Photon Storm

Photon Storm
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship II
Team Information
Team	Team Storm
Team Members	Ed Hoppitt (Captain) Tim Bence Andrew Marchant Alan Young
From	Woodbridge, UK
Associated Robots	Chronic, Orion (Alan Young)
Robot Statistics
Weapons	Crusher
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Photon Storm was a heavyweight robot built by Team Storm from the United Kingdom which competed exclusively in BattleBots World Championship II.

It was armed with a powerful hydraulic crushing arm similar to that of Razer which was capable of 12 tonnes of crushing force. The robot started life as the fourth installment of Tiberius from Robot Wars, intended for live circuit events after the show's cancelation, even competing in the 2006 UK Championships. Tiberius was originally built by Sam Smith, who entered BattleBots with Cobalt. Hoppitt purchased Tiberius 4 in 2013 and upgraded it ahead of World Championship II in 2016.

Photon Storm during World Championship II.

Photon Storm was armored in ARMOX steel, and featured feather-like side panels and the robot's logo on the rear wedge to differentiate it from its original identity. It did not do well in its one and only BattleBots season, losing by knockout to Team RioBotz's Minotaur. Neither Photon Storm nor team captain Ed Hoppitt would return to BattleBots.

Team captain Ed Hoppitt had previously built Storm 2 for a proposed 'Season 6.0' of Comedy Central BattleBots, though the show was axed before he could apply. He and Tim Bence later entered it into the New Blood Championship of the second series of Robot Wars: Extreme and Series 7, coming second overall in the main competition and winning the subsequent Third World Championship. Storm 2 returned for Series 8 of Robot Wars with less success.

Photon Storm in the pits.

Also on Team Storm was Alan Young of BattleBots applicants Chronic and Orion, as well as Robot Wars and King of Bots II champions Apollo and Vulcan. He was joined by Andrew Marchant of Tornado fame, and former Storm 2 teammate Tim Bence.

Although Team Storm and Photon Storm did not appear in BattleBots after World Championship II, Alan Young would apply for numerous World Championships with Orion, an upgraded version of their title-winning design in the UK and China. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Orion would be forced to withdraw both applications.

Outside BattleBots

Photon Storm fights UK Robot Wars competitor Stinger.

In 2016, Photon Storm performed a demonstration at Robots Live!. It destroyed household appliances for a live audience alongside the event's house robot, Battle Axe.

Photon Storm (right) in 2021.

Photon Storm returned to combat in 2017, where it fought at Mechatrons in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. There, it is known to have twice taken on Stinger, unrelated to BattleBots competitors of the same name. It also fought UK heavyweights Thunderchild, Iron Awe 5 and Iron Awe 7.

Alongside with Storm 2, the team's original Storm machine and lightweight Storm Vortex, Photon Storm appeared as a static display at RoboNerd in September 2021.

Robot History

World Championship II

Photon Storm vs. Minotaur Photon Storm's first and only match in BattleBots was against Minotaur. As the fight commenced, Minotaur rode up the front of Photon Storm momentarily before turning to power up its drum spinner. It then maneuvered to the right side of Photon Storm, tearing away its decorative feather-like armor. Photon Storm crushes into Minotaur's wheel well. Photon Storm remained close to Minotaur as it turned away, capitalizing on Daniel Freitas exposing the Brazilian bot's vulnerable back end. Photon Storm sunk its crushing arm into the right-side wheel well of Minotaur, which could not escape. "Get out of there!" — Minotaur captain Marco Meggiolaro instructs Daniel Freitas to escape Photon Storm The final hit between Photon Storm and Minotaur's spinning drum. Due to the pinning rules, Photon Storm was forced to release Minotaur. The Team RioBotz machine quickly fled before slamming into the side of Photon Storm again, buffeting against its armor. Ed Hoppitt's crusher had a chance to grab Minotaur again, but it was too slow to crush and the drum spinner escaped. Photon Storm is counted out. As the fight moved to the center of the arena, Minotaur dealt an almighty blow to Photon Storm's front which popped it into the air and caused sparks to fly. An exuberant Team RioBotz celebrated as this hit caused terminal damage to Photon Storm, damaging its battery, both drive motors and the hydraulic line powering its primary weapon, which now lay limp in a closed position. The referees acknowledged Photon Storm was no longer mobile so counted it out, confirming a debut loss for the British entry. Photon Storm was not chosen to be a wildcard, meaning it was eliminated from the tournament.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 1

Competition	Wins	Losses
World Championship II	None	Minotaur

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"If it were a rock star, it would be Mick Dagger. Get ready to get rocked! It’s PHOTON STORM!"

See Also

• Storm2 (Robot Wars)
• Storm II (RoboGames)
• Tiberius (Robot Wars)