Webster

Webster
Participation Information
US 1994-1997 Events	1997
Team Information
Team	UCSB
Team Members	Jesse Patterson David Kohs
Sponsors	UC Santa Barbara (UCSB)
From	Isla Vista, California
Robot Statistics
Power	Power Sonic 12V 12Ah sealed lead-acid batteries
Drive	2x 12V motors
Weapons	Front and rear cutting saws
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Webster was a lightweight robot which competed exclusively in the 1997 US Robot Wars competition.

Built by Jesse Patterson and David Kohs as a Senior Design student project for University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), it reached the second round of the Lightweight Face-Off upon winning its debut battle against Aggressor. At that stage, Webster initially fought well against Pretty Hate Machine, but took extensive damage from and ultimately lost the battle to Christian Carlberg's walker. Webster was later repaired to compete in the Lightweight Melee tournament, in which it suffered a first-round defeat after getting flipped over by Defiant.

Design

Webster was a two-wheel drive, wedge-shaped robot with a welded aluminum construction, propelled by two 12V motors. The drive motors, each with an approximate output of 1/2hp, were operated using Novak 610-HRV speed controllers, chain reduction drives and 12V 12Ah Power Sonic sealed lead-acid battery packs.

While primarily intended to function as a ramming robot, Webster's design was altered mid-build to fulfil rule changes encouraging greater use of powered weapon systems. Responding to the Robot Wars organizers' requests, the UCSB team added sets of small cutting saws to the front and back. The front saws would be integrated into its wedge profile. Both sets were powered by a third electric motor placed at the top of Webster's main bulkhead, though they would provide the robot with very limited damage potential. Webster would thus still rely on its wedge shape and strong drive power as its main means of offense.

Aluminum sheet materials would be used for both Webster's chassis and armor panels, a design choice made purely out of 'weight considerations'. To provide adequate cooling for the Novak controllers, 'several' holes were cut into the top panels, with pieces of 'wire mesh' inserted beneath as protection.

Robot History

1997 US Championship

Webster began its 1997 run in the Lightweight Face-Off. In the first round, it was drawn against fellow newcomer Aggressor.

Webster started by dodging its opponent's sluggish first charge. Spinning on the spot, it proceeded to scoop up and push Aggressor through the upper-left corner, pushing Cambot aside in the process. Both competitors separated in the lower perimeter, where developing mechanical issues caused Aggressor to lose much of its speed and maneuvrability. Webster rammed Aggressor into the upper wall, where the latter remained stationary, and attempted to use its rear saws to damage its increasingly immobile opponent. After a few moments, it pushed Aggressor free from the wall. The two machines kept distant from each other from some time, until Webster attacked again with its saws and initiated another push.

By this point, Aggressor had again stopped moving altogether. Webster proceeded to ram Aggressor against the side walls a few more times, though not without suffering direct damage to its weapon shaft through impacting the wall itself. The saws got jammed as a direct result, forcing Webster to fight on without any active weapons. After colliding with an arena flipper, Webster spun and paraded across the arena, with Aggressor having become completely immobilized. The UCSB machine was therefore declared the winner.

In the pits, the UCSB team repaired Webster's weapon system and back end ahead of its next fight - a head-to-head against Christian Carlberg and his walkerbot Pretty Hate Machine.

Initially, Webster rammed the lower-left wall, before scooping up and pushing Pretty Hate Machine into the moving wall section on the right. Zipping away from its eight-legged opponent, it repeated this tactic seconds later, steering Pretty Hate Machine around in circles and into the upper-right flipper. Webster carried Pretty Hate Machine past the lower spike trap near the center, still pushing and spinning it around while being grazed by the latter's sawblades.

Breaking free at last, Webster briefly drove under a spike trap, then alongside a watching Cambot. It darted around Pretty Hate Machine in an attempt to line up its next attack, ultimately driving its own rear saws into the former. The resulting rocking motion caused Pretty Hate Machine's weaponry to dig into the concrete arena floor. Following another tentative phase, Webster resumed its initial strategy, driving under and holding Pretty Hate Machine in place.

Pretty Hate Machine tears apart the back of Webster

During this exchange, the saws of Pretty Hate Machine continued to damage Webster's armor while the latter turned around. Webster's spinning allowed both robots to separate. However, it did not escape in time to avoid further attacks from Pretty Hate Machine, whose saws damaged its sides and front wedge shape. Following another swipe, Webster suddenly stopped moving; Pretty Hate Machine started pushing Webster forwards, while tearing its top-rear panels open and removing a small internal component. Instinctively, Webster spun and darted into the 'curb' near the upper spike trap, where it exhibited more control issues as it tried to drive under and ram Pretty Hate Machine twice more.

Having traversed across the arena to line up the second ram attempt, Webster drove wedge-first into the wall opposite the upper-right flipper. Immobilized, it took glancing swipes from the flipper paddle as Pretty Hate Machine crawled towards it, then proceeded to damage its rear armor and weapons further. Eventually, Pretty Hate Machine was announced as the winner by knockout. Webster was eliminated from the Lightweight Face-Off as a consequence.

Later on, Webster was repaired and entered into the Lightweight Melee tournament. In the first round, it was drawn to face Black Widow, Penelope, Pretty Hate Machine, clusterbot X7 and recently-crowned Face-Off champion Defiant.

Webster immediately drove into and bumped Black Widow a couple of times, while also leaving the Australian entry vulnerable to Defiant's first flipper attacks. It darted across the arena into the lower perimeter, though its contributions immediately following that moment are largely undetermined. Audience member footage suggests that Webster later spun around near the center, before being pushed around and flicked upwards by Defiant. Webster, unable to drive completely away from James Underwood's machine, was lifted a second time, while being maneuvered into X7 and Pretty Hate Machine.

Again, the UCSB machine kept spinning and struggled to attack its opponents effectively. Webster reversed into X4, only for Defiant to throw it over against the side of Pretty Hate Machine. The attack caused it to land on top of X4, though Webster's lack of srimech prevented it from escaping. Further attacks by Defiant and X3 resulted in the former throwing Webster onto one set of Pretty Hate Machine's saws, before it was left alone in the upper-right perimeter. Webster played no further part in the battle, and was eliminated from the Lightweight Melee at this stage.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 2

Series Record

Events	Webster Event Record
1994	Did not enter
1995	Did not enter
1996	Did not enter
1997	Lightweight Face-Off, Round 2 Lightweight Melee, Round 1