Vector of Armageddon

Vector of Armageddon
Participation Information
UK Series	1
Other Names	VOA
Team Information
Team	The Riders of the Apocalypse
Team Members	Adam Clark
From	Romford
Robot Statistics
Weight	10.7kg
Dimensions	0.46m x 0.69m x 0.26m
Clearance	1mm
Top Speed	20mph
Power	2x 14.4V B&D drill motors
Weapons	Wedge
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

For the unrelated Heavyweight competitor from Series 3, see Vector

"This is the Vector of Armageddon, competing in the featherweight class. It's designed around a brute force design, with Lexan body armour on the front, high-powered torch for targeting purposes, and it's built on power."

— Adam Clark

Vector of Armageddon (also abbreviated to VOA) was Adam Clark's first entry into Robot Wars, competing exclusively in The First Wars. Though primarily designed to be effective in the Arena stages, it was eliminated early into its only series, after getting wedged on a ramp during its Gauntlet run.

Design

"And The Riders of the Apocalypse team, driven by two 14.4V motors, and has the same speed controller as used for bomb disposal robots."

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Vector of Armageddon

Vector of Armageddon in The Pits

Designed for speed, torque and 'brute force', Vector of Armageddon was a simple, two-wheel drive featherweight, powered by two 14.4V drill motors and a Vantec speed controller. On screen, the latter component was quoted as being the same type used by bomb disposal robots. Vector of Armageddon's construction included a silver/grey bodyshell with a compact, yet tall reverse box-wedge shape. At the front, the unpainted shell incorporated extra Lexan panelling (later quoted as Makrolon by Adam Clark) along with a broad wedge shape for ramming opponents, providing Vector of Armageddon with its main offensive capability. To improve attacking accuracy, the wedge included an opening for a 'high-powered torch', which projected from the inner-right side.

Vector of Armageddon in the arena

Vector of Armageddon's name and design were both inspired by the successful American featherweight Wedge of Doom, which won multiple championships in this category at the original 1996 and 1997 Robot Wars competitions. Indeed, it used the same tyres as its US inspiration, while also benefiting from a zero-degree turning circle and an exceptionally high top speed of 20mph. Despite these attributes, plus a maximum climb of 35 degrees, Vector of Armageddon had a low ground clearance of only 1mm. While this would have given the robot a considerable advantage in the Arena stage, the 1mm clearance proved to be a critical weakness in The Gauntlet, preventing Vector of Armageddon from being able to climb up static ramps.

"I met Tony B and Dan D at the long beach event and Tony gave me insight to the tyres that he was using which he considered to be a big part of the WOD's grip against the colson and other type of tyres being used at the time. I came up with the name with Dan Danknick, not quite sure how, but we considered it nerdy enough with a touch of physics"

— Adam Clark confirming that Wedge Of Doom inspired Vector of Armageddon ^Citation?

Qualification

Having automatically qualified for The First Wars due to a shortage of available competitors, Vector of Armageddon would later undergo further upgrades for a potential entry into The Second Wars as well. These included a new Kevlar honeycomb chassis, twin MCD speed controllers replacing the original Vantec, and 7.2V Ni-Cad battery packs. A TIG welded frame and reinforced titanium bodyshell were also developed, the latter including internal bracing and a more durable front blade made from tool steel.

The updated Vector of Armageddon is confirmed via the Dangerous Machines Tinweb website to have attended rehearsals for this series, alongside Adam Clark's newer machines Corporal Punishment and Armadillo. By this time, further changes were made to the internals, now overvolted to 24V and utilising two 4QD speed controllers. A new 6-10mm plywood baseplate was made specially to house the new speed controller arrangement, along with motor mounts made out of 6mm neoprene. Lastly, a gyroscope from an RC helicopter was added inside Vector of Armageddon, considerably improving the robot's stability.

"Well , looks like we are not running again. It seems that there is not enough room and teams are only allowed to run one machine or something, so VOA is waiting. Still waiting , its been a year and a half since it has been built and no competition for it. THERE might be a live event next year in the UK or not so it might run there."

— Dangerous Machines website, confirming that Vector of Armageddon was not selected for Series 2

By August 1998, Clark received confirmation that Vector of Armageddon had not been selected to compete in The Second Wars, with Clark speculating that this was due to capacity issues and the rule that teams could only enter one robot at a time in any given competition. Nevertheless, he would still compete in the main and Featherweight competitions with Corporal Punishment and Armadillo respectively. Though planned at one point to fight at live events - with the claim of being 'the most powerful featherweight in the UK' at the time - Vector of Armageddon would not compete at Robot Wars again after this as it would then be merged with fellow featherweight Armadillo and used for parts.

"The only thing we can think of is that people are afraid to let it run, as we reckon that it is the most powerful featherweight in the UK. So far no-one has had a chance to prove their design, even the lightweights masquerading as featherweights would find it a tough challenge."

— Dangerous Machines website

Robot History

Series 1

Vector of Armageddon, beached on the second ramp

Vector of Armageddon competed in Heat D, and initially started well in its Gauntlet run, choosing the middle route and clearing the see-saw without difficulty. It turned to avoid the drills and made a run for the second ramp, but got wedged on the ramp as a result of its low ground clearance. Unable to back away or drive forwards, Vector of Armageddon remained on the edge of the ramp until time ran out, having covered a distance of 8.55m.

Jeremy Clarkson: "I know that it looks like a grass-cutting box, but it's a serious robot, that, isn't it?"

Adam Clark: "Yeah, it was designed for very extreme ground clearance, and the ramp was just too steep for it, unfortunately."

— The post-run interview

Under normal circumstances, Vector of Armageddon's run would have covered enough distance for it to qualify for the Trial stage. However, it finished sixth overall on the results table, resulting in its elimination from The First Wars.

Series Record

Main Series	Vector of Armageddon Series Record
The First Wars	Heat, Gauntlet
The Second Wars	Not selected Entered with Corporal Punishment
The Third Wars	Entered with Corporal Punishment Not selected with Bone
The Fourth Wars	Missed qualifiers with Twister
The Fifth Wars	Entered with Wowot
The Sixth Wars	Entered with 259
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter
Robot Wars Extreme	Appearances
Series 1	Did not enter
Series 2	Entered with 259 (Middleweight)

Gallery

Official image of Vector of Armageddon

Adam Clark with Vector of Armageddon

The insides of Vector of Armageddon

Vector of Armageddon in 2017

Vector of Armageddon and 259's disc at RoboNerd 2019

Outside Robot Wars

Vector of Armageddon in August 2019

As of August 2019, Vector of Armageddon is still intact and fully functional, making an appearance at RoboNerd 2019 alongside 259's disc and its builder Adam Clark.

Trivia

• Vector of Armageddon is one of twenty robots never to have fought in robot combat, having only ever reached the Gauntlet or Trial stages.
• Both halves of this machine's name would be names of unrelated robots in Series 3: Vector and Armageddon.
• Vector of Armageddon was the first robot said to be inspired by an American design, being influenced by US Robot Wars competitor Wedge of Doom.
  • Vector of Armageddon's name is also a synonym of Wedge of Doom.
• Like Cunning Plan, Vector of Armageddon was retired in favour of a heavyweight robot (Corporal Punishment) which was entered in the following two series.
• Vector of Armageddon is the robot which covered the most distance in the Gauntlet in The First Wars to still be eliminated from the series.