Check out this fight in BattleBots World Championship VII (marked “Season 8” on most platforms), Episode 8. Or check it out on Twitter and Facebook.
We’re 2-0 and feeling great, after wins over Shatter and Blip! HUGE’s next test comes in the form of the dual horizontal/vertical spinning weapons of Fusion. Horizontal spinning weapons in particular are a longtime nemesis of HUGE-style designs as they can chop down our wheels and disable us. Fusion is the spiritual successor to a robot named “Son of Whyachi”, who did just that during the 2019 season. Luckily we’ve learned a lot since that fight and our fingers are crossed that we can change our fortunes this time around. Fusion has been looking extremely strong so far this year, most notably splitting Witch Doctor’s entire weapon hub, which was held together with identical screws to the ones used in HUGE’s weapon hub. We’ll need to win quickly to avoid too much damage!
That previous fight with Son of Whyachi was the catalyst for a new era in HUGE’s wheels, as it inspired a tegris manufacturer to reach out to our team and inform us of this miracle material. We get a lot of suggestions about HUGE’s design, always consider them, yet generally hear them with an air of skepticism. But this suggestion was a game-changer, immediately entering service with Tiny Huge (the 3lb version of HUGE) and turning it into a top contender. A previous tegris design withstood Malice in 2020, and this newer mismatched version proved effective against Captain Shrederator in 2021. No design is impenetrable, so we still need to win quickly to keep from taking too much damage, but tegris wheels give us the time to be able to turn the fight in our favor.
While we wouldn’t normally run a wheel like this against a vertical spinning weapon, we expected Fusion to heavily prioritize their horizontal spinner and planned primarily for that. We also re-mounted the “S-Blade” seen last against Shatter, as it is our best-designed blade for dealing with vertical spinning weapons, as well as best for withstanding a fatal bend from a horizontal spinner. Plus, as our most aggressive weapon, it fits our strategy to win quickly, and avoid accumulating damage.
HUGE’s configuration for its fight against Fusion.
Fusion, on the other hand, took some more drastic steps in preparation for fighting HUGE. Not only was a very heavy top plate mounted to withstand downward blows, but Fusion also modified both weapon systems specifically for HUGE. Their standard tri-rotor was exchanged for a thinner, two-toothed traditional bar, while the vertical spinner had its teeth thinned out and sharpened (and a corresponding amount of weight removed from the backside). We don’t envy whoever had to grind those teeth.
Detailed view of the modified vertical spinner on Fusion.
Detailed view of the swapped horizontal spinner on Fusion, as well as the extra-heavy top plate. Their standard top plate was also mounted underneath of this - seriously heavy armor against downwards attacks.
And that’s the configs! Both robots are ready for each other, and both are looking stronger than they have in past years. This is geared up to be an explosive fight.
Immediately at the start of the fight, we rush out and… jam a wheel straight into Fusion’s horizontal spinner. Whoops. Well, I guess first hit’s free.
Soon after this hit, we countered quickly. First a hit to the side of Fusion that disabled a side of drive. Then a hit to throw them into the screws. At this point in the fight, I noticed that Fusion’s top plate was lifting, and it seemed to be slowing down quite a bit (stationary turning + no weapons). But we wanted to end the fight.
“Your free trial of top plate has ended.”
Once the heavy top plate came off, all of the relevant screws had sheared. This left the secondary plate underneath free to fall away. The main heavy top plate was rocketed into the ceiling of the arena. Left completely exposed and already very damaged, Fusion holds still to accept the countout and end the fight.
HUGE, once again, feels unsure about the whole situation.
Of all of the hits during this fight, this hit directly on Fusion’s wheel was the most consequential. Our blade cut through their outer armor, and continued in through the wheel, sprocket, and chain.
And this was the hit that ended the fight. Our blade caught the top plate over the horizontal spinner’s mount, and tore it upwards and away from the body.
A side view of the hits to Fusion’s side. The left disabled the drive, and the mark on the right threw Fusion into the screws.
A top view of the hit area. The inner wheel mounting wall is also bent inwards. Luckily it did not impact any of the batteries inside. Team Whyachi mentioned that they were happy to not have to clean out a bunch more soot and burned speed controllers!
Always be careful where you touch on a post-fight BattleBot! This sharp metal was embedded in our tire in the battery-removal area.
Mmmm, chewy. A closeup on our wheel that was struck. That hit blew threw the outer layer of the wheel, and made a nice looking tear. But it would take many more like this to keep HUGE from moving.
A clean tear through the “light” portion of the wheel
And some damage to the “heavy” portion of the wheel, but nothing that pierced.
Following two days of preparations, our fight with Fusion was over in just seconds! And as the first fight of the day, this gave us an amazing opportunity to have an entire day to repair and prepare for our upcoming fight with Starchild who, chronologically, was scheduled to fight Gigabyte later on the same day.
A 3-0 start is a dream-come-true for Team HUGE, and an amazing reflection of the years of work put into this brushless iteration of HUGE. Everything we know now can be directly linked back to lessons learned during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. At 3-0 with two dominant KO’s, a trip to the playoffs is a certainty, but we were still in a position to control our fate. A good win over Starchild would be able to set up HUGE for a top seed, and an easier path through the bracket than in prior seasons. Conversely a loss would reflect poorly on us due to Starchild’s struggles to this point (although it wouldn’t concern us too deeply, as Starchild is so unique that it would have little bearing on our ability to defeat normal “meta” robots).
Most importantly, it’s a fight the whole Battlebots community wants to see!
Thanks to HUGE’s sponsors, Mouser Electronics and TTI, Inc. Whenever you need electronic components next, either for hobby or professionally, remember that Mouser and TTI make it possible for HUGE to compete at Battlebots. We couldn’t do it without them!
If you’re interested, also check out our merch store to pick up HUGE gear, or your own pair of angry eyes!
Photo Credits: Dan Longmire, JCRB Photography