping with the gothic theme Team Zoid had settled upon. As such, the robot adopted a black, red and white paint scheme.[1]
- "The most destructive robot weapons on the program are either gas-powered flippers or massive spinning disks. The former are just too dangerous for me: one mistake during construction or testing and you have lost some body parts. But on the other hand I did not want to make a boring clone of Hypnodisc (although there are plenty of teams that have). So I designed a unique device based on rotational storage of energy, but not a disk: instead a massive rotor is attached via a shaft to a pair of cutting blades that are intended to rip into anything they touch."
- — Andrew Wylie on Skorpizoid's weapons[1]
According to Team Zoid captain Andrew Wylie, Skorpizoid was initially intended to be armed with an 'electrical discharge' weapon, though this was prohibited under the Robot Wars build rules. Instead, the complete machine was to utilise a pair of rotating cutting blades functioning similarly to drills, based on a rotor-driven mechanism conceived by Wylie himself. Weighing 10kg each and rotating at up to 1,000rpm, these cutters would be angled downwards and fixed onto metal plates mounted to either side of the chassis. As they would be in close contact with the arena floor, each rotor assembly was fitted with a ball transfer unit at the lowest point. Wylie explained on his website that Skorpizoid's unusual weaponry was a deliberate deviation from trends towards robots armed with pneumatic flippers or large spinning weapons. However, he later acknowledged potential issues with the rotor design, namely the ease in which the axles could be bent and, in turn, potentially nullified by the vibrations it generated.[1]
- "The original concept was really a cross between a scorpion and a stealth fighter: a narrow triangular-section body with an over-arching tail, and a removable weapon arm on each side. In the course of construction this changed: the body section became rectangular and the tail disappeared."
- — Andrew Wylie on Skorpizoid's original design concept[1]
Work on Skorpizoid began in December 2001, though its initial design was substantially different to what would appear at the Series 7 qualifiers. Andrew Wylie had initially conceptualised a scorpion-inspired design with a triangular body, an 'over-arching tail', and 'removable' weapon arms, potentially suggesting the adoption of interchangeable weapon configurations. Over the course of Skorpizoid's construction, however, the concept was rejected, and the overall design reworked to be more practical and achievable to finish. This included the switch to the rectangular chassis and the omission of the overhead tail.[1]
However, despite its unusual and innovative weapons, the completed Skorpizoid had no self-righting mechanism, and suffered multiple issues that compromised its attempt to qualify for Series 7.
Qualification[]
Prior to its qualifier, Skorpizoid immediately hit problems upon arrival at RAF Newton for filming, the start of which had been delayed to late August following the change of broadcaster from BBC Two to Five. While assembling the robot outside the hangar, Andrew Wylie realised that the team had forgotten to bring the top armour plates to protect the wheels, though they would still be shielded from most attacks by the rotor assemblies. Worse still, Team Zoid had also forgotten to bring a method of covering the robot's cutting blades when it was stabled in The Pits, resorting to cutting a plastic bottle in half and placing each half over Skorpizoid's cutting blades. This method received criticism from the Robot Wars production crew, who told the team to bring a more suitable method of protection if they were to qualify for the main series.[1]
The team also discovered that Skorpizoid was 10kg overweight when measured on the scales used at production. As such, they were forced to remove Skorpizoid's left rotor at the suggestion of Alan Gribble. While this modification enabled Skorpizoid to compete at a reduced weight of 95kg, this left it 'distinctly unbalanced', resulting in the machine suffering major control problems throughout its qualifiers. Despite this - along with further issues with its transmitter battery running flat - Skorpizoid passed the technical check conducted by George Francis, while the rotor weapons themselves gathered interest from and were praised for their originality by other roboteers in attendance.[1]
Skorpizoid was initially drawn against three opponents armed with spinning discs. However, it could not enter the arena for the qualifier, instead hitting a nearby wall in its bullpen as half of its drive had seemingly been incapacitated. Even after being turned round by Kim Davies so that it could reverse out, Skorpizoid remained immobile as a result of a sprocket wheel becoming detached on one side. At this point, it was removed from the bullpen for repairs. True to Davies' words, Team Zoid were allowed to fight a second qualifier match, which also happened to be the last battle taking place that day.[1]
Skorpizoid in its qualifier
Here, Skorpizoid was drawn against I Bot One Beta, Metalis (referred to by the team as Metallica), Tough as Nails, and an unidentified robot constructed out of plywood. Tough as Nails and Metalis immediately collided with and immobilised each other, while I Bot One Beta attacked the plywood robot. Skorpizoid, meanwhile, was still spinning in circles as a result of the weight imbalance caused by the removed rotor, and was attacked by I Bot One Beta after the latter immobilised the plywood robot. I Bot One Beta slammed into Skorpizoid's remaining rotor and glanced off it, before using its spinning bars to leave a deep cut in its front and split apart its rear section. Skorpizoid's batteries also began to run out of charge, reducing the power of its rotors and compelling Andrew Wylie to switch off its transmitter at the very end.[1]
I Bot One Beta was declared the winner of this battle, securing its place in the televised Seventh Wars. Tough as Nails and Metalis were also awarded discretionary places, while neither Skorpizoid or the plywood robot were selected for the main or side competitions. Despite this, and the damage sustained to its front end and weapon, Skorpizoid was still able to leave a large hole through I Bot One Beta's body, proving the rotor's destructive capability.[1]
- "I learned a lot from all this, not least how the whole Robot Wars 'circus' works. Unfortunately it looks like the TV series has come to an end, and combat robotics in the UK, if it continues at all, will be under a different organisation. Secondly a lot of things went wrong that would not have, had I been properly prepared. Next time I must weigh properly and get some driving practice. In reality that's hard as it seems to be the norm to be struggling to finish construction on time."
- — Andrew Wylie reflects on his Robot Wars experience
Series Record[]
| Series | Skorpizoid 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 | Failed to qualify |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
Trivia[]
- The team had come back from holiday in France the day before the qualifiers, arriving home in Purley in London at 23:00, before leaving for the qualifiers at 6:15 the following morning.[1]