SpiderPig

SpiderPig
Participation Information
Unaired Events	High School Championship 2009
Team Information
Team	Ransom Everglades Robotics
Team Members	Robert Dubard Alex Mattaway Gabriel Nones-Newman Luis de Armas Matthew Dughi Jake Fein Sean Rubin Alan Schimmel Kyle Awner Win Halelamien Sean Groeninger William Meeks Tom Bales Will Bales
From	Miami, FL
Other Entries	Fluffy, El Cholo, Fluffy DeLarge, X-Termination, The Woodynator, X-Contamination, X-Mutilation, Über Schnitzel, Brute Force, X-Revolution, X-Fortification, X-Evolution, X-Assassination, ThaiTanium, Timothy Higgins, Brute Force, A.T.P., T.E.A.C.U.P., CuddleBunny
Associated Robots	HyperShock (Will Bales, Kyle Awner, Alex Mattaway)
Robot Statistics
Weight	120lbs
Weapons	None
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

SpiderPig was a middleweight robot built by the Miami-based Ransom Everglades team for the 2009 BattleBots High School Championship.

An invertible, low box-shaped robot with a waterjet-cut aluminum chassis, it eschewed active weapons in favor of a powerful eight-wheel drive system and a focus on defence against powerful spinners. Amongst SpiderPig's other key features included 1" thick front and back plates, an outer layer of steel between 3/4 and 1" in thickness, and a vacuum system enabling the robot to maintain traction on the BattleBox floor. Photos released on an unofficial BattleBots builders forum suggest that the outer steel layer was initially finished in a dark orange or "hot pink" color, though the completed machine ultimately entered the arena in a two-tone gray paint scheme.

SpiderPig's name is a likely reference to the 2007 animated comedy film The Simpsons Movie, specifically the parody song sung by Homer Simpson as he makes his pet pig Plopper walk on the ceiling.

In the 2009 High School Championship, SpiderPig began with a victory over Sherman's March, only to be relegated to the loser's bracket following defeat against The Blender. It repeated a similar pattern with a second win over The Devastator, before being eliminated by Mr. Plow IIX, finishing the championship with an even 2-2 match record.

The Ransom Everglades team were also active competitors in BotsIQ events around the time of SpiderPig's debut, competing with other robots including the 15lb Fluffy, and the 120lb machines El Cholo and Fluffy DeLarge. Notable members included Will Bales, who would later become known for his appearances with HyperShock in the ABC and Discovery BattleBots seasons.

Robot History

High School Championship 2009
SpiderPig vs. Sherman's March SpiderPig's first match of the 2009 High School Championship saw it face the pneumatic flipper/lifter of Sherman's March. Official BattleBots records confirm that after surviving the full three minutes along with its opponent, SpiderPig won the judges' decision to advance further into the main Winner's Bracket.
SpiderPig vs. The Blender SpiderPig next faced Richardson High School and their full-body spinner The Blender, in a match whose footage was among the few to be officially released by BattleBots. Darting immediately from the blue square, it rammed and chased The Blender across the BattleBox multiple times before the latter could get its shell up to speed. More collisions and deflections ensued, with SpiderPig continuing to slam into The Blender while dodging and taking a glancing blow to its left-hand side. The Blender's attacks did not seem to affect SpiderPig's mobility, as it kept charging into the Texas machine. However, a large chunk of debris was left in the bottom-center of the BattleBox following another head-to-head collision, suggesting that these attacks were beginning to cause damage to either robot. SpiderPig fought on regardless, briefly pushing The Blender back across the blue square before both machines separated. The Everglades machine rammed and chased The Blender once again, but lost momentum upon clipping the nearby screws and narrowly escaped another side-on approach from The Blender. Again, SpiderPig kept ramming The Blender for some time, but its driving became less precise in the later stages. At one point, it steered away from The Blender in its efforts to slalom into it, before both competitors exchanged heavy rams in quick succession. Despite The Blender's shell being unable to spin up properly at this point, SpiderPig kept struggling to line up a controlled attack, instead spinning constantly while trying to position itself for more rams and pursuits. Towards the end of the match, it was left lingering in and near the red square, and appeared to exhibit mobility issues, allowing The Blender to push and steer it into the bottom-right corner. SpiderPig attempted to recover by maneuvering itself out of the corner and across the BattleBox, but was rammed again by The Blender before dodging a Pulverizer. With less than 15 seconds remaining, The Blender rammed SpiderPig into the red square Screws, though SpiderPig weathered another push towards the Screw mount and dodged another ram from its opponent. In doing so, however, SpiderPig again drove into the Screws themselves, but rammed The Blender one last time before the full three minutes expired. Despite its success at nullifying The Blender's shell spinner, SpiderPig would lose the Judges' decision, knocking it into the Loser's Bracket.
SpiderPig vs. The Devastator There, SpiderPig would face the twin egg beater spinners of The Devastator for a chance to remain in the competition. Again, both robots survived the full three minutes, but this time SpiderPig was ruled to have won the Judges' decision and the match according to official BattleBots records.
SpiderPig vs. Mr. Plow IIX Next to face SpiderPig was Mr. Plow IIX, a John Hersey High School entrant with another Simpsons-inspired name. Though the match lasted the full three minutes, official BattleBots records confirm that SpiderPig lost by knockout, eliminating it from the High School Championship with a 2-2 record.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 2
• Losses: 2

Competition	Wins	Losses
High School Championship 2009	Sherman's March The Devastator	The Blender Mr. Plow IIX