The X-2

The X-2
Participation Information
US 1994-1997 Events	1996
Other Names	X2 The X2
Team Information
Team	Robot Action League
Team Members	Mike Winter Dennis Adams Jim Sellers Dave Hamel Clark Hochgraf
From	Madison, Wisconsin
Other Entries	The X-1 (1994-1995) Holobot (1995, Mike Winter) X7 (1997) Dough Boy (1997, Lisa Winter) Tentoumushi (Series 3)
Robot Statistics
Drive	2x power drill motors
Weapons	Pneumatic forklift
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

The X-2 (alternatively X-2, X2 or The X2) was a featherweight robot which competed at the 1996 US Robot Wars competition. The third machine completed by US stalwarts Robot Action League, following on from The X-1 and Holobot, it reached the Quarter-Finals of the Featherweight Face-Off tournament before being eliminated by Red 2. The X-2 was also teamed up with KMM, My Little Pony and Arsenic for an 'experimental team bout', which all four robots won, and later earned outright victory in the Featherweight Melee tournament, defeating fellow Melee winner Slomo 3 and Face-Off champion Wedge of Doom to do so.

Robot Action League would later return for the 1997 US competition with the lightweight clusterbot X7 and the featherweight Dough Boy; the latter being the first robot entered by Lisa Winter. They would also appear in the UK Robot Wars series with the lightweight Tentoumushi, fighting in side competitions filmed and aired as part of Robot Wars: The Third Wars.

Design

"X2 was a very nice piece of work. The combination of a very lightweight aluminum and carbon fibre frame, and six wheels driven by two power drill motors, gave X2 very good speed and manuverability."

— Team Spike website on The X-2's design.

The X-2 was among the more complex and sophisticated featherweights to appear in the 1996 competition, featuring a six-wheel drive system and a lightweight chassis made from aluminum and carbon fiber. Its two power drill motors were geared for a high top speed over torque, contributing to its excellent maneuverability across the arena. As its main weapon, The X-2 was equipped with a rear-hinged forklift, utilizing a large pneumatic system for fast actuation. The forklift proved very effective at lifting and turning opponents over in tandem with The X-2's speed, compensating for its small size and relatively minimal armor.

Externally, the robot was finished in a two-tone gray color scheme with red and yellow 'flame' patterns, and a decorative eye on a spring attached to the top of the forklift arm.

Robot History

1996 US Championship

The X-2 initially fought in the main Featherweight Face-Off tournament, where it was drawn against Spunkey Munkey in the first round. This was one of a number of 'Dual Matches' which took place in this weight class, occurring in the arena at the same time as Spiny Norman vs My Little Pony.

Immediately, both robots rammed each other head-on, though The X-2 was unable to get an early lift on Spunkey Munkey before backing out. This allowed Spunkey Munkey to drive into the far corner, where it appeared unable to reverse. Taking advantage of its opponent's issues, The X-2 approached and flicked Spunkey Munkey onto its side, securing a decisive knockout win.

Progressing to the second round, The X-2 faced the other victorious robot from its 'Dual Match' quadrant, My Little Pony. Starting tentatively, it was rammed by My Little Pony, though this gave The X-2 the opportunity to lift its opponent upwards. During this attack, however, The X-2 briefly caught the trail of tape left behind by its opponent, though the accompanying magnets had no effect on its aluminum chassis. A few tentative moments ensued, as The X-2 kept chasing My Little Pony across the arena, then rammed and missed again with the lifter.

The X-2 eventually hoisted My Little Pony a few more times, all while both robots continued to chase and shove each other. In response to an aggressive bump from My Little Pony, The X-2 finally lifted and turned it over from the front, instantly taking the knockout win once again. This win allowed it to reach the Quarter-Final stage.

With a possible place in the Semi-Finals on offer, The X-2 faced Red 2. Limited details are available on this match, although the forklift had no effect on Red 2's invertible design. Ultimately, The X-2's lack of torque proved costly, as Red 2 eventually succeeded in ramming and pinning it against the arena corner. The Robot Action League machine was thus eliminated from the Featherweight Face-Off tournament after an otherwise strong run.

The X-2 later competed in two more 1996 events, one of which was the Featherweight Melee tournament. In its preliminary round, it battle against Black Sheep 2, KMM, Melvin, My Little Pony, Spike, future UK Series competitor WYSIWYG, and recently-crowned Featherweight Face-Off champion Wedge of Doom.

The X-2, shortly after turning WYSIWYG over

All eight robots scrambled towards the center. The X-2 soon engaged in a head-to-head scrap against KMM, pushing the 1995 Featherweight Face-Off champion while also being scooped up momentarily by Wedge of Doom. A few moments later, it pinned, then turned WYSIWYG over with its forklift. Eric Dickinson's machine was eliminated as a direct result.

The X-2 shuttled back and forth between the perimeter and Spike, before moving across the arena to initiate a brief shoving match with Wedge of Doom. This would not last long, however, as it quickly drove over Tony Buchignani's entry and escaped. The duel between both competitors would later be resumed, with both robots taking swipes from the flipper before being met by Spike. At that point, The X-2 was lifted onto its right-hand side by Andrew Lindsey's machine. Wedge of Doom next maneuvered The X-2 into the upper mousetrap, lower-right flipper and lower-right corner. The X-2's maneuvrability and high ground clearance allowed it to avoid being pinned easily during these moments.

After being pushed into the left-most wall, The X-2 retaliated by nudging and chasing Wedge of Doom across the arena. Both were pressured by Spike once again, though The X-2 avoided getting lifted. this point, Wedge of Doom became snared by the upper-left flipper. Both Spike and The X-2 momentarily paused as Wedge of Doom got itself snared by an arena flipper; The X-2 proceeded to flick Spike upwards from the side. Wedge of Doom escaped to break up both machines, after which The X-2 aggressively rammed, then unsuccessfully tried to lift Spike from the back. This prompted another separation by Wedge of Doom broke the pair up again, forcing The X-2 to retreat to the other side of the arena.

Once Spike had been fully pinned, The X-2 again resumed its duel with Wedge of Doom. However, it was consistently lifted up and controlled across the arena by Wedge of Doom, and was held in place near the inner perimeter during the final twenty seconds. The X-2 raised its forklift in response, but to no avail, as it was next driven past the mousetrap and into the wall. The latter occurred seconds after Michael Meehan declared the match to have ended; The X-2 survived the full five minutes and qualified for the final alongside Wedge of Doom.

For the chance to claim the 1996 Featherweight Melee championship, The X-2 and Wedge of Doom both faced the sole qualifying robot from the other Melee in this weight category - Slomo 3.

Surviving audience member footage of this battle indicates that The X-2 was initially slow to engage, until it started pushing Wedge of Doom from the right-hand side of the arena. Wedge of Doom turned sharply, scooping The X-2 up, though the Robot Action League lifter escaped over the top. The X-2 darted back and forth across the arena, while Wedge of Doom proceeded to push Slomo 3 into an arena flipper. In turn, it pushed Wedge of Doom into the same flipper, though not without getting flicked upwards while Wedge of Doom continued duelling with Slomo 3.

The X-2 headed back to the center, during which time Slomo 3 drove into its side. It next separated both of its opponents with a push, only to be pushed into another flipper by Wedge of Doom. In its recovery, Mike Winter's machine backed out of the corner, ramming Slomo 3 in the process and starting a head-to-head duel with Klaas Langhout's wedged machine. Both were spared from further pressure by Wedge of Doom, which was left immobilized on one side due to a stripped drill screw and a resulting internal malfunction. The X-2 and Slomo 3 each investigated the stricken Wedge of Doom. After this, The X-2 drove up the metal scoop blade of the Seattle entry, before proceeding to flip it over. Slomo 3 lacked a self-righting mechanism, incapacitating it and allowing The X-2 to focus on trying to do the same to Wedge of Doom.

After a few lifts, The X-2 could not finish off its remaining opponent before the Melee concluded. The Judges ruled Wedge of Doom and Slomo 3 to have become immobilized, making The X-2 the 1996 Featherweight Melee champion.

Finally, The X-2 competed in an 'experimental team bout' - taking place on August 18 - which involved a total of eight robots. It was one of the four to be allocated to Team W, alongside Arsenic, KMM and My Little Pony. Together, they fought against Melvin, Spike, Spiny Norman and WYSIWYG on Team X.

In the opening moments, The X-2 dodged a charge from the fast-starting WYSIWYG, while flipping and eliminating Spiny Norman from contention. It was then pursued and lifted up by WYSIWYG, but avoided getting pinned, allowing The X-2 to try and free Arsenic from Spike. The X-2's next major contribution was a counter-attack against WYSIWYG, lifting, dragging and pinning the British machine in place to nullify the latter's pin on My Little Pony. This was sustained further when it proceeded to lift KMM and WYSIWYG simultaneously, interrupting the developing scrap between these two robots.

Both The X-2 and KMM eventually broke free from WYSIWYG, though KMM would find itself being pinned by the latter. The X-2 flicked both its teammate and WYSIWYG from the side, following WYSIWYG as it then tried to push KMM towards the entrance/exit doors. My Little Pony trundled to investigate the trio, before The X-2 gave WYSIWYG another flick. Moments later, The X-2 lifted WYSIWYG twice more as Eric Dickinson's entry again tried to pin My Little Pony off the floor. By the latter stages of the battle, it, KMM and My Little Pony - all from Team W - were the only machines demonstrating consistent mobility across the arena.

Once WYSIWYG got caught under the upper-right flipper, it was deemed that all Team X machines had been pinned. The X-2, KMM and My Little Pony all moved in unison, confirming a joint victory for Team W alongside Arsenic.

Following its success in the 1996 competition, The X-2 was later upgraded into X3, the larger half of Robot Action League's 1997 lightweight clusterbot X7.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 5
• Losses: 1

Series Record

1994-1997 US Competitions

Events	The X-2 Event Record
1994	Entered with The X-1
1995	Entered with The X-1 Entered with Holobot (Mike Winter)
1996	Featherweight Face-Off, Quarter-Final Featherweight Melee Champion Entered with Attiller (the Hun) (Jim Sellers)
1997	Entered with X7 (Mike Winter & Dennis Adams) Entered with Dough Boy (Lisa Winter) Entered with Red-Green (Jim Sellers)

UK Series

Series	X7 Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Middleweight Melee & War of Independence with Tentoumushi
The Fourth Wars	Did not enter
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars

Along with Jim Sellers' Attiller (the Hun), The X-2 was featured in a 1996 episode of the talk show Crook & Chase, as part of a Robot Wars segment also featuring creator Marc Thorpe. Both robots were driven by hosts Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase respectively, fighting from a 'miniature arena' created especially for the segment. In what was described by Mike Winter as 'a fairly good battle', The X-2 won by flipping the heavier Attiller (the Hun) over.

For more information about Robot Action League's activities away from Robot Wars, see here.

Trivia

• Slomo 3, another featherweight competitor, was mistakenly referred to as "X2" in the American Robot Wars 1996 VHS.

External Links

• Team Website (archived)
• 'RobotX' page, Robot Action League website (archived)
• The X-2 ("X2") on the official US Robot Wars website (archived May 2 1997)