- "This is one of the most scary robots I've seen today."
- — Jayne Middlemiss
The Kraken was a heavyweight robot which competed in the seventh series of Robot Wars, where it reached the second round before being eliminated by the seeded Thermidor 2. The team had previously competed in Series 2 and 3 with Victor.
Design[]
- "...a black hearted fiend."
- — Jonathan Pearce briefing describing The Kraken
Rear view of The Kraken
The Kraken was a very long box wedge shaped robot that was driven by a single drive motor which steers through a differential and brake system. In terms of armament, The Kraken was equipped with two vertical crushing arms. The first of these arms was pneumatic, which could be snapped down quickly to hold its opponent in place, before the second, hydraulic arm came down in an attempt to pierce into the armour of the other robots. Despite this set-up allowing the robot to self-right, this could also only be achieved with the robot flush on its back. Because of the robot's long shape, it was easy for The Kraken to be left suspended on its side - something which happened multiple times in Round 2. Also, despite its destructive weaponry, the pneumatic beak could easily buckle and the robot itself was lightly armoured - factors which ultimately affected it during its battle with Thermidor 2.
The building process proved to be time-consuming, with the team claiming that The Kraken had been built over two years. It was intended to enter The Sixth Wars, but it wasn't completed in time for the qualifiers.
Etymology[]
The robot's name came from the legendary sea monster Kraken, believed to live off the coast of Norway.
The Team[]
The team with Kraken
The Kraken was entered into Series 7 by a two-man team based in Pinner, Middlesex. The team, otherwise known as Team Victor, was comprised of captain Guy Pickett and teammate Lloyd Davis.
This was the team's third time competing on Robot Wars, after entering Victor into Series 2, and Victor 2 into the Third Wars.
Robot History[]
Series 7[]
The Kraken was drawn into Heat J of the Seventh Wars, where it was drawn against newcomers Pinser and Cobra, alongside the experienced Kronic the Wedgehog.
The Kraken scratches down on Cobra
The Kraken spent most of its first battle chasing the other robots, but it eventually got to grips with Cobra and crushed its armour, failing to puncture the tough outer shell. However, Cobra had seemed to be immobile before The Kraken's attack. Pinser then gripped Cobra and pulled it away, but in doing so drove over the flame jet, which set fire to the internals of Pinser, immobilising it. The two eliminated robots, Pinser and Cobra, who were still locked together, were thrown by the Floor Flipper before being placed under the Drop Zone, where a TV was dropped on the two, putting The Kraken through with Kronic the Wedgehog.
In the next round, The Kraken faced the fourteenth seed, Thermidor 2.
- "May the best robot win, lads."
- — Jayne Middlemiss to both teams
Thermidor 2 and The Kraken. Note that The Kraken's beak is buckled sideways
The Kraken forces Thermidor 2 backwards
Thermidor 2 flips The Kraken
The Kraken is finally pitted
Thermidor 2 immediately turned The Kraken over and then flipped it against the arena side wall, bending The Kraken's pneumatic pincer. The Kraken was able to self-right, but Thermidor 2 tossed it over many more times, coming very close to flipping it out of the arena on a couple of occasions. Thermidor 2 then activated the Pit and pushed The Kraken towards it. Thermidor 2 then tried to flip The Kraken in, but The Kraken flew the wrong way and escaped. However, The Kraken couldn't do anything to fight back and Thermidor 2 continued to throw it around the arena, eventually succeeding in pushing it down the Pit.
- "Kraken takes a right good smacken'!"
- — Craig Charles on the battle
Results[]
| THE KRAKEN - RESULTS | ||
| Series 7 | ||
| The Seventh Wars - UK Championship Heats, Round 2 | ||
| Heat J, Round 1 | vs. Cobra, Kronic the Wedgehog, Pinser | Qualified |
| Heat J, Round 2 | vs. Thermidor 2 (14) | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 1
Series Record[]
| Series | The Kraken Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Entered with Victor |
| The Third Wars | Entered with Victor 2 |
| The Fourth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fifth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Sixth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Seventh Wars | Heat, Round 2 |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]
The Kraken 2 in 2004
Following the end of Robot Wars, The Kraken was rebuilt and renamed The Kraken 2. This new version had titanium armour and a pneumatic flipper in place of the pneumatic jaw which the team used previously. It was signed up to enter the Fighting Robots World Championships 2004 which were going to take place at RAF Newton but this event was cancelled. The Kraken 2 made its only known combat appearance at the Roaming Robots Northampton 2004 event where it lost a three-way melee against Bulldog Breed and PulverizeR.[1]
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The Kraken 2 in September 2022
The Kraken 2 would remain with its team for eighteen years. It would make an appearance without its armour at Exeter College in September 2022. Guy Pickett, who works at the college, plans to rebuild the robot and keeps it there to be used for work. Guy has also made plans to start an antweight robotics club at the college.[2]
Trivia[]
- In Heat J of Series 7, Jonathan Pearce referred to the team's prior experience on the show, stating that they had competed with a previous robot. However, The Kraken's predecessor Victor was not referenced by name.
- Its name would later be used on the American TV show BattleBots, where a robot named Kraken debuted in the 2018 season of the show, becoming a fan favourite in the process.
- Both of The Kraken's battles featured Mr. Psycho as one of the House Robots.
- Like its predecessor Victor, The Kraken appeared in a heat that did not feature a semi-finalist from the previous series. On two of those occasions, they lost to the eventual heat winner who then lost to the eventual champion of that series (Trident losing to Chaos 2 in Series 3 and Thermidor 2 losing to Typhoon 2 in Series 7).