- "Our robot stands out in the fact it's designed to be made with the minimum amount of tools. As long as you've got an angle grinder, a drill, and a welder, you can build one of our robots."
- — Nicholas White
Wyrm was a robot which competed in Series 9 of Robot Wars, entered by Scottish team Memento Mori, who competed in the previous series with Overdozer. After initially losing its first battle in an even faster time than Overdozer itself, Wyrm was reinstated into the competition during the second round and ultimately finished fourth, suffering knockouts from the spinners of Ironside3 and Pulsar.
Design[]
- "Wyrm uses ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) armour on its sides, top and bottom. Similar to the materials used in the arena walls, UHMWPE has high abrasion resistance."
- — Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot
Wyrm improved on its predecessor Overdozer by using an Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) frame for armour with polycarbonate, protecting its four yellow wheels, like those used by Carbide in the Series 8 Grand Final. It was designed to push, and protected itself from spinning weapons with its HARDOX front plate, also known as a 'spinner killer', which fired forwards to overturn robots. The robot was invertible, and had a reasonable top speed of 13mph. Overall, Wyrm shared many design similarities with BattleBots entry Stinger: The Killer Bee and its predecessor Sewer Snake, although Memento Mori affirm that they had never seen either robot while designing it.[1][2] However, it features little protection on top, with the rear of the robot also featuring gaps in its armour.
- "We had to lose weight so there are a lot of uh... speed holes? Cooling Vents?"
- — Nicholas White
When Wyrm first arrived at the studio, it weighed 112kg, resulting in Memento Mori having to remove much of the robot's aesthetic decorations before competing. After sustaining heavy damage at the hands of Ironside3, Wyrm entered its final battle using a slightly different appearance. It used a two-wheel drive system at the front, and its front wedge was later decorated with an "OwO" expression. Jonathan Pearce noted at the start of the heat that Wyrm could willingly run on two wheels. Wyrm cost just under £1200 to build.[3]
- "The main differences between Wyrm and Overdozer is that it's not made of wood, it has a much lower ground clearance, and it's got a heavily armoured front that shouldn't bend this time!"
- — Nicholas White
Etymology[]
The name Wyrm is derived from the type of dragon which has no legs or wings, resembling a serpent. It also references a company previously owned by Nicholas White[4].
The Team[]
- "After lasting a mere 23 seconds in the arena last series with their mostly wooden robot ‘Overdozer’, the team have come back with a reptile inspired robot. It has been Nicholas’ dream to create a robot that can be built with the very least amount of machinery. He believes robots can be upcycled, therefore many elements of Wyrm have come from scrap."
- — The Robot Wars website on Memento Mori
Wyrm was entered into Series 9 by Memento Mori, a Scottish team from Falkirk known for entering Series 8 with Overdozer. The team was captained by 25-year old IT support analyst Nicholas White, who drove Wyrm in battle. 23-year old Fhinnian McIvor was responsible for the electronics of Wyrm, while 21-year old Jonathan Young was responsible for metalworking, although he was not present for all of Wyrm's fights in the competition.
Robot History[]
Series 9[]
Wyrm competed in Heat D of Series 9. In its Group Battle, it faced newcomers Frostbite and HIGH-5, alongside long-time Robot Wars veteran Supernova.
- Dara Ó Briain: "Is this genuinely supposed to be quite as open plan as it is?"
- Jonathan Young: "We had to do some weight loss, so our armour is... minimal. But we think it'll do OK."
- — Memento Mori on their robot after reducing its weight
As the battle started, Wyrm immediately charged towards HIGH-5, but missed, and struggled to turn left or right, so it reversed from the arena tyre to ram HIGH-5 into the centre of the arena. This attack immobilised HIGH-5, with Wyrm subsequently driving away from Supernova and into the wall.
- "Wyrm, for some reason has smashed into the arena side wall... and I think... they killed themselves."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Wyrm immobilises itself
However, the impact of hitting the wall immobilised Wyrm when both of its drive chains broke loose. Shunt lifted it against the wall just as 'cease' was called. As a result, Wyrm was initially eliminated from the competition along with HIGH-5, in even quicker fashion than its predecessor.
- "Managing to die quicker than Overdozer, clocking in at a total of 10 seconds before the immobilisation countdown started we were a bit frustrated. Owing to the long wheelbase and weight steering was very difficult and so Wyrm tried to headbutt the arena wall - only to slip both chains from the drive sprockets."
- — Memento Mori Facebook page
However, after Frostbite was destroyed by Supernova in their head-to-head clash, Team Frostbite withdrew from the competition, and had to be replaced. As Wyrm survived for longer than HIGH-5, it was deemed to have finished third in its Group Battle, and was reinstated to continue its Robot Wars campaign. In the first of its two head-to-head battles, Wyrm fought Ironside3.
- "It'd be nice for Wyrm to win here, now they understand you can't take timber into the are-ner!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Wyrm displayed better mobility in this match, and kept its 'spinner killer' wedge facing Ironside3's blade, but although the wedge itself was relatively unharmed, Ironside3's first attack completely ripped the scoop away from Wyrm. The Scottish robot then reversed straight into Shunt, and sustained an axe blow, holding Wyrm in place for Ironside3 to land a huge slam, tearing a side panel and entire wheel loose, and the follow-up attack removed these from Wyrm completely.
- "I guess my welding wasn't up to scratch!"
- — Fhinnian McIvor
Wyrm was still mobile, and it fled from Team Outlaw's robot, but another slam from the spinning bar immobilised Wyrm. In order to make sure of a win by KO, Ironside3 hit Wyrm once again, removing yet another wheel from its side, completely removing the left-hand side of Wyrm. Off-screen, Wyrm was held aloft by Sir Killalot, and dumped into the pit. Wyrm had suffered a devastating loss, and required a large repair job in order to remain in the competition.
- Dara Ó Briain: "How much work will it take to get it back in again?"
- Fhinnian McIvor: "I'm not sure, it's mostly welding work, so it's in the hands of the welders"
- — Memento Mori must rely on outside forces to fix their robot
Wyrm's next opponent was the previous Grand Finalist Pulsar. Due to the extensive damage taken in its last battle, Wyrm was modified to use its two-wheel drive setup. In the team's haste, the robot was accidentally wired to run in reverse, but Nicholas White negated this issue by operating his controller upside-down.
- "I'm just going to flip the transmitter, and drive it like that - upside down, because then that's the right way!"
- — Nicholas White comes up with a solution to the backwards drive
Wyrm was hesitant in its drive when the battle began, and it drove into the grips of Dead Metal, almost leading to punishment, although Pulsar immediately started to bellow smoke. However, despite Pulsar being unhealthy, it slammed into Wyrm's scoop, and then pushed the lifting wedge under Wyrm's body. This left Wyrm with no way to place its two wheels on the arena floor, and it was unable to defend itself from Dead Metal's saw. Wyrm received damage from the circular saw, was slammed by Pulsar, and left over the fire.
- "Toasted Wyrm anyone? Eurgh, that sounds disgusting!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Wyrm continued to spin its wheels, but it could not gain purchase on the floor, and even though Pulsar had also lost mobility at this stage, Wyrm was considered immobile, and as it was the first to fall, Pulsar won the battle by knockout. Not shown on television, Matilda's flywheel also caused extensive damage to the back end of Wyrm. After this final loss, Memento Mori concluded their appearance in the episode by throwing the remains of Wyrm into a skip.
- "First time we had a wooden robot, this time we've had a metal robot, next time we're going to have a winning robot!"
- — Confidence from Nicholas White about entering the next series
Results[]
WYRM - RESULTS | ||
Series 9 | ||
Series 9 - UK Championship Round 2, Fourth Place | ||
Heat D, Group Battle | vs. Frostbite, HIGH-5, Supernova | Eliminated |
NOTE: Following its Head-to-Head battle, Frostbite withdrew due to damage, and Wyrm was reinstated. | ||
Heat D, Head-to-Heads | vs. Ironside3 | Lost (0 points) |
Heat D, Head-to-Heads | vs. Pulsar | Lost (0 points) |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 3
Series Record[]
Series | Wyrm Series Record |
---|---|
Series 1-7 | Did not enter |
Series 8 | Entered with Overdozer |
Series 9 | Heat Round 2, Fourth Place |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
Trivia[]
- Wyrm holds the dubious distinction of having the most losses of any robot within a single episode without a win, having lost all three of its fights during its heat.
- By reaching the end of the Head-to-Heads, Wyrm is the only robot to finish in the upper half of any series despite not winning a single battle.
References[]
External Links[]
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