- "Having only built robots for two years, this competition will be a baptism of fire though, for the team, even though we will see their confidence grow as they get more experience out in that arena."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Team Immersion is a roboteering team captained by Newcastle-based roboteer Adam Hamilton, who was joined by various rotating team members in Robot Wars. After competing in the untelevised pilot episode ahead of Series 8 with the borrowed Tanto, Team Immersion competed in Series 10 with their own machine, Vulture.
Outside of Robot Wars, the static roster of Team Immersion consists of captain Adam Hamilton, and teammates Thomas Long and Matthew Pearman.
The Team
Team Tanto at the Series 8 pilot
Adam Hamilton with Tanto
When Robot Wars was first announced to be returning in 2016, Team Immersion owned no heavyweight robots of their own, so team captain Adam Hamilton loaned a heavyweight machine from Team Danby, knowing that they had applied for Series 8 with Foxic and Apex. Adam Hamilton applied for Series 8 with Tanto, alongside his static teammate Matthew Pearman, and also enlisted the temporary assistance of Jack Tweedy and Craig Croucher to form Team Tanto. This team competed in the pilot episode of Series 8, where Tanto lost its opening melee.
Immersion, clusterbot designed by Hamilton and Pearman
Once applications opened for Series 9, Jack Tweedy and Craig Croucher purchased Tanto from Team Danby, and renamed the robot Neutron, and applied for the new series separately from Team Immersion. Adam Hamilton and Matthew Pearman started to create computer-aided designs for robots with which they could enter Series 9, and initially conceptualised a clusterbot named Immersion, combining a vertical spinner like the team's featherweight Amnesia, and a two-way flipper. However, the team decided against this design, as they considered it too similar to that of Crackers 'n' Smash[1]. Hamilton and Pearman then created the first concept design of Vulture, and Jarvis Callister then joined Team Immersion at this stage in order to improve the design. However, Matthew Pearman also left the team at this stage to apply for Series 9 as the captain of Team Slam, having recently purchased Dantomkia from Team S.Tek. Matthew Pearman's position was briefly filled by Matt Smith of Riptide Robotics, but ultimately Team Immersion would not qualify for Series 9, and Matt Smith also left the team.
Team Immersion with Vulture
Team Immersion walk to the arena
Ahead of Series 10, Adam Hamilton and Jarvis Callister completed the build of Vulture, and were also joined by Hamilton's partner Emma Jones and housemate Thomas Long in order to complete the team, who would then compete in Series 10. After Series 10 concluded, Jarvis Callister parted from the team, with the post-Robot Wars Team Immersion consisting of Adam Hamilton, Thomas Long and Matthew Pearman, with occasional assistance from Emma Jones.
Adam Hamilton
- "I'm from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, doing it for the lads!"
- — Adam Hamilton in Heat 3 of Series 10
Adam Hamilton
Adam Hamilton is the captain of Team Immersion, making him the lead builder, designer and financer of the team's machines. An accomplished driver, particularly in featherweight competitions outside of Robot Wars, Adam Hamilton was the driver of Vulture in Series 10, and was the only team member to compete in both the 2016 pilot and Series 10 as part of Team Immersion. Hamilton was aged 25 at the time of Series 10, and according to the Robot Wars website, worked in the 3D printing industry. On top of this, Adam Hamilton commissions computer-aided designs for combat robots, having assisted many roboteers in this way while carrying a signature look across his designs, a speciality which Jonathan Pearce mentioned while reading Vulture's statistics.
- "Adam does a lot of art and graphics, he's designed album covers for local bands, YouTube background designs, and he does a lot of work for other roboteers to make sure their robot looks aesthetically pleasing."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Adam Hamilton at the forefront of Team Immersion in Series 10
Competing on Robot Wars, Adam Hamilton set out to prove that heavyweight robots can still be built on a smaller budget, inside a series where robots such as Rapid and Sabretooth were exceeding £20,000 in value, and also that a background in engineering is not required to enter the roboteering community as a competitor.
- "You don't have to be an engineer. You don't have to have loads of experience, you don't have to be absolutely minted with money. We've started from nothing, and we're here, we're on Robot Wars"
- — Adam Hamilton in Heat 3 of Series 10
Adam Hamilton's first robot was a featherweight competitor named Amnesia, which he brought to filming to display alongside Vulture. For more information on Adam Hamilton's projects outside of Robot Wars, see Outside Robot Wars.
Matthew Pearman
Matthew Pearman is a long-term member of Team Immersion, and remains a member of the team to this day, while also captaining Team Slam for solo projects. Matthew Pearman was part of Tanto's team in the 2016 pilot episode as the second static team member, before Jack Tweedy and Craig Croucher were enlisted for additional assistance. Matthew Pearman also assisted Adam Hamilton with the creative process of Vulture prior to Series 9, before purchasing Dantomkia from Team S.Tek and applying for Series 9 with this machine, as the captain of Team Slam. Matthew Pearman did not return to Team Immersion for Series 10 as he and his girlfriend Steph Ziolkowska joined Team Nelly to apply with Nelly the Ellybot, which was not selected to compete.
Jack Tweedy and Craig Croucher
Jack Tweedy at BattleBots in 2018
Craig Croucher (right) in Dave Lawrie's team post-Series 10
Outside of Robot Wars, Jack Tweedy is the captain of Team Nebula, while Craig Croucher is the captain of Team Snappy Robotics. As neither roboteer had their own heavyweight robot to enter Series 8 with, Adam Hamilton invited Tweedy and Croucher to join him in Team Tanto, and both assisted with the maintenance of Tanto during its brief run in the 2016 pilot episode, while Jack Tweedy was also the driver of Tanto in its only battle.
Jack Tweedy (centre-left) as part of Team Terrafonics
While Team Immersion applied for Series 9 with Vulture, Jack Tweedy purchased Tanto and united with Craig Croucher under the Team Nebula name to apply for Series 9 with the robot, which they had rebranded as Neutron. After Neutron was not selected to compete in Series 9, Jack Tweedy entered Series 10 as a member of Team Terrafonics, competing with Apex, while Craig Croucher joined Team Die Gracefully Robotics to apply for Series 10 with Jellyfish and Ice Cream, although this was not selected to compete.
For more information on Jack Tweedy and Craig Croucher's robots and excursions outside of Robot Wars, see Neutron.
Jarvis Callister
Jarvis Callister
Outside of Robot Wars, Jarvis Callister is the captain of Team Short Circuit, and at the time of Series 10, he was a computer programming student aged 19. Callister joined Team Immersion ahead of Series 9, after seeing computer-aided designs of Vulture that he felt he was able to improve upon, and many of Callister's modifications were implemented into the final machine, also providing financial assistance towards some parts of Vulture. On the televised show, Jarvis Callister was the weapons operator of Vulture, firing the axe head while Adam Hamilton drove the robot, and also assisted with repairs of the machine, although Callister was largely uninvolved with the build process due to living in the south of England, unlike his three Newcastle-based team members.
- "Can you guys come back in like five minutes? Like, this is really stressful and I'm not so keen on having the camera pointed at me while I'm really stressing out over this bolt."
- — Jarvis Callister to Henry Imbert
The televised edit of Vulture's heat featured Jarvis Callister prominently, as he repeatedly asked cameraman Henry Imbert to stop filming him while he attempted to repair Vulture, in footage which ultimately made it to air, portraying the stress that Team Immersion felt during the right repair windows they were allotted. A combination of these factors, including Vulture's forfeiture of its planned fight with Track-tion, led to Jarvis Callister parting ways with the rest of Team Immersion immediately after Series 10 concluded.
Thomas Long
Thomas Long
Thomas Long repairs Vulture during Series 10
Thomas Long was aged 25 at the time of Series 10, and was a barista at the time. Thomas Long was responsible for the wiring and maintenance of Vulture in Series 10, and was partially involved with the build process of the machine which largely took place in Newcastle.
Outside of Robot Wars, Thomas Long is still a member of Team Immersion and occasionally assists Adam Hamilton with CAD commission projects, and briefly operated a featherweight machine, Halcyon.
Emma Jones
- Dara Ó Briain: "Emma, please tell me that you, by contrast, are therefore the trained mechanical engineer whose built this?"
- Emma Jones: "Unfortunately not, sorry! I am a student who studies Early Years and Health in Contemporary Society!"
- Dara Ó Briain: "This is fantastically ludicrous, this is a folly, this is madness that you'd even think you could compete here, but this looks great!"
- — Dara Ó Briain to Emma Jones before Vulture entered the arena in Series 10
Emma Jones
Emma Jones was 21 years old at the time of Series 10, and was a student and bar worker. On the Robot Wars website, her team role was listed as tactician, although when filming began, her role shifted more towards team relations, providing support to the rest of Team Immersion where needed, including Jarvis Callister's mother who was also present at filming off-screen. Although Emma Jones is not typically a member of Team Immersion as a competitor, she continues to attend live events alongside the team in a supporting role.
Robots
| Name | Weight Class | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Tanto | Heavyweight | Series 8 (Pilot) |
| Vulture | Heavyweight | Series 10 |
- NOTE: Jack Tweedy would later enter Series 10 with Apex
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 2
- NOTE: Tanto's unaired battle in the Series 8 Pilot is not included in the tally, and Vulture's withdrawal prior to its battle with Track-tion is not considered a loss
Series Record
| Series | Team Immersion Series Record |
|---|---|
| Series 1-7 | Did not enter |
| Series 8 | Pilot only with Tanto |
| Series 9 | Not selected with Vulture |
| Series 10 | Heat, Fourth Place with Vulture |
- Matthew Pearman attempted to enter Series 9 with Dantomkia, and Series 10 with Nelly the Ellybot, but was not selected to compete.
- Jack Tweedy and Craig Croucher applied for Series 9 with Neutron, but were not selected to compete.
- Craig Croucher attempted to enter Series 10 with Jellyfish and Ice Cream, but was not selected to compete.
- Jack Tweedy entered Series 10 with Apex.
Outside Robot Wars
Team Immersion
Team Immersion captain Adam Hamilton regularly competes at featherweight events with Amnesia, armed with an electrically-operated front-hinged flipper. In 2016, the original version (initially built as a simple two-wheel drive rammer) finished fourth at the 2016 FRA Featherweight International Championships; the second version (Amnesia 2) improved on this record by finishing third in the following year's championship, held at Insomnia 61. Amnesia did this by winning two of its group battles outright, before finishing second in another group battle after losing mobility in the last fifteen seconds. Qualifying through the losers' melee, Amnesia fought its way to the semi-final stage, where it was defeated, and secured third place by defeating Utopia in the play-off.
In August 2018, a brand-new version of Amnesia, occasionally called Amnesia 3, competed in the inaugural King of Bots UK championship, where it won the entire competition. It won its first qualification round against Strix and Elevate, its second against Nelly the Ellybot and X-303 and its third against The Claw and Hedgebot. Amnesia qualified for the Top 20 undefeated, and defeated Take Cover by stranding it against the arena wall, advancing to the Top 12 to quickly defeat the substitute competitor Orpheus by overturning and pitting it. Amnesia won its quarter-final match against Binky by overturning it when it was unable to self-right using its spinner, before winning its Semi-Final against Rocket to reach the final round. There, Amnesia emerged victorious against Calabash Bros, becoming the 2018 King of Bots UK champion.
Amnesia with its anti-vertical spinner-type flipper
Amnesia also entered the Robodojo Autumn Featherweight Championship in November 2018, sporting an 'anti-vertical' flipper designed to inflict recoil damage upon vertical spinners. Nevertheless, Amnesia entered the Sportsman division where no spinners were present, and continued its winning streak by defeating Boring Wedgebot #7, Mattock and Luna-Tic in three consecutive battles. It reached the final of the event, but was defeated by Barghest on a Judges' decision. Amnesia returned for the March 2019 Robodojo event, with extra steel strips added to its wedge. Amnesia went undefeated across all four of its head-to-head Sportsman fights, and ultimately won the four-way final by KO. Amnesia then won a second Robodojo event in a row, emerging victorious in the May 2019 sportsman event with back-to-back knockouts against The Tragic Roundabout, Ensign Wedgely Crusher, Piece De Resistance and Comet, before winning the four-way final against Barghest, Midas and Forge Master 2.
Amnesia beats Patchwork at the King of Bots 2019 Opening Battle
In January 2019, Amnesia took part in the King of Bots Opening Battle, held to promote the upcoming second season, as part of the Blue team. There, it won a head-to-head battle against fellow King of Bots featherweight champion Patchwork, by stacking the drum spinner against the spikes on the arena wall. Ultimately, the Blue team went on to win the event over the Red team, thanks to Amnesia's victory.
Thomas Long's Halcyon
Thomas Long was also a featherweight roboteer in his own right, competing with Halcyon, an two-wheel driven invertible robot. Its weapon was a drum spinner with a top speed of 10,000rpm. Halcyon was originally designed by Adam Hamilton, and Thomas Long occasionally assists Adam Hamilton with larger CAD projects. Halycon's only competition appearance was at Insomnia 61, but it was defeated by Shard in its first battle, and did not participate in any further battles. Halcyon was not repaired after sustaining major damage in this battle, and was retired from combat.
Team Immersion competed in the Chinese TV show This is Fighting Robots, with the team comprising of Team Immersion's Adam Hamilton and Thomas Long, Andy Russell of Team Hobgoblin, and Gareth Anstee of Team. Ablaze. They did so with a new heavyweight robot, Bonfire. Bonfire boasted a 14kg spinning head on the end of its axe-type arm, generating 20 horsepower of energy, and is able to use interchangeable weaponry, alongside an anti-spinner scoop. Initially, Bonfire was chosen by Green team captain Zheng Shuang, and was the first This is Fighting Robots competitor to be chosen by any of the celebrity team captains. However, Shuang deselected it in order to allow Tungsten to enter her team, and so Bonfire was required to fight a four-way melee to impress her and the other celebrities. Fighting against Sandstorm, Chronos and Blue Demon, Bonfire ultimately got selected by Wu Chun, after pushing Sandstorm into a grinder at one point during the battle. As a result, it entered the main tournament as part of Chun's Red team. However, when Bonfire was selected to enter its rumble in the main competition, its weaponry was disabled, and Bonfire was immobilised by a relentless string of attacks from Blue. After this performance, Wu Chun dropped Bonfire from his team, eliminating it from the competition.
In June 2018, the team completed a new heavyweight machine, named Immersion after the long-running team name. A scaled-up version of Amnesia's design, Immersion is armed with a two-stage front-hinged electric flipper, located behind a solid HARDOX wedge. Originally designed for a presumed eleventh series of Robot Wars, Immersion was first test-driven at Robots Live! in Grantham, and also appeared at the 2018 UK Championship in Stevenage. There, Immersion won its first battle by ramming Luna-tic into the arena walls and pitting it, but although Immersion's brushless drive was running perfectly, its flipper was struggling as a result of a weapon control adaptor that the team had outsourced by commission. This faulty adaptor led to Immersion's second-round defeat to Iron-Awe 6, where it was unable to self-right after being flipped.
Commission projects
With assistance from Andy Russell, Adam Hamilton also creates computer-aided designs and occasionally fully-functioning robots under commission. Among these robots are:
- Utopia, featherweight counterpart to Dystopia, armed with a rear-hinged flipper, designed for Gareth Anstee.
- General d'Meaner, heavyweight grabber designed by Adam Hamilton and Thomas Long, and built by Gareth Anstee for the University of Greenwich. For more information, see Trolley Rage.
- Barghest, a featherweight with an Uberclocker-style lifting jaw, built for Christopher Lobley.
- White Dwarf, an invertible featherweight designed for Joel West-Ward, with a lifter inspired by Panic Attack.
- Tempest, an invertible featherweight armed with a horizontal bar spinner, designed for Matthew Pearman (see Team Slam).
- Force 7, shortened to F7, a middleweight lifter built by Team Tilly to enter RoboGames before it withdrew and instead competed on the UK live circuit.
- Mad Rush, a featherweight clamper/lifter owned by Alex Hall, which entered the 2018 King of Bots UK featherweight championship prior to withdrawing.
- Virus, a second robot for Joel West-Ward, inspired by Spectre.
Adam Hamilton also designed a featherweight robot for Isaac Sharp, having originally helped to bring his robot The Tragic Roundabout to fighting condition.
Team Slam
Matthew Pearman has been involved with building robots since 2009, and has briefly owned various robots across this time, including Boneyard, Bulldog Breed, S.M.I.D.S.Y., and Bullfrog, while also building his own robots in the featherweight and beetleweight divisions.
Matthew Pearman's featherweight (left) and beetleweight (centre) robots, alongside an early Amnesia
Dantomkia as of October 2017
In October 2016, Matthew Pearman of Team Slam became the latest owner of Series 6-8 competitor Dantomkia. Under Team Slam's ownership, the robot received numerous modifications including revised armour and a larger flipper plate, and returned to live events in 2017, competing at the Robots Live! event in Stevenage that October. In a battle with Saint and Ka-Pow!, Dantomkia's pneumatic system mounts broke, and the robot eventually became stuck against the arena wall, and was pitted by Ka-Pow! to be eliminated. Matthew Pearman still owns Dantomkia to this day, and intends to test new internal components within the machine across 2019, including a brushless drive system.
Tempest at the King of Bots UK featherweight championship
In August 2018, Team Slam entered a horizontal featherweight spinner, Tempest, into the inaugural King of Bots UK International Championship, held at Insomnia 63, Birmingham. Designed by Andy Russell and Adam Hamilton[2] when the robot was originally named Slam, Tempest initially lost its first qualifier battle to Calabash Bros, before winning its second against Telekinesis and Beauty 2. Tempest subsequently lost its third and final qualifier to Straddle 2, which saw Straddle 2 splitting its chassis open and both competitors becoming immobilised following their initial collision. The Judges' decision ruled against Tempest; although it still scored enough points to secure a place in the knockout round, it was forced to withdraw from its battle against Barghest due to the damage inflicted by Straddle 2, and was replaced by eventual runner-up Calabash Bros.
Team Short Circuit
Jarvis Callister fights in the live event circuit with his own featherweights under the name Team Short Circuit. He started fighting in 2011 with Anti-Gravity which was a Roaming Robots Battle Ant kit - he later built an improved version called Anti-Gravity 2. From 2012, he started fighting with featherweights. Callister's first featherweight was MetalBeak, a black wedge-shaped robot armed with a flipper. His next robot, Project X, which was an invertible six-wheel driven parallelogram-shaped ramming robot. This was succeeded by Ricochet which was a similar design armed with a double-scoop. After initially purchasing it from another team in 2014, Callister's Flow! was armed with a full-pressure flipper. Skyfall was also armed with a powerful flipper, and was made from parts previously used by MetalBeak. Callister previously owned a beetleweight with a vertical disc named RPM, but this has changed hands to Team. Ablaze. He has also stood in as driver of Titan at various live events.
Jarvis Callister's robot Shrapnel in 2017
Jarvis Callister's newest featherweight robot is Shrapnel, a four-wheel driven robot armed with a vertical spinner. At the FRA UK Featherweight Championship in 2017, the robot's debut, Shrapnel finished in fifth place, closing out its tournament on eleven points. It did this by winning one group battle outright, winning another by default, and earning enough points through its remaining two melees to reach the knockout stages. There, it was eliminated by Explosion.
Shrapnel in 2018 at the King of Bots UK featherweight championship
In August 2018, Shrapnel competed in the inaugural King of Bots UK featherweight championship. It won its first battle by immobilising Crabsolutely Clawful and wedging Aegis Mk II against the wall, despite losing the use of its disc in the process. Shrapnel immobilised Calabash Bros in its second battle, but again lost the use of its disc, this time surviving to and winning the Judges' decision over Strix. Shrapnel comfortably qualified for the Top 20 after ripping Orpheus to pieces with one devastating blow in its final qualification match; it also proceeded to rip away the entire front of Hell's Angel and throw Aegis out of the arena to earn a place in the Quarter-Finals. However, Shrapnel was eliminated at that stage by Calabash Bros, after the latter ripped its weapon belt out, disabling the disc and preventing Shrapnel from self-righting when thrown upside-down by the Chinese entry.
Trivia
- Adam Hamilton brought his featherweight Amnesia to the filming of Series 10, and displayed it in The Pits.
- The team name 'Immersion' is inspired by a Pendulum album of the same name.
References
External Links
- Team Immersion - Combat Robots Facebook Page
- Vulture on the Robot Wars website
- Team Immersion on The Builders Database
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