Tauron

Tauron
Participation Information
UK Series	9-10
Other Names	Tauron Mark II (Series 10) Tauron Mk2 (Series 10)
Team Information
Team	Team Tauron
Team Members	Tom Brewster Tim Brewster
From	Bedfordshire
Robot Statistics
Weight	110kg
Top Speed	10-12mph
Power	33v LiPo battery
Drive	2x 1.5hp NPC-T64 motors (33v)
Weapons	Vertical bar spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Tauron is a fast, fully invertible, highly manoeuvrable, charging robot, equipped with a powerful, reversible, vertical spinning bar. An unusual feature is the articulation which allows the weapon section to swing into the new position when the robot is inverted."

— Team Tauron website on the original robot

Tauron was a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 9 and Series 10 of Robot Wars. In Series 9, it was defeated in its Group Battle after having its removable link knocked out by fellow newcomer Concussion. In Series 10, an extensively-redesigned Tauron put on a more impressive display, eliminating The Kegs from its Group Battle in destructive fashion. However, it would lose the same melee to Iron-Awe 6 after getting stuck on a piece of debris, and was eliminated by Androne 4000 on a Judges' decision in Robot Redemption, despite again inflicting substantial damage to its opponent.

Versions of Tauron

Tauron (Series 9)

"The weapon weighs 13 kilograms and is powered by a brushed DC motor running at 42 volts. This delivers approximately 3,000 revolutions per minute and a tip speed of around 100 metres per second. Tauron features an innovative pivoting design which allows the weapon to function equally lethally when inverted."

— Robot Wars website on Tauron

Rear view of Tauron in Series 9

Tauron was a box-shaped robot armed with a 13kg vertical spinning bar, 65cm in length, made from HARDOX 450, with a maximum speed of 220mph - roughly 3100rpm. The robot was powered by two wheels, which were exposed on top of the robot, making the robot invertible, with a top speed of 12mph. Uniquely, Tauron's bar spinner was mounted on a pivot, so if Tauron was inverted, the weapon would rotate into the upright position, and its direction could be reversed, like IG-88's spinning axe.

Tauron's spinning bar

Tauron's chassis and exoskeleton were made out of 6mm and 4mm HARDOX 500, with its armour consisting of 6mm polycarbonate. 2x 1.5 horsepower electric motors powered the drive, and the robot used a 32V lithium polymer battery. To conserve weight, many sections were cut out of the HARDOX frame, and the robot was internally lit by red LEDs. The robot's batteries were two ZIPPY Flightmax 8000mAh 5S1P 30C, running at 18.5 volts.

"Tom has been a Robot Wars fan since he was a child, and says he always dreamed of entering. He realised entering Robot Wars was a possibility when the new series started. He now works as video games tester in Birmingham and has used these skills in building Tauron. Tim has always been interested in how things work, and has made lots of things from musical instruments to a 13’ boat, which was built in the 13’6” living room of the family home. Tauron is Tim’s first venture into robotics."

— Robot Wars website on the origins of Tauron

Tauron Mk2 (Series 10)

Tauron Mk2

The Series 10 version, referred to as Tauron Mk II on the rear panel, was a complete rebuild of the previous machine. Tauron Mk2 featured a much more compact design, with a narrower front end and a shorter rear, but was still two-wheel driven and invertible. Its armour was upgraded to 4mm HARDOX steel with 10mm HDPE top and bottom panels; the latter chosen by the team for its greater flexibility over the polycarbonate they initially planned to use.

Tauron Mk2 in the arena during Series 10

Tauron Mk2's bar spinner was visibly thicker than its predecessor's, at 600mm; holes were cut out of the spinner to reduce its weight to 18kg - a 5kg increase over the weapon of the original version. The bar spinner runs at 3,600rpm, for a tip speed of 244mph. The pivot in which the bar spinner was held is now found within the centre of Tauron Mk2, instead of being the robot's entire front end as before. Eyes were designed into the front of the robot for aesthetics. However, Tauron Mk2 can still be stranded on its flat sides, and the robot's weight distribution made it hard to control while turning with the weapon powered on.

"Armour was upgraded from 6mm Polycarbonate to 4mm Hardened Steel (Hardox) and 10mm HDPE, weapon speed was upgraded from 220mph to 250mph, bar’s weight was increased from 13kg to 18kg, lifespan was upgraded from 8 seconds to 360 seconds (An increase of 3800%!)"

— Tom Brewster details the upgrades to Tauron, while mocking the previous version

Etymology

Tauron's name is a portmanteau of taurus (Latin for 'bull') and automaton (a self-operating machine). Although the name 'Tauron Mk II' appeared on the surface of the robot in Series 10, it was referred to only as Tauron by the presenters, team, and Jonathan Pearce.

According to Tom Brewster, Tauron's original names were Taurus or RYNO, the latter in reference to a weapon from the Ratchet & Clank video game series. The former was the team's preferred choice, but was not used in order to avoid confusion with the bomb disposal robot of the same name.

The Team

"Tom has been a Robot Wars fan since he was a child, and says he always dreamed of entering. He realised entering Robot Wars was a possibility when the new series started. He now works as video games tester in Birmingham and has used these skills in building Tauron. Tim has always been interested in how things work, and has made lots of things from musical instruments to a 13’ boat, which was built in the 13’6” living room of the family home. Tauron is Tim’s first venture into robotics."

— The Robot Wars website on Team Tauron

Team Tauron in Series 9

Team Tauron with their machine in Series 10

Team Tauron consisted of a father-and-son duo, captained by son Tom Brewster, alongside father Tim Brewster. At the time of Series 10, team captain Tom Brewster was aged 22, and was the lead designer and builder of the robot, also taking up the role of driver. 55-year old IT consultant Tim Brewster also assisted with the design and build process, and largely financed Tauron. Tom Brewster worked as a mobile games tester, which was frequently referenced on the show, as Angela Scanlon believed that Tom's experience with video games would improve his driving abilities with Tauron. Although not present on-screen, Jane Brewster, mother and wife to Tom and Tim, was also present throughout filming.

Qualification

The CAD used in Tauron's application for Series 9

Like Hobgoblin, Tauron was one of only a small selection of robots to qualify for Robot Wars despite not being built at the time of application. Team Tauron instead applied for Series 9 using a CAD of Tauron and a wooden prototype, but this was enough for Tauron to be accepted into the series.

Initial design of Tauron Mk 2

For Series 10, Team Tauron created the new design, Tauron Mk 2, and filmed an application video to assist with its online application. Due to the show featuring only thirty robots as opposed to the previous forty, there was no longer room for Tauron in the initial line-up of the series. However, the team were invited to bring their robot to filming as a reserve, and when Triforce withdrew from the competition due to locomotion issues, Tauron Mk 2 took its place, the first reserve to join the main competition.

Robot History

Series 9

Tauron first competed in Heat C of Series 9. In its Group Battle, it faced Series 8 fourth-place finisher and New Blood third-place finisher Thor, Series 8 returnee Chimera2 and fellow newcomer Concussion, whose team formed a friendship with Team Tauron after sharing a workbench with them in The Pits.

Dara Ó Briain: "Have you tried the smaller weight classes? Have you attempted anything?"

Tim Brewster: "No."

Dara Ó Briain: "You’ve just gone straight in at this level?"

Tom Brewster: "Yeah, never built a robot before, start at the deep end, there you go."

— Dara Ó Briain discusses with Team Tauron their decision to build a heavyweight as their first robot

Tauron is buffeted aside by Concussion

Tauron started the battle by dodging Concussion's initial charge and driving away from Thor, its spinning bar sending sparks flying as it hit Thor's side while the latter tried to push it. It was then buffeted away by a slam from Concussion, the impact causing more sparks to fly and dislodging Tauron's removable link, leaving it immobilised close to the wall.

"And what is, err, Tauron doing? Hello, TAURON! What are you doing? Not a lot."

— Jonathan Pearce notices Tauron's immobility

Tauron lays idle

Tauron was briefly nudged aside as Thor charged after Concussion and Chimera2, and was eventually eliminated from Series 9 along with Chimera2, which became immobilised later on in the battle. Off-screen, Tauron's top armour was punctured by Shunt, and the robot was heated over the flame pit.

"Tauron, what happened to you, Tom and Tim? Oh deary, deary me!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Tauron and Chimera2 are eliminated

Following this loss, Tauron's link was plugged back into the robot, and proved to be fully functional in the test arena. Team Tauron remained on-site in case other teams withdrew, but Tauron ultimately did not return to the arena.

Series 10

"We brought an absolute monster with us. It's far more heavily-armoured, it's got a much bigger weapon – it's designed to win, quite frankly. It's going to destroy everybody we come across. To win Robot Wars would just – it'd be... unreal, it would be."

— Tom Brewster

The Mk 2 version of Tauron competed in Heat D of Series 10, replacing Triforce following the latter's withdrawal. This made the Bedfordshire machine the first reserve entry of this series to be drafted into the main competition. In its Group Battle, Tauron faced The Kegs, a two-part clusterbot from Team Terror Turtle, and returning veteran Iron-Awe 6.

Tauron pressures Iron-Awe 6 onto the Flame Pit

Tauron rips the bar spinner off one half of The Kegs

Immediately, Tauron dodged Iron-Awe 6 and turned around, driving up the latter's flipper, before being rammed by one half of The Kegs. It turned around and drove into Iron-Awe 6's side, although without causing any damage, and backed away, taking some of Iron-Awe 6's entanglement devices with it. Tauron drove up Iron-Awe 6 again, sparks flying as its bar hit the latter's flipper, before again sustaining a blow from one of The Kegs' spinners. It retreated to attack the other half of The Kegs, before surviving a push from Iron-Awe 6 and shredding one of its entanglement cannons. Driving over the spark jets, Tauron manoeuvred across the arena and hit one of the Kegs. Upon impact, it tore the clusterbot's own bar spinner off and sent it flying towards the control room occupied by Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon. This attack startled both presenters as The Kegs' spinner hit and caused a metal bar on the control room to fall off.

"Big hit to The Kegs... weaponless... is it dead?"

— Jonathan Pearce as Tauron Mk 2 rips one of The Kegs' bar spinners off

Tauron lifts itself through its own gyroscopic forces

Tauron throws the other half of The Kegs into the air during 'Rogue House Robot'

Tauron proceeded to attack Iron-Awe 6 next to an entry gate, before being collected by Sir Killalot as 'Rogue House Robot' was enabled. It swiftly drove away and slammed into the remaining half of The Kegs, sending it barrel-rolling across the arena and leaving it immobilised on its side. Tauron drove away from and was scooped up by Iron-Awe 6, before hitting the latter's sloped sides and pushing it around the descending pit. It momentarily lifted Iron-Awe 6 with a rear-on hit, before being slowly pushed around in circles by Iron-Awe 6.

"What are you pushing me around for?"

— Tom Brewster jests as Tauron is pushed by Iron-Awe 6

Tauron and Iron-Awe 6 become stuck together

Tauron is stranded on a piece of debris following Sir Killalot's intervention

Eventually, the two robots separated, with Tauron landing two more blows to Iron-Awe 6's side before driving away. The two robots bumped each other twice more – the gyroscopic forces of Tauron's bar spinner momentarily lifting it onto one wheel as it clipped Iron-Awe 6 again and drove away. Once more, Tauron drove up Iron-Awe 6, the two robots getting stuck together as it attempted to drive off. Sir Killalot separated both competitors, with Tauron once again clipping Iron-Awe 6 with its bar as the latter drove free. However, the House Robot's intervention left Tauron wedged on a piece of debris, leaving its wheels suspended off the floor and the robot unable to drive. As a result, Noel Sharkey activated Tauron's countdown timer, although with Iron-Awe 6 having lost full mobility seconds afterwards, the battle went to a Judges' decision.

Due to it becoming immobilised first, the decision went against Tauron, consigning it to second place. Tom Brewster was left particularly disappointed by the outcome, having managed to free Tauron from the debris after 'Cease' had been called and only becoming aware of its defeat when Dara Ó Briain congratulated Team Iron-Awe.

"I thought at the end of that fight that we both gone down at the same time, so I thought it would go to a Judges' decision, but I didn't realise. So, I actually deliberately stopped moving because I thought, 'well that's it, it's game over', but... Iron-Awe moved a bit and we didn't."

— Tom Brewster expresses his thoughts on the Judges' decision

In the Robot Redemption stage, Tauron faced Robot Wars newcomer Androne 4000, for a chance to secure a place in the Heat Semi-Finals.

"The main thing we'd learned from the previous fight was just how hard the robot was to manoeuvre with the weapon spinning. So for the first half of the fight, the plan was to spin the weapon a bit slower so we could move, get around the side of Androne, and attack! But of course we learned early on that this wasn't going to work."

— Tom Brewster

Tauron lifts Androne 4000 with its first hit

Tauron damages Androne 4000's armour while being lifted by an arena spike

As 'Activate' was called, it briefly backed away before luring Androne 4000 across the arena, with Team Tauron deciding to spin its bar spinner up slower than before to improve manoeuvrability. The two robots collided, with Tauron twice lifting Androne 4000 with its bar before the latter pushed it towards an entry gate and into Sir Killalot. The impact knocked one of Sir Killalot's shoulder pads off. Tauron drove over the spark jets to escape, but was quickly pushed back into Sir Killalot by Androne 4000, clipping the House Robot's claw in the process. Once more, Tauron backed out, but was soon grasped by Androne 4000, with the two robots pushing and dragging each other around as its spinner hit Androne 4000's front end.

"Go on, let's go guys – now we're up to speed! Let's have it!"

— Tom Brewster as Tauron tussles with Androne 4000

The two competitors grapple with each other

Tauron throws Androne 4000 off the floor after hitting one of its forks

Eventually, Tauron was pushed onto the arena spikes by Androne 4000; as it was being lifted by one of the spikes, it tore Androne 4000's top panel open, the two robots locking together as Androne 4000 clamped onto Tauron's bar assembly. Sir Killalot pushed both robots away, before Tauron was dragged forwards by Androne 4000 and released. Seconds later, it drove head-on into Androne 4000 again, which pushed Tauron back and sunk its crusher through the bar spinner mount. With its body lifted off the floor as a result of Androne 4000's attack, Tauron was rendered helpless as Dead Metal left its CPZ, grabbed it and sliced through its back panel. Dead Metal pushed Tauron over the Flame Pit as Androne 4000 released its grip; Tauron sustained another slice, but drove forwards and met Androne 4000 again in the centre of the arena. As Androne 4000 clamped and lifted its body up again, Tauron's spinner clipped the latter's forks, momentarily lifting its opponent onto one side.

"Yeah, here we go!"

— Tom Brewster as Tauron lifts Androne 4000 off its wheels

Smoke pours from Tauron as the two competitors lock together again

A second head-on collision stopped Tauron's spinner, although it caught underneath Androne 4000's top panel as it was pushed back. Tauron drove away and into Androne 4000 again, smoke pouring as Androne 4000 grabbed hold of one of the drive belts for its spinner. This had no apparent effect on Tauron as the competitors separated, as it tore Androne 4000's right-front panel apart seconds later.

"Tauron, are on top for me with Tom Brewster at the controls – [Androne 4000] are in real peril here..."

— Jonathan Pearce as Tauron damages a limping Androne 4000

Tauron crashes into Androne 4000, throwing both into the air

As Androne 4000 struggled for mobility, Tauron slammed into its opponent twice more, the second hit tearing Androne 4000's loosened panel completely off and launching both robots off the floor. Tauron hit Androne 4000 again, before driving through an empty CPZ, dodging Dead Metal and attempting to lure Androne 4000 into the pit - its bar spinner having completely stopped by this point. The two robots drove around the arena in the closing seconds, with Tauron driving itself over – and being thrown by – the Floor Flipper just before 'Cease' was called.

Tauron is thrown by the Floor Flipper in the closing stages

"It proved to be a great fight, we had a lot of fun, and a big congrats to the Androne folks for taking it. I believe that the judges did make the right call – Personally, I believe that Androne certainly had plenty more control, whereas we scored highly on damage. Aggression may have been theirs in the first half of the battle, whereas the second half it could have been either way. It was a fantastic fight, and kudos to the Androne team for building such a fantastic machine."

— Tom Brewster

Both teams congratulated each other as the battle went to a Judges' decision. Despite the damage inflicted to Androne 4000, the decision unanimously went against Tauron, eliminating it from Series 10 after a brief, yet destructive run.

Angela Scanlon: "You'll come back, won't you?"

Tom Brewster: "Of course we will. We'll be back with another improved Tauron, I’m sure."

— Tom Brewster promises the return of Tauron, following its elimination from Series 10

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 3

Series Record

Series	Tauron Series Record
Series 1-7	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Heat, Round 1
Series 10	Heat, Round 1

Gallery

An unfinished Tauron in its Series 9 VT segment

Tauron enters the arena in Series 9

Tauron, Tauron Mk2 and Tauron Mk3 in Tom Brewster's garage

Outside Robot Wars

Tauron

Tauron Mk 1, fitted with its axe

With help from the Dorset Roboteering Team, the Series 9 version of Tauron (later retroactively called Tauron Mk1) was converted to compete in live events where fast and powerful spinning weapons were still prohibited. Tauron's gear ratio was altered to compensate for a new weapon, an axe in the shape of Tauron's logo, mounted in the same place as the spinning bar before it.

Tauron is stranded against the wall by Behemoth

At Extreme Robots in Guildford, Tauron fought Behemoth, Atom and Expulsion, but its axe weapon broke early into the fight, and it was stranded on its side by Behemoth for a large portion of the match. It also broke down in a match with Expulsion, Atom, Suspension and Cyclone. It also fought Ripper and Saint but did not win. In the Tag Team event, it partnered with Thor to battle Audacious and Weird mAlice, but Tauron broke down upon its first contact with Audacious.

In July 2017, Tauron Mk1 also competed at a Robots Live! event in Grantham, where it fought four battles. Across these fights, Tauron fought Apollo and Meggamouse twice, and all of Behemoth, Turbulence, Gabriel, Eruption, Foxic and Chimera2 once. The team also entered one featherweight battle (see Spectre). Not long after, the first version of Tauron without internals was sold onto Inverness-based roboteer John Rae. The original Series 9 machine later reappeared as a static display at RoboNerd in early September 2023.

Tauron Mk2 with Tornado

To test the reliability of Tauron Mk2, the team challenged Tornado to a practice battle on the streets outside the Brewster family's home, as Andrew Marchant had contacted Team Tauron after watching them compete in Series 9, to reveal that he lived in the same village as the Brewster family. Tauron was willingly pushed around by Tornado in the battle, and retaliated with slams of its own, and this allowed Team Tauron to confirm the reliability of their machine ahead of applying for Series 10. The team also took photos of Tornado with the original Tauron.

Tauron Mk3 in Maidstone

A third version of Tauron, Tauron Mk3, competed at Extreme Robots in Gloucester, where spinning weapons were now legalised. The weapon bar was attached but not yet connected to the motor, so not used in battle with Manta, Two-Headed Death Flamingo and Vortex, where it was the only robot to take Manta to a Judges' decision, but lost. It also fought Gabriel, Audacious and Griffalo, pushing the latter into the pit. In battle with Eruption, Two-Headed Death Flamingo and Beast, Tauron eventually became stranded on its own weapon and lost. Tauron and Two-Headed Death Flamingo then joined forces and won a Tag Team match against Chimera and Rattler on a Judges' decision to close off Tauron's event.

Tauron Mk 3 in battle with Gabriel

Tauron Mk 3 was more successful in Maidstone, the last Extreme Robots event of the year. Tauron Mk 3 suffered from an early immobilisation at the hands of Gabriel in a battle which also featured Infernal Contraption, and then lost a whiteboard battle to Infernal Contraption in spite of causing major damage to the fellow spinner and also defeating Cyclone in the same battle. Returning to the main competition, Tauron Mk 3 quickly immobilised TMHWK and reached the Grand Final to fight Ripper, where it ultimately lost after its batteries caught fire. Tom Brewster noted that John Findlay referred to this battle as the best he had ever fought in.

Tauron before Extreme Robots in Cheltenham

For the Cheltenham Extreme Robots event held in November 2018, Tauron sported a new appearance after being converted back from Monsoon (see below) to now display the robot's name in glowing red. Tom Brewster noted that the robot could be considered Tauron Mk 4, as it features some new internals to be used as tests for the upcoming Monsoon 2. Tauron did not enter the main competition, instead taking part only in whiteboard battles. In its first, Tauron lost to Cyclone 360 after losing mobility on one side, but it later gained the opportunity to cause significant damage to S.M.I.D.S.Y. in a melee which also featured Apex.

With Tauron's BattleBots identity Monsoon taking precedence over the Tauron name from this point on, its Robot Wars identity was effectively retired at the end of 2018, save for an appearance at RoboNerd in August 2019 alongside its successor.

Monsoon

Team Monsoon with their Founders' Award

Monsoon in its BattleBots debut

Tom Brewster competed in the 2018 season of BattleBots with Monsoon, which had been converted from Tauron Mk 3. Now armed with an asymmetrical vertical bar spinner, which could be swapped for Tauron Mk 3's symmetrical bar, Monsoon was entered into the series on a team with Tim Rackley, Sam Griffin, and Sarah Asplin. In its first battle, Monsoon fought Red Devil, and caused major damage with its first few attacks, ripping the saw blade from Red Devil. However, Monsoon lost the use of its spinner within the opening minute, and failed to make an impact for the remainder of the match, allowing the battle to result in a split decision, although the Judges' decision still went in favour of Monsoon. In its next battle, Monsoon defeated Petunia by knockout after hitting the Dutch machine from behind, causing it to catch fire, despite Monsoon also losing the use of its weapon and full drive towards the end of the battle. However, Monsoon's winning streak was ended by Son of Whyachi, which caused Monsoon to catch fire in a destructive knockout. In its fourth battle, Monsoon faced Axe Backwards for a chance to earn a 3-1 record ahead of the Top 16 selection, and promptly immobilised it by targeting the exposed tyre of Axe Backwards. Monsoon qualified for the Top 16 as the twelfth seed, drawing it against fifth seed SawBlaze, which initially pushed Monsoon around the BattleBox, but Monsoon won the Judges' decision by removing three of SawBlaze's four tyres and disabling its weapon. Monsoon was eliminated in the quarter-finals, after the fourth seed Minotaur disabled its weapon, and then turned Monsoon onto its side, wedging it against the side of the BattleBox. At the end of the season Team Monsoon were awarded the "Giant Bolt" Founders' Award, given by BattleBots Founders Greg and Trey to the team that best embodies the spirit of BattleBots.

Monsoon at BattleBots in 2018

Monsoon with its team

Tom Brewster at BattleBots

Monsoon in a promotional BattleBots 2019 shot

Monsoon also returned for the 2019 season of BattleBots, where Tom Brewster and Sarah Asplin were now joined by new teammates Rory Mangles and Alasdair Sutherland. The robot now featured a strengthened chassis, alternate armour panels, an optional spinning disc weapon, fork attachments, and a new brushless drive system. In its first battle of the season, Monsoon was drawn against former teammate Tim Rackley in a battle against Ragnarök, and came out on top by throwing it over for a very quick knockout. However, Monsoon lost its battle against HyperShock, with its entire spinner and weapon frame separating from the main body in the process, and then Monsoon lost to Valkyrie on a Judges' decision after its bar spinner was broken again. Monsoon's campaign came to a disappointing end after a quick loss to the defending champion Bite Force, concluding its Fight Night run with a 1-3 record. Monsoon would later appear at Robonerd in August 2019, alongside the original Tauron.

Monsoon at BattleBots in 2019

Monsoon with is team at BattleBots in 2019

Tom Brewster at BattleBots in 2019

Monsoon in October 2019 with its disc

From October 2019 onwards, Monsoon started to compete at Extreme Robots events in the United Kingdom under its BattleBots identity. With consideration to the 125mph tip speed limit enforced upon spinners at these shows, Monsoon debuted a brand new vertical disc weapon at the Maidstone event, and collected two-on-two victories over Gnasher & GBO Nemesis, and later Deadlock & Wormgear, but then suffered significant damage from Aftershock in a brutal loss which bent Monsoon's frame completely. Monsoon was repaired in time for the Cheltenham event in November 2019, collecting impressive wins over Tánshè, Bullseye, Donald Thump and TR3, causing major damage to all opponents it faced. In its final fight, Monsoon and Ignition defeated their opponents very quickly and turned to fight each other, with Monsoon ripping apart the front of Ignition before being pitted, but the two collectively won the event as part of Team Eruption.

Monsoon at Maidstone in 2019

Monsoon's frame after being bent by Aftershock

Monsoon fights Tánshè in Cheltenham

In February 2020, Monsoon was confirmed to return to BattleBots for that year's season, originally set to be aired on Discovery from May 15th. The robot features major design changes from previous seasons, including a revised weapon mount with front and top-mounted prongs. While the season would end up being postponed, the 2020 Monsoon would still be completed by June. The new design, Monsoon 3, featured a more compact build with individually-pivoting drive pods, thicker armour and full brushless drive and weapon systems. Interchangeable spinners included a 20kg flywheel and 17kg asymmetrical bar, with a new anti-horizontal spinner plough also developed which locks the robot's articulating spinner setup in place. Despite filming for the 2020 season being rescheduled for October, Team Monsoon were unable to travel to the US due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, so were forced to withdraw.

Monsoon 3, built for planned entry into BattleBots 2020

Size comparisons between the 2019 and 2020 Monsoon models

Monsoon 3 with Drizzle, 2020

Monsoon was due to return for the 2021 season of BattleBots, with Dorset Roboteering Team's Tim Rackley rejoining the team lineup. However, the team first announced he and Kate Brewster could not travel due to COVID-19 restrictions. Following this, it was announced that Team Monsoon's National Interest Exception VISAs had been rejected. Although the robot was shipped to BattleBots' new filming location in Las Vegas, this meant no team member could legally travel from to the UK to the US, an issue which also affected every other UK-based team. Monsoon 3 finally made its combat debut at the 2022 Extreme Robots Portsmouth event, winning its first two battles of its career against Zadkiel and Apex respectively, serving as a test event for its eventual BattleBots return.

Monsoon at BattleBots World Championship VII

Team Monsoon at BattleBots World Championship VII

Tom Brewster at BattleBots World Championship VII

Monsoon with its anti-horizontal spinner plough

In October 2022, Monsoon made its long-awaited return to BattleBots, competing in World Championship VII which was aired in 2023. The latest version would make its televised debut against Black Dragon, initially dominating against the experienced Brazilian egg beater. However, during the match, Monsoon damaged one of its own weapon motors by absorbing a loose bolt with its spinner, losing the use of its own bar. This allowed Black Dragon to hit Monsoon onto its side and defeat it by knockout. Monsoon recovered with a quick knockout win against the experimental Horizon, before starring in its very first Main Event against Whiplash. Despite inflicting noticeable damage to the 2020 season runner-up - particularly its front forks and top armour - it lost the resulting split decision to its more controlling opponent. A subsequent appeal by Team Monsoon failed, resulting in Whiplash's victory being converted into a unanimous one by the judging panel. Monsoon finished its Fight Night schedule with a brutal knockout win over Australian returnee DeathRoll, securing a 2-2 match record and a championship place as the 24th seed.

In the main tournament itself, Monsoon would be matched against the 9th seed Cobalt, derived from the team behind Carbide. After some initial difficulty, it would claim the upper hand, culminating in an upset as Cobalt would be defeated, overturned and unable to self-right. Monsoon would advance to the Round of 16 to fight the 8th seed SawBlaze, in a rematch of their Round of 16 encounter in the 2018 season. On this occasion, however, it would be consistently out-pushed and damaged by Jamison Go's improved overhead spinner. Halfway through the match, Monsoon's spinner was accidentally disabled by its team's own pulverizer, preventing it from self-righting after it became side-stranded by SawBlaze. Monsoon lost the match by knockout, and was eliminated from World Championship VII as a result.

Monsoon would later reappear in the spin-off BattleBots: Champions II, competing in the fifth and final Sin City Slugfest bracket. Here, it won a spectacular first-round battle against lifter/flamethrower Gruff, before being defeated by rival vertical spinner RIPperoni after again becoming side-stranded and being left unable to self-right.

Monsoon at Extreme Robots Cheltenham, November 2023

On 21-22 October 2023, Monsoon returned to Extreme Robots at Maidstone, taking part in three 'Spinner Battles' against Zadkiel. After winning the first duel by knockout, it succeeded in tearing through one of Zadkiel's wheels in the second, though the attack caused both robots to become stuck together. Though an attempted rematch was aborted, Monsoon had immobilised its opponent on one side, and would later triumph over Zadkiel again on the Sunday. Monsoon would return for Extreme Robots Cheltenham on 11-12 November, winning both of its head-to-heads against Ominous and Zadkiel, alongside a melee involving Donald Thump and Mongrel. The second of these fights involved it ripping off the bar spinner of Team Saint's machine.

Featherweight robots

Tom Brewster is also active in the featherweight division of robotics. His first project was Spectre, a weaponless prototype robot inspired by Gabriel, with two large, flexible wheels. Spectre fought in a single featherweight melee at the Robots Live! event held in Grantham, in July 2017. This prototype led to creation of Straddle, the team's first competitive featherweight, which added a vertical bar spinner to the design used by Spectre, much like the BattleBots competitor HUGE. Both Spectre and Straddle maintained the red-and-black theme set by Tauron.

Straddle (featherweight)

Straddle made its combat debut at the 2017 FRA Featherweight International Championships, and finished second in a three-way battle against Impact and Blunt Force Trauma, then defeated Mantis, before being resigned to thirteenth in the main championship after losing to Explosion and Shrapnel in two straight fights. Straddle later won a whiteboard six-way battle and finished runner-up in a 20-way 'Gladiator' battle.

Straddle 2 at the 2018 King of Bots UK International Championships

In the second half of 2018, Tom Brewster created Straddle 2, a rebuild of Straddle which used a black-and-blue colour scheme and interchangeable asymmetrical bar spinners based on those of the heavyweight Monsoon. At that year's King of Bots UK International Championships, Straddle 2 immobilised Neon in its first battle, before defeating Cobalt and Tempest via Judges' decisions following double-knockouts in each of the latter battles. Straddle 2 scored enough points to reach the knockout round, where it was defeated by Get Shrekt, and was subsequently eliminated after losing its Loser's Melee to Orpheus. It also entered a whiteboard battle themed after the Robot Wars Shuntposting Facebook group, against Nelly the Ellybot, and Spank the Monkey, but lost to Nelly the Ellybot on a Judges' decision.

Straddle during its brief time as Scööple

Over the course of 2020 and 2021, Straddle could scarcely make combat appearances due to the ongoing pandemic, though the team did attend a Bristol Bot Builders event in May 2021 to compete in a sportsman event without the use of its spinner, briefly converting the robot to compete as Scööple, armed with a static scoop.

Straddle (centre) with its FightFest Annihilator Cup trophy, alongside second and third place Explosion and Euphoria

Straddle would later compete at the FightFest Winter Challenge in the Annihilator Cup. It won its individual five-robot Annihilator over Luna-Tic 2, Combustion, Impact and Telekinesis, meeting the other Annihilator winner Explosion in the Final where Straddle won by knockout and was declared the Annihilator Cup champion. Straddle would return to FightFest later that year to compete in the 2022 championship, twice fighting fellow HUGE-inspired design Captain Jack Spinnah - though in the end, both were eliminated by Soundwave in a three-way losers' melee, having been put there by Amnesia for a fifth-place finish.

Beetleweight robots

Drizzle

Tom Brewster entered the web-series Bugglebots with beetleweight design Drizzle, armed with a huge asymmetrical bar spinner, rotating vertically high above the robot. This weapon potentially had the largest diameter of any beetleweight spinner in the UK, and the robot was outfitted with magnets to keep it grounded while driving. Drizzle lost its opening battle to Futamishi in seconds, cutting its own weapon pulley to throw itself over, but Drizzle then won its redemption battle against Good Boi and Serious Business in similarly quick fashion. Drizzle broke its weapon in the semi-final battle against Nightingale, but still pushed its opponent into the pit to reach the Heat Final, where Drizzle was overturned by Captain Doom. Drizzle still participated in the five-way rumble for a chance to earn a place in the Grand Final, but after landing a heavy hit on Snappy, one of Drizzle's wheels fell off, rendering it immobile. Drizzle also competed in the UK vs The World special, but lost to Thunder Child, as well as fighting in a whiteboard 'boss battle', leading a team of six beetleweights against featherweight Crabsolutely Clawful, but was pitted and ultimately lost.

Drizzle before Bugglebots, with its bar spinner

Drizzle in February 2019 with its disc

Drizzle with its anti-horizontal disc

Following on from Bugglebots and the European Championship, Drizzle was modified in February 2019 to use two vertical disc ones, including an evenly circular blade, and a disc with a large tooth designed to fend off horizontal spinners, ahead of its appearance at the UWE Bot Brawl 2019.

Drizzle would return for the second season of Bugglebots, armed with its new vertical disc. It was able to defeat WeeWoo by knockout in its first battle by stranding Wee against the arena wall and terminally damaging Woo, but fell in its second battle to Jay after getting its disc caught in the arena floor after turning itself over, despite a strong start.

In subsequent years, Drizzle's design would continue to be refined as it became a regular competitor at live beetleweight events. The second incarnation (Drizzle 2) debuted at the 2019 FRA UK Beetleweight Championship in Marlow, featuring a redesigned chassis, 'wraparound' titanium front wedge, reversible weapon system and two interchangeable HARDOX 500 flywheels (4mm/300g and 6mm/400g). An evolutionary Mk3 version (also named Drizzle 3) was introduced at the February 2020 Not UWE Beetleweight Championship hosted by Bristol Bot Builders, one month prior to COVID-19 lockdowns.

Following a subsequent hiatus, Drizzle returned for multiple events throughout the 2021 season, beginning with the Rapture Gaming Festival beetleweight competition in July. Here, it reached the event finals, but was defeated by Scavenger; a damaged weapon motor shaft and dislodged belt prevented the spinner from functioning after Drizzle was pushed against the wall and sent flying onto its back. Drizzle was updated once again for the BBB UK Beetleweight Championship in November 2021, with Tom Brewster prioritising reliability improvements and the introduction of a 380g disc spinner. Drizzle itself enjoyed an undefeated run to the Semi-Finals, where it was eliminated by Gareth Anstee's ramming robot Resistance upon bouncing into the opened pit. Relegated to the playoff, Drizzle proceeded to split Rust in Pieces in half on its way to another destructive knockout win. As a result, it finished the main competition third overall - the first time that Tom Brewster had achieved a top 3 finish in his robot combat career.

Stratus

A beetleweight derivative of Straddle, Stratus, debuted at the 2022 Robot Rebellion, hosted as part of that year's Rapture Gaming Festival. It proved an immediate success, winning the competition outright after dominating its group and eventually beating End Boss in the final. Stratus achieved an undefeated 8-0 match record in the process, with all of its victories being knockouts. Since then, it has become Team Monsoon's primary competitor at UK beetleweight events, with additional achievements including overall victory at Steel City Antweight Robots' SCeetles in October 2023, plus third place finishes at Scouse Showdown (March) and the 2023 BBB Beetle Champs (November 4) the same year.

Other Robots

Team Tauron also competed on the antweight circuit with T.T.R.E. (The Tim Rackers Experience), an invertible 145g robot with a horizontal asymmetrical bar spinner, which debuted at Antweight World Series 53 in November 2017. The robot's name referenced the team captain of the Dorset Roboteering Team, Tim Rackley, who would later become a recurring member of Team Monsoon. At Ant Freeze in 2018, T.T.R.E. notably lodged its bar spinner in the wooden wall. The robot also competed at Antweight World Series 57 in February 2019.

T.T.R.E. in November 2017

T.T.R.E. with its Monsoon-style spinner

T.T.R.E. in February 2019

The team also run an online business, Monsoon Robotics (previously Drizzle Bots), which sells spinning weapons for antweight and beetleweight robots, including bars like those of Tauron and Monsoon, as well as custom designs, plus electronics and Team Monsoon merch.

On 3 April 2024, Tom Brewster married fellow Team Monsoon member Sarah Brewster (née Asplin), with the World Championship VII build of Monsoon being present for the ceremony.

Trivia

• The producers had a reserve robot on standby in case Tauron failed its safety tests in Series 9. Team Tauron believed that the reserve team had already filmed an interview with Dara Ó Briain.
• The Robot Wars website and Robot Wars: The Official Handbook erroneously refer to Tauron's weapon in Series 9 as a spinning drum, when it is in fact a vertical bar spinner.

External Links

• Tauron (Series 9) on the Robot Wars website
• Tauron (Series 10) on the Robot Wars website
• Team Tauron/Monsoon website
• Tauron - Robot Wars Facebook page
• Team Tauron - Robot Wars Twitter
• Monsoon/Tauron - Combat Robots Instagram
• The 'death hum' of Tauron's weapon
• Monsoon - BattleBots Facebook page
• Monsoon (2018) on the BattleBots website
• Monsoon Robotics online store
• Monsoon Robotics Facebook page