Snake

Snake
Participation Information
US 1994-1997 Events	1997
Team Information
Team	Team Sinister
Team Members	Mark Setrakian Peter Abrahamson Robert Orr Paul Rivera
From	California
Other Entries	The Master (1994-1996, 1995 UK Open, Mark Setrakian) Gigan (1996, Peter Abrahamson) Nezumi (1996, Robert Orr) The Rat (1997, Robert Orr)
Robot Statistics
Weight	~300lbs
Drive	Linear actuators
Weapons	Front jaws & tail drill
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Snake was a walking robot built by Mark Setrakian for the 1997 US Robot Wars competition. Notable for its large and unusual design, it participated in both the Heavyweight Face-Off and Heavyweight Melee events, but would not progress beyond the first round on either occasion. Snake's design, proving an instant crowd favorite, also earnt it the 'Strangest' award for the 1997 event.

Design

Snake, minus armor

Built to the maximum 300lb limit for heavyweight walkers of the era, Snake was an exceptionally large robot modelled on the limbless reptiles of the same name. Its construction incorporated aluminum body panels and a 'Welded steel skeleton', the latter comprising of eight independently-controlled segments linked together using linear actuators. All segments featured their own internals, and were operated in tandem by a scaled-down 'armature' controller wielded by Mark Setrakian himself. Movements within the 'armature' would be replicated by the life-sized Snake. Combined with its weight distribution, these would allow the whole machine to slither, twist, roll, lift and coil around itself depending on Setrakian's inputs.

Snake's weapons included a large set of front '3-way' jaws and a power drill forming its rear 'stinger'. The former were also powered by linear actuators, and possessed a wide span which proved useful in blocking opponents' attacks. While neither weapon was otherwise effective, Snake's reptilian-derived design left an instant impression throughout its 1997 run.

Robot History

1997 US Championship

Snake poses during its arena demonstration

Prior to its competitive debut, Snake was one of three robots - alongside Z and Alexander - to perform demonstrations to audience members on the first day of the 1997 competition. The public demonstration showcased its unusual locomotion, 'armature' controls and weaponry, while also introducing Mark Setrakian's teammates - Paul Rivera, Robert "Bob" Orr and Peter Abrahamson. Setrakian revealed to host Joel Hodgson that it took him only twelve days to build Snake for the event.

Snake's first 1997 battle occurred in the Heavyweight Face-Off championship, where it was drawn against the redesigned Scorpion in the opening round.

The Scorpion jabs Snake

From the outset, it displayed very little momentum across the arena as it lifted and turned its body over. Snake was thus vulnerable to a few early strikes from The Scorpion's pneumatic tail, targeting both its 'tail' and the armor behind the jaws. To the audience's amazement, Snake began opening its articulated jaws, before turning and lifting its 'head' in multiple directions as Scorpion refocused on attacking the center of its body. Snake, in a bid to pin The Scorpion, wrapped its 'tail' and 'head' around Raymond Washburn's entry, its right-most jaws also blocking further attacks from The Scorpion's tail.

The Scorpion uses its jaws against the side of Snake

Snake proceeded to lift its entire body upwards, with The Scorpion keeping clear. However, the damage of The Scorpion's earlier attacks began to manifest, as a weld within part of its 'skeleton' had broken during the initial exchanges. A few nudges from The Scorpion prompted Snake to turn and coil around its opponent a second time, while weathering more of The Scorpion's overhead attacks. Snake kept writhing around in the right-most perimeter as The Scorpion shoved and hammered it a few times. During the closing moments, it attempted to constrict The Scorpion one more time, but without success, as the match concluded. Both robots survived to a Judges' decision, which ruled The Scorpion the winner on damage. With Snake not appearing in the subsequent Loser's Bracket, this effectively marked its elimination from the Heavyweight Face-Off.

In the Heavyweight Melee tournament, Snake fought against DooAll, frenZy, Monster and Tazbot in its preliminary round.

frenZy hammers away at Snake

Tazbot thwacks Snake

Taking up most of the inner-left perimeter, it was again sluggish to start, squirming, rolling over and coiling inwards as most of its opponents congregated on the other side of the arena. Snake was thus vulnerable to a few attacks from frenZy's axe, which damaged its armor and a set of wiring powering its front jaws as it thrashed and coiled. Now rendered partially weaponless, it coiled a third time as DooAll proceeded to ram, then push it backwards towards the upper-right flipper. Snake raised its 'head' and 'tail' simultaneously, crashing onto its side while trying to retreat from an attacking Tazbot. An armor panel, which had been prised open during these early exchanges, revealed part of Snake's internals as it kept writhing and thrashing around near the corner.

Shortly after this, DooAll pushed frenZy back into Snake's 'tail', again leaving Snake vulnerable to frenZy's axe as the latter was toppled over. Monster also smashed into the 'tail', which frenZy hooked while self-righting. A few seconds later, Snake attempted to trap an approaching frenZy, which rammed and backed away from its coiling body just in time. Snake unravelled and remained in the upper-right corner, where it was left untroubled for several moments. This was until Tazbot rammed and whacked it from the side and 'tail', initially prompting Snake to briefly start another 'constriction'. Monster also began pressuring Snake from the front, while suffering from its own control and reliability issues at this point in the Melee.

The scrap with Tazbot continued, resulting in Snake also being lifted while more of its armor panels started to come loose. Snake crawled and tumbled back towards the center, at which point DooAll rammed into it with its plow. In response, it twice attempted to clamp around DooAll, whose escape was briefly blocked by a nearby Tazbot. frenZy rejoined the fray, but initially focused on attacking Tazbot instead. Snake retreated, before repeating its earlier movements to briefly grasp Tazbot by the turret.

Having survived into the final minute, Snake kept writhing and lifting across its part of the arena. It began tumbling back across the center, prompting Tazbot to attack its body once more. Snake fully wrapped itself around Tazbot in return, to a standing ovation from the audience as the Melee reached its conclusion. Tazbot continued to whack Snake's armor from the inside as it started pulling free, leaving Snake with further damage as it released its opponent. Both Snake and Tazbot were the only robots still fully mobile, making them eligible to qualify for later rounds. However, the damage sustained meant that both were 'retired' after the first round, ultimately leaving DooAll as the only robot to progress.

Following its short 1997 campaign, Snake was given the 'Strangest' award by the event organizers, in recognition of its highly unusual and crowd-pleasing design.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

NOTE: Snake's Heavyweight Melee, where it remained mobile for the full duration, is considered a win.

Series Record

Events	Snake Event Record
1994	Entered with The Master (Mark Setrakian)
1995	Entered with The Master (Mark Setrakian) Entered with Gigan (Peter Abrahamson)
1996	Entered with The Master (Mark Setrakian) Entered with Gigan (Peter Abrahamson) Entered with Nezumi (Robert Orr)
1997	Heavyweight Face-Off, Round 1 Heavyweight Melee, Round 1 Withdrew with Gigan II (Peter Abrahamson) Entered with The Rat (Robert Orr)

Outside Robot Wars

Following a short hiatus from robot combat, a redesigned Snake competed in Season 2.0 of the televised Comedy Central BattleBots series in late 2000. Classified as a superheavyweight, it was now eligible to weigh as much as 480lbs, being equipped with new front jaws and a larger custom drill tail nicknamed "The Punisher". This iteration of Snake proved more successful, winning its first battle against Anubis by knockout, before losing a televised match against War Machine at the Round of 16 stage. Snake would also receive the 'Best Engineered Robot' and 'Coolest Robot' awards in the same season, before being retired from combat.

Mechadon at BattleBots Las Vegas 1999

Mechadon performs a demonstration inside the BattleBox (BattleBots Season 4.0)

Snake would not be Mark Setrakian's only foray into super-sized walking robots. At the inaugural BattleBots Long Beach event on August 14-15 1999, he debuted Mechadon, a super heavyweight machine operated by six claw-shaped legs. The claws served as both locomotion and weaponry, allowing the whole robot to walk and roll, as well as pin and lift opponents. Although Mechadon made a recurring presence throughout early BattleBots events - mostly through participating in exhibition battles and solo demonstrations - it made its only competition runs at the 1999 Las Vegas Pay-Per-View and in Season 1.0 of the Comedy Central series. At Las Vegas, Mechadon defeated Ginsu, but was forced to retire ahead of its battle against Ricon. In Season 1.0, it defeated Prompt Critical without even needing to make contact with its opponent, but subsequently lost to Rammstein.

For more information on Mark Setrakian's involvement in BattleBots and his 2022 walker design Stalker, see The Master.

See Also

• Snake (BattleBots)