The General was a middleweight robot which fought exclusively in the 1996 US Robot Wars competition. One of three robots entered by a student team representing University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) - alongside the featherweights P.A.T. and Rampage - it would suffer major technical issues throughout, contributing to its elimination from the Middleweight Face-Off by eventual runner-up Traxx.[1][4][5]
Design[]
The General was a two-wheeled robot with chain drives, electronic speed controllers and a General XP2000 car tire forming its outer armor, hence its name. As its main weapon, it was armed with a flat lifting scoop, powered by a separate motor, with which it was intended to turn opponents over. Decorations included a small US flag, along with the robot's name and UCSB signage on the scoop blade. As both of its drive wheels were taller than the main chassis panels, it is presumed that The General was invertible, potentially allowing it to keep fighting and using the scoop if overturned.[1][4]
Robot History[]
1996 US Championship[]
Before even getting the chance to fight, The General's 1996 campaign was beset by issues concerning reliability and the resilience of its chain drives. A recurring issue was with the chains themselves frequently slipping off, an issue Pat Poon and Team UCSB were determined to resolve as they worked on and attempted to assemble it in time for the Middleweight Face-Off championship. The required work was completed minutes prior to The General's first-round battle, which pitched it against fellow newcomer Traxx.[1][6]
- "Mere minutes before the fight, we finally got the radio tuned and had the thing all bolted together and put in the speed controls that we pulled out of P.A.T. (The 2 robots were sharing the same speed controls.) We'd gotten The General to run just fine in the pit area during our tests."
- — Jason Bardis, prior to The General's Face-Off battle[1]
As the battle started, a film crew for The Learning Channel's Amazing America asked Jason Bardis about Team UCSB's strategy, to which Bardis responded:
- "Well, our robot is going to speed around really fast and bump and bang the other robot with its tire body and then flip it up with the big scoop."
- — Jason Bardis, upon being asked about The General's strategy[1]
Disaster struck for The General, however, as the ESC for its right wheel malfunctioned, leaving it immobilized on that side straight away. Spinning into the wall behind, it was soon pushed into and pinned against a moving bumper by Traxx. The General attempted to break free, but to no avail, as the whole robot began 'smoking prefusely'. Traxx won the match by sustaining the pin for a full thirty seconds, eliminating The General from the Middleweight Face-Off in quick fashion.[1][5]
- "So, the problem with The General that caused one of its controllers to totally melt into oblivion was that, when we were tuning the radio control to find the neutral point, where the wheels wouldn't turn, we must've been a little bit off and one of the speed controls was letting just a small amount of current though to one motors, but not enough to overcome the friction of the chain drive. We'd never let it sit around, idle on the ground for more than a moment before, so, in the 10 or so minutes between when we assembled it and when The General's match started, it was trying ever-so-slightly to turn one of its wheels, overloading that speed controller enough so that it fried itself right before it was time to run."
- — Jason Bardis, explaining The General's ESC malfunction[1]
Ultimately, the reliability issues experienced by The General resulted in Team UCSB declining to repair it for the Middleweight Melee tournament. Thus, the robot's brief 1996 campaign came to an end, as the team concentrated on preparing P.A.T. and Rampage for later featherweight battles.[1]
Results[]
| THE GENERAL - RESULTS | ||
| 1996 US Championship | ||
| Middleweight Face-Off Round 1 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Traxx | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 1
Series Record[]
| Events | The General (US) Event Record |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Did not enter |
| 1995 | Did not enter |
| 1996 | Middleweight Face-Off, Round 1 |
| 1997 | Did not enter |
The above record reflects that of builder Pat Poon only.
Trivia[]
- The General was the only middleweight whose battles were not highlighted in American Robot Wars 1996.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 'THE BLOW-BY-BLOW OF THE 3RD ANNUAL ROBOT WARS, ACCORDING TO TEAM UCSB', UCSB website (archived)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'ROBOT WARS ® Photos', US Robot Wars website entry on The General (archived May 2 1997)
- ↑ 'Robot Wars III 1996 Event Report', Team Minus Zero website (archived)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 'THE GENERAL', Team Spike website (archived May 2 1997)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 'Robot Wars 1996: The General versus Traxx (Middleweight)', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded December 19 2008
- ↑ 'UCSB's Foray Into Robot Wars 1996', Jason Bardis/UCSB website (archived February 21 1999)
External Links[]
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