Ambush was a robot built by Blindside Robotics from the Rochester Institute of Technology for BattleBots World Championship II.
It was a long, black and orange robot armed with a set of circular saws attached to a clamping arm, as well as forks to get underneath opponents and guide them into its weaponry. According to an RIT news article, Ambush cost approximately $20,000 to build.[1]
Ambush with orange armor, rather than black.
The team formed in October 2015, and Ambush was created soon after. Despite showing up for the event, however, Ambush was unfinished and had electrical problems. Ultimately, it was not finished in time to compete in the main bracket, or indeed any side rumbles, despite the team's best efforts.
A front view of Ambush.
- "There is a definite disadvantage regarding time, since we are all full-time students who are all a part of clubs, in addition to this team..."
- — Lydia Yeckley foreshadows their issues with Ambush.[2]
According to team captain Lydia Yeckley, Ambush was to be armed with a flamethrower weapon in addition to its saws and lifting forks, though it is unknown whether this came to fruition, as it is not mentioned on the BattleBots website.
Ambush in the pits during 2016 filming.
Ambush was mentioned on an episode of the Inside The Bot podcast with Greg Munson, where he cited a lack of time as the main reason behind Ambush not being able to compete.[3]
In the same podcast interview, Lydia Yeckley put Ambush's issues down to trying to scale electronics up from robots they had experience building with FIRST Robotics, which weighed up to 120lbs. At filming, Ambush's electronic speed controllers blew up when the team tried to power up their saws during testing. Without the time to install new speed controllers ahead of the busy filming schedule, the team had no choice other to withdraw Ambush from the competition.
Ambush would not return for any future seasons of BattleBots, and was allegedly scrapped after the show changed hands ahead between World Championships II and III. The team also would not return, and no members would join up with other BattleBots teams after 2016.
Results[]
| AMBUSH | ||
| World Championship II | ||
| 2016 Championship | ||
| NOTE: Ambush withdrew from the competition and as such, did not compete. |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 0
| Competition | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| World Championship II | None | None |
See Also[]
Trivia[]
- Despite not competing or being acknowledged by the show, Ambush merchandise was available to buy on the BattleBots Store until its redesign in 2023.[5]
- This included t-shirts with the team's slogan "Don't kill the dream. Execute it." across the front.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.rit.edu/news/students-compete-abcs-battlebots
- ↑ https://eu.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/2016/04/08/rit-students-engage-battlebots-robotic-combat/82481746/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg9HcWwtiNA
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/ritbattlebots/posts/1701896170072960
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230204154803/https://www.battlebotsstore.com/Ambush
[]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||