Episode 4 Robot Wars

Fighting robots represent probably one of

the biggest challenges in engineering

because there is no perfect design.

40 robot-fighting teams are about to take on one of

the most intense engineering challenges in the world.

Advice I would give to roboteers entering the arena is don't panic

and try not to die.

To design, build and battle heavyweight fighting robots,

to compete for the ultimate prize.

Through chaotic group battles and fierce head-to-heads,

new and veteran teams of robot engineers must push their

reinforced war machines to the limits.

Their robots are harder, faster, stronger, designed for one thing -

total destruction in pursuit of victory.

Welcome to Robot Wars -

a battle of engineering brains and cold, hard machinery.

40 teams of families, friends, schools and colleges

will put their designs to the test in our bulletproof arena.

And our amazing robots are more powerful than ever.

Huge gas-powered flippers, terrifying blunt-edged axes

and spinners that spin over 200mph.

So far Aftershock, Eruption and Concussion

have secured their place in the grand final.

The competition works like this -

we start with two group battles.

The two surviving robots from each group battle go on to

the head-to-heads, where they'll fight against each other

with three points for a win and two points for a judges' decision.

The winner tonight will earn a place in the grand final.

Competing in our first group battle are...

It's time to meet the teams.

Last series, Supernova drove into the pit in their first battle

as they struggled to control their spinning weapon.

They're back, overhauled an upgrade

with the 22kg, 2,500rpm spinning disc.

One of the features of Supernova is that

it's a bit unpredictable when the disk hits.

We've tried to make that better

by putting more grip around the wheels,

so that when we hit something at least we get some traction

-so we can recover quickly.

-Give it up for Supernova.

CHEERING

Frostbite is a new robot.

Are this team of students going to teach the grown-ups a thing or two

about fighting machines

with their polycarbonate armour and spinning bar?

-Team Frostbite.

-Yeah.

You are the teacher, right?

We've been working on this for about six months.

There's not that much protection between the hood and the motor,

or the battery, for that matter, is that going to be problematic?

Our secret weapon. Maybe it's designed to fly off.

We'll definitely be remembered,

whether it be for winning or for losing fantastically.

OK, good luck, Team Frostbite.

Please, round of applause for the boys. Good luck.

Competing last year, with their wooden robot Overdozer,

the team from Falkirk are back -

this time with a pusher robot, equipped with armour-fronted scoop

and motors from a disability scooter.

You've gone all metal, haven't you?

Yeah, well, there's some plastic on there as well.

Is this supposed to be quite as open plan as it is?

We had to do a bit of weight loss,

so our armour is minimal, but we think it will do OK.

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Wyrm.

CHEERING

High-5 is a weapon designed to entangle spinners

with interlocking fingers.

It will be up to the youngest members of the team,

Riley and Daniel, to control the weapon.

-High-5, hello and welcome.

-Hi.

The wheels look pretty sturdy.

Talk me through these.

They're go-kart wheels, we're going to rough them up a bit

more before we go in the arena.

-Score them for a bit of grip.

-Yeah.

-Fine. OK, well, listen, best of luck.

-Thank you.

Our first battle pits three brand-new robots

and seasoned spinner Supernova -

all competing for two places in the head-to-heads.

Over to you, Jonathan Pearce.

Thanks, Dara and Angela.

The roboteers are in the process of arming up in the arena.

This series not only do they have to watch out for their competitors,

but also the arena hazards and the deadly House Robots.

And in this series, the House Robot have gone rogue.

If competitors press the arena tyre,

the dial will either go left releasing the pit

or will fall right releasing the rogue House Robots.

They'll come screaming out of the corner patrol zones

to inflict damage for ten seconds anywhere in the arena.

It's random and it's an awesome new addition to the arena's arsenal.

Each battle is three minutes, unless a robot is counted out as immobile,

is flipped out of the arena or finds itself in the pit of doom.

If the battle runs the full three minutes, it's up to our judges -

Dr Lucy Rogers, Professor Noel Sharkey

and Professor Sethu Vijayakumar - to decide a victor.

And the teams are ready in the arena.

From Surrey - Supernova.

Completely rebuilt from last series, Supernova has a 22-kilo

spinning disc that can spin at 2,500rpm.

Supernova's tyres have been redesigned

to give greater traction on the arena floor

by utilising bicycle tyre treads.

It has four-wheel drive and is fully invertible.

From Bristol - High-5.

Team High-5 said their robot can lift a lion or a vending machine.

Their armour is rubber-mounted to avoid translating shock through

the robot - good idea.

Their 11-millimetre ground clearance though

makes them very susceptible to flippers.

From Falkirk - Wyrm.

Wyrm has a ten-millimetre-thick hardened steel front wedge,

known as the spinner killer, which gives the robot the ability

to take full frontal attacks from spinners.

Their robot is four-wheel drive, but can run on two wheels if needed.

The Wyrm boys don't have a garage shed or a workshop,

so they've had to make the majority of Wyrm in the street!

From Kingston upon Thames - Frostbite.

Frostbite was built for under £500

and its five kilo spinning bar has a top speed of 2,000rpm.

Frostbite powered by two 12-volt car batteries, powering that

bedrock of Robot Wars - the mobility scooter motors.

For the first time tonight,

pushing and shoving his way around

the arena, it's Shunt.

Three, two, one. Activate it.

Can Wyrm last longer than their previous machine Overdozer did

in the last series? 23 seconds. Wyrm on the attack there.

Goodness me! Supernova with an astonishing attack on Frostbite.

Full frontal, using the blade, and ripping, shredding

the six-millimetre polycarbonate armour of Frostbite.

Very little movement in High-5 after that initial attack by Wyrm.

Wyrm, for some reason, has smashed into the arena sidewall.

Oh, great. You've just driven us into the wall.

And I think...

they've killed themselves. Who's moving out there?

Well, we know Supernova is.

We know, despite that damage, Frostbite is moving.

Little life in High-5.

A low point that for High-5 - and another one...

from that new 22-kilo new spinning disc of Supernova

and the Balendran family - very experienced roboteers.

Wyrm immobilised, having slammed into the arena sidewall, I think.

No life in High-5.

Oh, and with the Wyrm turned, Shunt adding insult to injury there.

That didn't go well.

Just one last question from me - Frostbite or High-5?

Who was active last?

For me, High-5 were immobilised, Frostbite still moving.

That's the decision.

So much to learn from this particular event.

Let's start with yourselves.

You came here in the past with a wooden robot

and you lasted 23 seconds,

then you went home and you built a metal robot

and you lasted...

ten seconds, plus ten seconds to check you had been immobilised.

So you are actually shaving seconds off your time at this stage.

My commiserations to Wyrm.

This thing, this monster that you've created, the hum off it.

-Oh, it's definitely fearsome.

-You're through. Congratulations.

Give it up, ladies and gentlemen, for Supernova.

CHEERING

-Lads, not the longest fight in the world.

-No, but we're still moving.

The weapon still worked, wheels still worked,

lights were still on. So, yeah, we live to fight another day.

Group battle winners Supernova and Frostbite

now enter a two-hour repair period

as they prep for the first head-to-heads.

The fight to keep a robot in full working condition outside

the arena can be as tough as the battles inside.

Fortunately, Frostbite's damage appears to be mainly external.

Our robot's pretty big,

so there's quite a lot of empty space, so when they hit it

it didn't actually

knockout many of the electronics.

And the other two were immobilised,

so a bit of luck, that's what they say sometimes.

For the Supernova team,

the hard work of their weapon overhaul has paid off.

And after that confident performance,

team captain Suren is relieved.

The robot worked as planned, to be honest.

Everything worked on it, driving was OK as well.

Yeah, there's a bit of damage to everyone else's,

very little damage here, so...

Our second group battle is between...

Can this crab-themed crusher help this father and son team

get to grips with the competition?

Team Crushtacean, this is quite a beautiful robot. Who's driving?

I'm driving it.

And operating the claws?

-I'll be doing the claws.

-How does that work?

We've got these gloves that we use that connects to the transmitter,

and basically, when I close my hands, the claws will close.

You'll be standing in the control room dancing.

Pretty much how I dance, yeah.

Round of applause for Crushtacean...

-CHEERING

-..and the dancing.

Last series, problems with their self-righter

ended their arena dreams,

but they're back with an upgraded robot and a steely resolve to win.

We spent a lot of time and a lot of money on a lot of new motors,

new gearbox designs and a few other bits, so it looks a bit shinier.

You have two weapons.

You have two different blades.

Yes. And we've got the grabber on,

and we've got a bit more of a hammer end on the other blade.

The best of luck. Good to see you all back.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ironside 3.

APPLAUSE

New and untested robot Apex is pushing spinner size to

the limit with their huge hammer bar.

Team Apex, what weight is it?

The whole rotating mass pulley, bar, everything,

so you're looking at 37 kilos.

I mean, to put that into perspective, Carbide is 25, right?

-So this is going to do some damage if it connects.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

It may look familiar, but the drum spinner of family team Pulsar

has been completely redesigned.

They showed so much promise last time. Can Pulsar now deliver?

-You've made changes for this year though.

-It's a brand-new robot.

-Really?

-It's a completely new build.

Looks very similar, same idea, it's got the big drum.

Any extra bits and bobs added on to it?

Yes, we've got the self-righter now this time.

You didn't have a self-righter last time.

We didn't have a self-righter, so hopefully if we do have a problem

-we can just flip back up the right way.

-Fantastic.

Looking forward to seeing you in there.

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Pulsar.

APPLAUSE

Only here on Robot Wars will you see a fight between three huge spinners

and a crab.

With only two places up for grabs, teams will take no prisoners,

so let's get started.

Thanks very much again to our pit professors Dara and Angela.

The teams in the second group battle tonight.

From Hale - Crushtacean.

Behind the power of Crushtacean's claws is 1,000 kilos of crush.

Crushtacean's six-millimetre aluminium armour is covered in

polyurethane paint, which the team hopes will protect it from spinners.

Ha!

From Nottingham - Ironside 3.

This upgraded bot has an 18-kilo horizontal blade spinner,

which has a tip speed of 1,500rpm.

The team have upgraded their self-righter,

which they hope will flip them over in two seconds

should they find themselves the wrong way up.

From Bristol - Apex.

Apex's spinning bar is truly huge

at 35 kilos and it's over a metre long.

The chassis of Apex is built from tough hardened steel,

up to ten millimetres in places.

Chris and Sam were on Team Foxic last series,

which failed to win any fights.

Hoping for a bit more success this time.

From Shropshire - Pulsar.

Pulsar's been completely redesigned.

The new bigger 23-kilo drum does 8,700rpm,

which is the fastest in the competition. Frightening.

And these large brushless electric motors

more commonly seen on large-scale drones.

In the arena for this bout, it's Shunt.

Roboteers, standby.

This could be all about the weight and power of Apex's huge bar,

or that drum of Pulsar.

Three, two, one. Activate.

Ironside 3 - faster, stronger, quicker than before.

Pulsar with more consistent bite.

Weaponry... Crushtacean taking a hit there.

The only robot covered in polyurethane paint,

which is about to get a bit of a burnage.

Oh, and a huge attack there!

In came Pulsar...in underneath Apex,

lifting it up in the air and stopping it.

The bar is spinning, it's not anymore.

Mighty, mighty attack there from Ironside 3 and Pulsar.

And the others, I think, are out as we countdown.

Hugely impressive Ironside 3.

Very, very good.

Cease.

Apex and Crushtacean beaten.

Let me check my heartbeat.

-I'm at 98.

-Ooh!

Pulses racing immediately.

Pulsar and Ironside 3 ruthlessly efficient -

killing Crushtacean there.

And Apex done there by Pulsar.

Pulsar and Ironside 3 through.

At the end, am I right in saying that you were a little bit crumpled

though, there was a little bit of a ripple?

A little hatch. I think we're just catching it.

You were not immaculate, but impressive.

-You must be thrilled with that.

-I am thrilled.

Yeah.

It's looking very, very smooth, looking very, very comfortable.

Got flipped at one stage.

I drove over the flipper - I don't know why I did that.

Yeah, why did you do that?

-It's really fast.

-Yeah, it is.

And it's got really little grip cos it's got so much power,

so it's just powersliding everywhere.

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Ironside and Pulsar.

Give them a round of applause.

CHEERING

Victorious Ironside 3 and Pulsar head back to the pits

to begin working on their repairs.

Big spinners often cause themselves damage due to

the internal shock when hitting other robots.

For Ironside, this could spell trouble.

He's been catching on some of the bolts.

I think it's just shifted the axle slightly,

so the blade's leaning backwards.

We were prepared for a new belt every fight.

It's just like... Getting...

We would take all the electronics out.

Pulsar must also begin the engineering puzzle of working out

the cause of their robot's faults.

I'm just noticing now though,

I've got a problem because that motor's going round,

you can see the belt will go round,

this one is locked up solid.

So we have got some damage, we don't know what it is yet.

We've got to take it apart and have a look.

The group battles are over.

Teams through to the next stage are Ironside 3,

Pulsar, Supernova and Frostbite.

Our first head-to-head is between

Supernova and Frostbite.

Teams use their two-hour repair window to not only fix,

but also tailor their machines for the next fight.

In preparation for their battle with spinner Supernova,

Team Frostbite have added some extra protection.

We're just beefing up the robot

and we've now added 12-mil polycarbonate back

to protect all the wiring and everything.

Despite having a much more dangerous machine,

Supernova aren't taking a victory here for granted.

So we've got Frostbite.

Their robot is armoured with plastic,

so in theory we should be OK,

but you should never underestimate your opponent.

After last series, Suren knows all to well the dangers of

driving such a powerful robot in the arena.

I'm Suren. This is our robot - Supernova.

Supernova's a robot with a spinning disc and he's armoured with

steel used in armoured tanks and is four-wheel driven.

The first series of Robot Wars,

Supernova was eliminated

basically down to my poor driving.

So Supernova this time around is different in that he's got

a new much stronger steel body and has got a much more powerful weapon.

Also known as the disc of doom,

it's so hard it will cut through other robots

like a knife through butter.

We can't actually test the weapon

because there's nowhere safe enough other than the arena,

so I don't really know what's going to happen.

Our combat strategy for Supernova, it's such a powerful weapon,

is to go in and just tear them up.

This year, this is our chance. I'm going all out.

Frostbite, full of wide-eyed optimism,

must gain valuable fighting time and experience the hard way -

in the brutal environment of the arena.

We're Team Frostbite from Kingston Grammar School

and our robot is called Frostbite.

I'm Derek.

I'm team captain responsible for design and construction.

Harry is our driver,

Chris is branding,

and Thomas is maintenance and repair.

Team Frostbite has learnt a whole new range of mechanical gearing and

electronic skills, including the construction and design of the body.

It would be amazing to win Robot Wars.

I don't think there's ever been a plastic robot

costing less than £500 to have lifted the trophy.

Team Frostbite, we cut through to the bone.

In the arena for this bout, with absolutely no chill,

it's Sir Killalot

and Shunt.

Three, two, one. Activate.

School engineering club teenagers against the Balendran family

of Supernova.

They've been building robots for 19 years.

Up and over the floor flipper goes Frostbite.

They need to stay out of trouble.

They picked up damage in that first group battle.

And Supernova whirling up the disc of doom.

Getting it up to full speed at 2,500rpm.

Shards of metal across the arena floor.

OK. Hit it from the side.

No! Come on! Not again!

Still going.

The lights stay bright, but there's no-one at home. Oh, dear.

Supernova, look at the power of the weaponry. Once, twice, smithereens.

Supernova...

Oh! Look at the chain there.

Getting mashed up with the spinning blade.

Will that cause some problems later on?

Frostbite were cut to the bone. They didn't do any cutting.

I'm afraid, tonight, the lights are going out for Frostbite.

We've got a bit of a bodge job to do, lads.

A few repair jobs...

-Oh!

-Come on!

-More repairs!

Shunt, what are you doing?

Cruel.

Not the best of driving techniques early on -

maybe that caused some damage to their spinning bar.

Certainly Supernova's spinning blade caused all the damage in the arena.

That's when the chain came off.

This time it's a very different story for Team Frostbite.

The huge power of Supernova has torn their machine to pieces,

even destroying the heart of the robot - its internal drive motors.

Supernova, they tore through the shell of the motor

and they ripped out the main component in it,

so this is pretty thick and they've just torn right through it.

Without drive motors we're not going to be able to progress through,

so not much we can really do about that one.

It could be the end of the road for Frostbite.

Meanwhile, their opponent's damage is just to the chain

that drives their huge spinning weapon.

Oh, look! I can see a piece of the chain here actually.

Wow!

The chain's just exploded.

Due to the structural build of their robot,

this could very easily have caused a huge lithium battery fire

that could have destroyed their entire machine.

These batteries are very...

They'll explode if they get hit,

so that would have been a disaster, so we're very lucky.

The next head-to-head is between

Ironside 3 and Pulsar -

two teams with a point to prove.

It was their fight last series

that controversially put Ironside 3 out,

so experienced roboteer Trevor is cautious.

I'm not quite sure how we're going to approach this one,

probably very slowly, very gingerly,

very measured.

Team Pulsar are struggling to put

their complicated robot back together.

They're working with a high-voltage system

and in their haste mistakes are being made.

-SHE GASPS

-I've got it.

Peter has accidently caused the high-energy battery

to burn out their speed controller.

They have to replace it before the battle

and they have a limited number of spares.

It's time to head to the arena.

Last series, their robot proved to be unreliable.

Is history repeating itself with such a cutting-edge robot?

We are the Ware family from Shropshire and our robot is Pulsar.

The team is my parents and I,

and I supply robotic parts to the robotics industry,

my dad's a music producer and my mum is a copywriter.

We're a very strong family unit,

but it's Ellis who's the core of the robot team.

As long as we can remember, it's been his passion.

Building robots has taught me about engineering.

Pulsar is a really low, sleek, compact machine

that packs loads of power into a small space.

Last series, Pulsar got into the top six, we got into the final episode.

And unfortunately we had one of those recurring electrical issues.

We never really got to show what Pulsar can do.

I'm using high-performance brushless motors again,

the same systems as before, although they're all kind of turned up to 11.

And the whole machine is just absolutely ramped to the max.

Pulsar is the most powerful robot I've ever built

and I feel sorry for anyone who has to fight it.

Undamaged, Ironside 3 were let down last series

by their own self-righter.

Back with a ramped up robot and a point to prove,

could this be their time?

Last year we were a victim of circumstance, in my opinion.

Pulsar there flipping Ironside 3 over.

This year that's not going to happen.

We're going to be knocking machines out.

On the team we have myself, Adam, I'm a production engineer.

Trevor's the same, he's also a production engineer.

Louise works in a school

and Patricia is a cook.

Last year, our self-righter was our Achilles heel,

it was far too slow.

It took about 15 seconds to turn the machine over.

This system should have us over in about two seconds flat.

Ironside 3 is one of the strongest robots in the competition.

It's small and compact,

so we can have thicker armour and take bigger hits.

So the compact design of Ironside allows the bar to be very big.

What that means is the bar covers most of the robot,

so you can come at us at almost any angle and we're going to hit you.

All in all, we reflected on what was wrong last time

and we've put that right.

We're back, we're stronger

and at the minute we're not scared of anybody.

Ironside 3 against Pulsar. These two nemesis met last series.

Ironside controversially missing out on a win last time.

Now these second generation machines go head-to-head again.

Shunt in the arena for this battle.

Beware his pneumatic axe and hardened steel bucket.

And Sir Killalot.

Three, two, one. Activate.

Off we go.

The blade of Ironside.

Oh, nearly got themselves in the CPZ and the end of Shunt's axe,

and onto the floor flipper too.

You can see the power of the 18-kilo bar spinner.

They worked very hard on this machine, trying to improve.

Down goes the pit release.

-Turn the weapon off.

-You can see Ellis there,

this self-taught engineer at the control of Pulsar.

Big hits.

Nearly into the grasp of Killalot.

They need to get out of there - Pulsar.

All the arena perils on display.

Trying to get in underneath the bar and flip Ironside 3.

Smoke out one wheel.

Good tussle, this.

Very good tussle.

Ironside 3 goes away to drive again.

Pulsar around the side.

Up over the floor flipper goes Ironside 3.

Difficult to call this one at the moment.

He's got no weapon and you're the aggressor so far.

Who is the more aggressive according to the judges, should it go to them?

Which weapon is working?

Just skirted the issue there.

Oh, onto the flame pit goes Pulsar, driven there by Ironside 3.

Good driving.

-I've lost drive on one side.

-OK.

They've got a problem with the drive on one side - Pulsar.

They're still moving.

As long as they can move out of their circumference they'll be OK.

They won't be deemed immobile, but they've got other troubles now.

They're in the grip of Killalot. They're on the flame pit.

He'll hold them there.

The crowd want them in the pit.

They need to self-right. They do so.

So they're still moving just.

As I said, as long as they can move out of their circumference,

which they do on to the spinning bar of Ironside 3.

Good battle, this.

We're killing that...drive motor is the thing.

Last year it took a controversial judges' decision

to thwart Ironside 3. They want revenge.

-Try spinning up the drum. I don't know what the damage is.

-OK.

Ironside 3 the more aggressive.

I don't think they've caused too much damage.

There's barely a scratch on Pulsar.

Ironside 3 spinning to win, they think.

He's counting down. Ten, nine...

Just keep moving, Adam.

As long as they keep moving, they should be OK -

-Pulsar.

-Three, two, one.

He's been counted out.

Now there seems to be confusion here.

Ironside 3 thinks Pulsar's been counted out,

but Pulsar is still mobile.

Cease has not been called.

The fight is still on.

I can't drive. I've got no drive on one side.

He's saying he can't drive.

It doesn't matter. They can't go the way they want to go,

as long as they're moving beyond their circumference.

Why isn't Ironside 3 coming in for the kill here?

Cease.

The match has gone to three minutes.

Pulsar damaged, but still mobile.

-It will go to judges.

-Yes.

Passions will rise high either side for this judges' decision.

I would not want to be in their shoes.

Well, that will count against Ironside 3 -

for driving onto the floor flipper.

Maybe a little bit of damage to the bar, I don't think so.

Oh, might be there, though.

And they were aggressive.

But they weren't causing too much damage on Pulsar.

Pulsar were able to come in and shove Ironside 3 around.

I think one of their motors burns out - you can see the smoke -

that could count against them. But Ironside 3,

even though Pulsar were took down by Killalot,

was strangely inhibited and they didn't come in for the kill,

they stayed off, and that negativity will count against them

because Pulsar's still active there.

Any battle that goes to a judges' decision is played back for

Lucy, Sethu and Noel to review before making a final judgment.

In this case, however, there's an added complication involving

the judges' countdown clock.

I'm just going to check the words of the rules.

The complication is that Ironside saw on their countdown screen that

we had been counted out, although cease was never actually called,

so that means the countdown never actually happened,

-it never went through.

-So they backed off.

-So they backed off.

So there's just a little bit of confusion there.

Ironside believed they had won due to the immobilisation clock

counting Pulsar out.

Pulsar also felt they had done enough to win the fight

by a judges' decision.

Head judge Noel goes to explain and offer his ruling.

I've reviewed the footage

because I pressed the button and it cancelled on our screen

the countdown that had been up there,

and you got the countdown continued.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-So it wasn't fair. So what we're going to do is

we're going to award both teams two points.

-OK.

-OK.

-Is that fair?

Happy with that.

Happy with that compromise,

the teams set about repairs for the next round.

After the first two head-to-heads, the leaderboard looks like this.

Supernova have three points,

Pulsar and Ironside 3 are both on two,

and Frostbite is yet to score.

Up next, it's Supernova

versus Pulsar.

Team Supernova spent their repair time working out how to tame

the volatile behaviour of their weapon chain.

So the disc on Supernova, there's a sprocket that's attached to it,

and basically in the last fight it was damaged.

It basically vibrates up and down by a couple of millimetres.

At low speed that's fine,

but at 3,000rpm that potentially could throw the chain

or it could completely obliterate the sprocket.

The team tensely make their final assembly

in preparation for the fight.

Pulsar's small but powerful brushless motors

aren't holding up to the rigours or battle.

The machine has to be stripped, reassembled

and the electronic speed controllers replaced for this fight.

The problem is I've been struggling to replace the damaged part.

I've...

And everything's not going quite to plan. Thank you.

So...

I'm just bodging it now.

I'm using the wrong kind of motor just to get it together.

And we just need to get in the arena, that's our goal.

We've just got to get in there.

Sitting at the top of the table,

Supernova know that a victory here will give them a commanding lead.

For Team Pulsar, the race to be ready in time means they're

heading into a crucial battle untested and unprepared.

So batten down the hatches and take it away, Jonathan.

The House Robot in this arena for this bout,

it's king of the ring Sir Killalot and Shunt.

Oh, "Rust in Pieces." Love it, love it.

Pulsar against Supernova.

Which of these problematic machines will love this one though?

Activate.

Supernova - spin to win

or spin yourselves into the bin?

They've got to be careful.

Pulsar! What a hit that is.

Wow!

Well, I think the velocity, the power of the hit...

Oh, no! I thought they were out.

They thought they were out.

What a slam, bam, thank you, ma'am, that was.

-The right disc is not working.

-Neither of them are.

I don't think either weapon is working.

It's a little bit of a kiss and caress now.

A bit of a nudge around the arena.

Hopefully just our chain fell off.

-No drive.

-I can't see any life whatsoever in Supernova.

A little waggle of the self-righting mechanism.

Pulsar just wins it.

That was one almighty explosion.

Look at the power of this.

Drum against spinning blade.

Nothing humdrum about that drum.

That Supernova was flipped

and spun right across the arena.

Team Pulsar get the knockout and three points,

but victory came at a price.

It's going to be big damage.

You can see the massive gash across the front of the drum, which...

the drum is going around but then seizes here...

and we don't know why yet.

Supernova's hardened outer chassis

is hiding a huge amount of internal damage.

You know, last fight, the front sprocket on the disc

was damaged and we tried to hammer it flat.

It looks like what's happened is we hammered it flat,

but it wasn't good enough.

So that's thrown the chain off and the chain's then pulled the motor,

which drives the weapon out of its mounting point,

and it's just jammed everything up.

Unsurprisingly, after a head-on hit like that,

both teams now have a big repair job on their hands.

A perfect time to find out just how to go about making

a fighting robot with judge Dr Lucy Rodgers.

If I wanted to build a robot like what we've been seeing,

if I wanted to build one, where do I start?

Well, choosing the materials is really important.

-OK.

-Here we've got HDPE, high-density polyethylene.

It's what Jellyfish was made out of.

It's breadboard. This is a cutting board.

Very good at absorbing energy.

Oh, bouncy!

-See how bouncy it was?

-Yes.

So against an axe that works really, really well, against a spinner.

-It's a plastic.

-OK.

-It's going to melt.

Look, it nearly went through it completely.

-Wood.

-It's useless in the arena...

-But good for prototypes.

-Yeah.

-OK, this one.

-This is aluminium.

-Right.

For a metal it's soft, it's cheap and light,

but you'll probably use it inside for holding some of the structures.

This one is mild steel.

If you can't afford the Hardox, which is expensive...

-You go for this.

-..you go for this.

Hardox armour is being made out of this

-and they make tanks out of this too, right?

-Yeah.

So that's what we've been seeing when we've got

-the little firework display.

-Yeah.

-But not much damage.

-Yeah.

-It's just superficial, really.

It is. The best thing against a spinner seems to be the Hardox.

Against a hammer, HDPE.

If you were going to build a robot, which would you make it out of?

A combination of these two, I think.

I think that's a winning combo.

Brilliant. Thank you, Lucy, that was great.

Putting Lucy's lessons to the acid test will be our next teams -

the plastic casing of Frostbite

against the hardened steel

of Ironside 3.

Ironside 3 are battling to repair their heavyweight machine in time.

Team Frostbite, faced with a huge task after being effectively

dismantled by Supernova, have thrown in the towel.

We could have had an easier route to the final,

which would have been nice, but we didn't.

We faced some really tough opponents.

But this is Robot Wards - we came, we saw and we exploded.

Yeah, into millions of icicles.

With Frostbite sadly out,

that leaves a space for a team to re-enter the competition.

In third place this time,

that opportunity falls to

ranked outsiders Wrym.

The team from Falkirk, whose only damage was caused

by driving themselves into the wall.

My name's Nicholas White, I'm from Falkirk,

and our robot is called Wyrm.

Wyrm is a four-wheel drive pushbot.

We've taken design inspiration from reptiles and dragons.

We're all friends.

I met Fhiannon at university

and through him I met Jonathan.

So after Overdozer went home in a bin bag,

we immediately started working on our second robot.

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.

So this is where we're building Wyrm.

Many people have a cosy and comfortable workshop to work in -

we don't. We have a street.

Our robot stands out from the fact that it's designed to be made with

the minimal amount of tools.

As long as you've got an angle grinder,

a drill and a welder, you can build one of our robots.

If we can do it, you can do it.

Their first robot was wooden, this one is metal,

but with no armour to protect them, can Wyrm beat the odds

to mount a victorious campaign at this late stage?

Ironside 3 now sit in third place,

so need a decisive victory to remain in contention.

Have they fixed their weapon in time to bury the dreams of Wyrm?

It's over to you, Jonathan.

750 kilos of Sir Killalot in the arena for this bout

and Shunt.

Three, two, one. Activate.

Wouldn't it be nice for Wyrm to win here?

Now they understand you can't take timber into the arena.

Learn your lessons, Wyrm.

Can't get away from Ironside 3's bar...

because Wyrm's armament is limited.

On top, vulnerable there.

Straightaway, in comes Shunt.

Can Wyrm move? Trying.

Not going to last.

That's a wheel off, but he's still going.

I guess my welding wasn't up to scratch.

It certainly wasn't. Bits of Wyrm are all over the arena floor.

Ironside 3 comes in for another attack.

They're not going to hang about here. Bash, bash, bash.

They don't want this to go to the judges' decision,

that's for certain.

Oh, but they've got themselves trapped there.

-Reverse, reverse.

-I can't. I'm stuck.

Have they stopped? They need to reverse.

They need to get out of that.

And they do.

Hit him again.

And they'll come in for one more attack here. Off goes a wheel.

Oh, there goes the other wheel!

They don't want to leave this to doubt - Ironside 3.

Wyrm are finished now.

-Wyrm are finished.

-Cease.

Well done, boys. You did well.

How well did they do? Well...

Off goes part of Wyrm.

Ironside 3 bouncing around.

Adam Lewis, a man called Ironside...

..causing all the damage at the controls there.

-Right... How did that work out?

-Er...

The first thing to go was your battering ram protection

-and then they just picked you off tyre by tyre.

-Yeah.

How much work will it take to get it back in again?

I'm not sure.

It's mostly welding work, so it's actually the hands of the welders.

And a lot of it involving a dust pan and brush and picking up tyres.

My commiserations, but I think it was a long shot for them.

-That was fun. Did you enjoy that?

-We did enjoy that.

We didn't know how well they could take a head-on and we didn't quite

hit them head-on, we got around the side a little bit.

I mean, you went back a couple of times too often, I feel.

There was at least one little nibble you took

just therapeutically for yourself.

He's got the other side, it's OK.

Hopefully just working on one side isn't too bad.

So, at the end of that, I'm afraid you've not made any dent so far

with any points at all, but you have.

You've got three points. Let's see what that does to the table.

A straightforward victory for Ironside 3

puts them level with Pulsar at the top of the table.

But every hit they make with

the spinner damages their weapon's drive belt,

putting it under more strain.

See if the belt repair works and if it does...

There are design issues that I think we would like to change,

but we can't change them now.

We've got what we've got.

The damage for Team Wyrm is more comprehensive.

Ironside 3 caused a little case of spontaneous unplanned disassembling

on specifically this side of the robot.

With all the finesse of an angry badger.

And Sir Killalot kindly added to it by removing

the wheel from this side.

If and when Team Wyrm rebuild

their machine, they'll face

top of the table Pulsar.

Team Pulsar have managed to realign their drum

so it can spin freely, but in every battle

their high-powered brushless drive burns out components that

all need to be replaced before they go back in the arena.

If they are unable to do so in the allotted time,

they'll be forced to forfeit their next battle,

leave the competition and Wyrm will be awarded the full three points.

What?

-Forward is backwards.

-How can forwards be backwards

when we haven't changed any of the wiring?

Meanwhile, Team Wyrm have hit an unusual snag.

The good news is they've repaired their robot,

the bad news is they've done it backwards.

I'm just going to flip the transmitter and drive it like that -

upside-down - because then that's the right way.

Yet again, Pulsar have worked up to the wire,

replacing burnt out components.

Wyrm, in their new upside-down configuration, are also ready to go.

So, Jonathan, expect the unexpected.

Thanks very much.

For the first time tonight,

with its clamping jaws and vertical saws,

in the arena it's Dead Metal

and Matilda.

Flying like a butterfly, stinging like a...

Well, a 350-kilo robot triceratops.

Three, two, one. Activate.

Nick and the Wyrm team believe robots can be upcycled

and many elements of Wyrm have come from scrap, and they could be

heading back to the scrap yard unless they can stay out of reach

of that Pulsar drum.

That's the belt, yes, it's gone.

But we've got smoke pouring from Pulsar.

There's sparks as well, I think.

We know they've had problems with that drive system

and this could be a mighty upset here.

But of course Wyrm need to get away from Dead Metal in that CPZ,

as Pulsar waits patiently.

Pulsar drives away.

We can't drive because the wheel's off the ground

-cos the wedge is underneath the wheels.

-Wrym can't get away.

You just hear them there, they're wedged on,

or they were wedged onto Dead Metal.

Now they're on the flame pit.

Toasted Wyrm, anyone?

Ew! That sounds disgusting.

Pulsar with the new little streamer.

The crowd love that.

They're counting down.

You keep moving, Ellis.

Again, the instructions from Tara to Ellis - keep moving.

The drum moves.

-Cease.

-This is interesting.

One side drive gone.

Self-righter's gone. Drum has gone. One side drive has gone.

The hope's gone.

Well, you can see there the drive smoking.

Wyrm in peril.

And damaged by the House Robot.

On to the flame pit -

will also count against them.

Pulsar active the longest. They stay in, but they're weak.

After a spirited performance, Wyrm are out.

But being given a second chance

has made the team hopeful for the future.

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.

After our penultimate head-to-head,

here's what the leaderboard looks like.

That victory from Pulsar means that they have eight points

and are through to tonight's final.

Ironside 3 are on five points.

Supernova on three.

And, sadly, Wyrm on zero points are out.

So it all comes down to our final head-to-head between

Supernova and Ironside 3.

Supernova need all three points to progress.

Ironside only need to avoid defeat here to go through to the final.

Such a crucial battle couldn't have come at a worst time for Supernova.

With their robot still suffering from that full impact hit

with finalists Pulsar, team captain Suren has real concerns.

We're in a bit of trouble because the last impact damaged

Supernova quite badly.

It was never really designed to take a vertical hit,

so we've damaged the bearings

and we've damaged some of the motors.

We managed to repair the motors, so it's a fair amount of work to do.

We're not sure we can get it done in time,

but we'll give it our best shot.

The brutal damage caused by these machines is taking its toll

and their competition, Ironside 3, aren't in much better shape.

We just found a broken gearbox again.

Motor has started to come loose.

We're just swapping that out for the last spare.

We've not got any left now.

At stake for both teams is a place in the final

and the chance of becoming the new Robot Wars Champion.

They've done all they can.

Their fate now rests on the next three minutes in the arena.

Well, Ironside, you have to beat them.

It comes down to a straight fight between the two of you.

-So what are you going to do?

-Not sure yet.

We're going to see how much mobility they have.

They were in pieces, like we were.

We're pretty happy that the machine's not too bad.

It's not overly healthy,

but we need to get through unscathed if possible.

Are you confident? Cos you seem slightly nervous at the moment.

I think we're all right.

We're just thinking everything through

and we'll have a look when we move up to the arrows,

see how everybody is looking and go from there.

The best of luck. Ladies and gentlemen, Ironside 3.

CHEERING

-They're keeping their cards close to their chest.

-Yeah, I know.

Are you going to do the same?

-We've sustained a lot of damage from the Pulsar fight.

-Yeah.

Replaced two motors.

A lot of work has gone into getting it back and running,

but we don't know how well it's going to work.

I mean, what actually happens when those two spinners hit?

Well, that's the thing because their spinner is actually slightly

higher than ours, but then it's slightly bigger,

so it's like a boxer with a longer arm.

-OK.

-So they can hit us before we can hit them.

-But sometimes the little guy gets it.

-Sometimes.

Right, give it up please for Supernova.

CHEERING

In the arena for this bout, it's Shunt and Sir Killalot.

Roboteers, standby.

A place in the final for the winner here.

Two giant spinners, the carnage could be colossal...

We hope.

Three, two, one. Activate.

Have Supernova's problems left it death star?

Ironside 3's drive problems.

Both are using spares.

Ironside 3's blade there trying to get up to speed.

Supernova's spinner already up to full speed.

Get the wheels.

Louise is saying go after the wheels of Supernova.

Ironside 3 using tactics then

to disarm Supernova and it's certainly working.

They go the other side and hit that wheel.

You're all right, Supernova.

One wheel's gone.

One wheel has gone and it's Supernova's wheel that's gone.

It's Ironside 3 on top here.

Supernova about to descend into a deep black hole, I think.

In goes Shunt.

Supernova taking lots of damage now.

The chain has gone.

You can see bits of the chain there catching again on

the spinning blade.

It's been a problem throughout.

Supernova beaten, Ironside 3 through.

Oh!

And a good battle right from that first slam.

We thought it would be.

Certainly Ironside the more adventurous.

You can see sparks coming off.

There's the chain.

Starts to go wrong inside Supernova.

You can see it there.

Major peril.

Over and out.

The chain design ultimately proved fatal for Team Supernova.

And after initially leading the competition, they're now out,

but their resolve is still strong.

It's a war. This time we might have lost,

but next time we'll be back stronger to do more damage.

For Team Ironside 3, however,

their hard work and cautious approach has paid off.

They'll now meet archrivals Pulsar in tonight's final,

but there's still a lot of work to do.

We've had some brutal fights and she's showing it.

Oh! The belt's actually turned around.

The pulley's that damaged we can't repair it here. We need a lathe,

so we just have to go in and...

fight the good fight.

-So it's a problem within the...

-For crying out loud.

Meanwhile, fellow finalists Pulsar have burnt their way through

all their spare speed controllers.

They've reached the final, but may be unable to enter a working robot.

We were very, very close.

The sides are on, the wedge can go on in just a few minutes,

then it was tops.

But we've just gone to test it having done the reassembling

and we found a fault with this motor,

and there's just not enough time.

Then Ellis has a brainwave.

Hang on a minute.

That, it will be all wrong, but it would spin the motor.

I don't even know if it will spin it.

It's set up for a completely different kind of motor.

If they can repurpose their self-righter,

they could still make it to the final - but that's a big if.

Whether or not that will work, who knows.

Go again. Power light.

Turning on.

The motor works and Team Pulsar are back in the competition.

We have a final.

Whatever the outcome between these two massive spinners,

they've both proved themselves in the pits as worthy finalists.

This heat has truly been the battle of the spinners.

The head-to-heads were a violent display of stored kinetic carnage.

Our finalists tonight are Pulsar and Ironside 3.

Ironside 3 came up short last time, so entered this series

ready to prove their machine was a real contender.

In an eerie reminder of their first meeting,

the battle with Pulsar was marred with controversy.

Fight after fight, they've dealt with the huge amount of

self-damaging energy from their own weapon.

We've had some brutal fights and she's showing it.

But they've left us in no doubt that Ironside 3

can deliver the knockout blows.

In the final they face Pulsar.

This compact robot was completely redesigned for this series

and has proven more competitive than its predecessor.

It's 9,000rpm drum was decisive against Supernova

and their brushless drive has given them an edge of speed,

but at a cost of constant repairs.

Ellis is a very good driver.

If anybody can make it work, Ellis can do that.

This small but tough robot can take the hits,

but will it be able to dish them out in tonight's final?

Some of our robots are made of simple things, like wood

and steel and old breadboards,

others are packed with cutting-edge components.

Tonight's final is between the next generation technology of Pulsar

and the brute strength of Ironside 3.

It's the ultimate clash of brains versus brawn.

But who will go through to the grand final?

The brains in the pits, the brawn in the commentary box.

Pulsar against Ironside 3 - they meet again.

A place in the grand final at stake this time.

No love lost, I can tell you.

The House Robot in the arena for this bout - it's Sir Killalot

and Shunt.

Roboteers, standby.

Ironside belted by the power of their own spinner.

Using a... ..motor for speed control - Pulsar.

Have they bodged it?

Have they got it right?

Three, two, one. Activate.

Oh, the arena is tense for this one,

but Pulsar had enough time to repair.

Could this be revenge big time for Ironside 3?

Cross drive already on one.

Just take your time.

Pulsar continuously moving, spinning, trying to get away.

Doesn't seem to be much life in the drum.

They took a hit there.

Big hit from Ironside 3.

That may have stilled the beating heart within the Pulsar.

I think it has.

They are now totally vulnerable.

Another smash from Ironside 3's 18-kilo bar spinner.

They've used that weapon well on poor old Pulsar.

Haven't they worked hard to get it up and running?

Whatever technique they could use, they've used, it's still twitching.

We're being counted down.

Ironside 3 not waiting for a count this time.

Again they come in with a slam.

Surely they've won it - Ironside 3.

And revenge is theirs...

and they know it.

They have long waited for this...

Oh, and so have the House Robots.

Right from this first big hit,

Pulsar were in trouble, couldn't recover.

And it's Ironside's victory.

Ironside 3 are through to the grand final. Worthy winners.

Through adversity to triumph.

How sweet is the taste of revenge?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Yes, oh, Pulsar,

I feel that we saw the best of you earlier on in this show.

Definitely.

-What was the fight that really took it out of you?

-Supernova.

-The Supernova battle.

-Yeah, we never recovered, really.

Could you even get the drum going?

No, it twitched and I didn't want to go any further

cos it might set itself on fire.

Well, listen, its time, I believe, will still come.

I think there's more to come out of this.

-I'll be back.

-I have no doubt you'll be back.

But for the time being, my commiserations. You've lost.

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Pulsar.

CHEERING

I mean, this was one of those grudge matches, really.

There was a bit of history here.

Yeah, we don't like the word grudge match,

but we wanted to settle one way or the other.

And we saw you in the control room.

There was elation, there was smiles, there was cheers,

a happy moment, shall we say?

Our group has been horrendous, really.

There's a lot of causalities.

-A lot of dangerous machines.

-Robots littered all the way around.

I genuinely think we're probably the only two left standing out of

all of it and I'm just so happy to be at the top.

You're into the grand final.

Well done. Give it up for Ironside 3, please.

CHEERING

I'm not surprised our teams are shell-shocked

after an episode like that.

But another fantastic team has made it through to our grand final,

which is shaping up to be an explosive end to the series.

But that's all for now. Goodnight.

Next time, on Robot Wars...

It will be good to have another pop at Apollo, definitely.