Build Your Own Combat Robot

Strategy
A well-executed crusher is one of the few designs with the potential to inflict
significant internal damage to its opponent. While a powerful spinner might break
up a robot’s frame and rip off external parts, a crusher that hits the right spot on
an opponent can punch holes through radio gear, batteries, or other electronic
parts, decisively disabling its opponent. A crusher also has the advantage that once
its claw has grasped an opponent, that opponent will find it impossible to escape. A
crusher with a high-torque drive system can grasp, and then drag its opponent into
arena hazards, or it can pin them against a wall before opening its claw and taking
a second bite.
A crusher doesn’t damage its opponent quickly, but the nature of its weapon is
such that—once the crushing begins—there is no escape.
The crusher mechanism will invariably take up a large part of the robot’s weight,
leaving little left over for armor and drive system. While they may need to score
only one hit with their weapon, a crusher bot may be at a disadvantage when faced
with a faster, more agile opponent, especially a wedge or lifter that might get to the
crusher from the side and flip it over. Thwack bots typically have high mobility
and good ground clearance, and they may be able to flip themselves free of the
crusher before it closes. The easiest target for a crusher is a robot that doesn’t have
a method of taking control of the match or dealing a killing blow quickly—weaker
rams and hammer bots are easy crusher prey.
A good spinner will be a challenging opponent for a crusher. While most spinners
do not have strong drive systems, a spinner with a powerful weapon may be able
to keep a crusher from ever getting in position to use its weapon by knocking it
aside on every impact. Against a spinner, the crusher bot’s best bet is to try and
first knock the spinner into a wall to stop its weapon, and then rush in for a killing
grab before the spinner can recover.
Spear Bots
Spear Design
Chapter 10: Weapons Systems for Your Robot 233
The spear was first used in Ramfire 100 (Robot Wars, 1994). Some example
spears include Rammstein, DooAll, and Rhino.
Spear robots feature a long metal rod, usually sharpened at the front, actuated by
a powerful pneumatic or electric mechanism to fire at high speed at the other robot.
The spear design seeks to damage its opponent by firing a long thin rod, piercing the
target’s armor and impaling some sensitive internal component. Usually, a spear
weapon is pneumatically powered, although other methods have been attempted.