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Robot Wars is a robot combat competition that was broadcast on British television from 1998 to 2004 and again from 2016 to 2018. The series, centred on the sport of robot combat, involves teams of amateur and professional roboteers operating their own constructed remote controlled robots to fight against each other, whilst also avoiding arena hazards and more powerful "House Robots", which were not bound by the same weight or weapon limits as the contestants. Earlier series included assault and trial courses for competing robots before they were ceased from the first "Extreme" series onwards.

deadmetal matilda shunt sirkillsalot

The Renfrew arena used for the rebooted series.There were numerous arena incarnations used during the original run of Robot Wars on the BBC. These arenas were also used by international versions such as Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors in the United States. The arena was approximately 32 by 48 feet (9.8 by 14.6 m). For Series 1 to 3 the arena was not enclosed as such, as the audience were raised above the arena. The increasing sophistication of weaponry from contestant robots - most notably demonstrated by Hypno-Disc in Series 3 - as well as arena hazards prompted producers to enclose the arena entirely in a perspex box 20 feet (6.1 m) high from Series 4 onwards, to protect the audience and production team from debris

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Hazards

Throughout Robot Wars' run, arena hazards were introduced and amended. Generally, hazards which proved ineffective were omitted in later series, however some hazards proved to be a success (such as the Pit of Oblivion, Floor Flipper and the Drop Zone) and were retained. The assorted hazards in the arena that changed from one series the next included: Arena Sidebars - The First Wars Only - These were parts of the arena side fence that were on the floor. These trapped robots and potentially immobilised them if they could not drive off. The Patrol Zone/PZ - The First Wars only - Four large squares in the corners of the arena marked with striped tape, each occupied by one House Robot and a hazard. Once a competitor robot entered one of these zones, it was open to attack by the House Robot within. The Patrol Zones were much like the CPZ's that appeared in later series but were much larger. Floor grilles - The First Wars Only - Grille floor panels that, like the arena sidebars mentioned above, were designed to trap robots and not allow them to drive off. Proved much more effective than the sidebars. Floor spikes - The First Wars to The Third Wars and Series 8 onwards - These were pneumatic spikes located in several positions on the arena floor that came up whenever a robot drove over them. They trapped robots and on occasion flipped them. They were removed for Series 4 after causing many upsets during The Third Wars, where robots currently winning battles would be overturned and then lose. This most notably happened during Heat B when Behemoth was flipped, could not self-right and its opponent Pitbull won by default. For Series 8, a group of five large spikes forms one of the four main hazards of the arena. They are powerful and large enough to lift and trap robots for a brief moment (as happened to Bonk in the opening episode), but are not as fast as their predecessors. In theory, this will avoid the sort of upsets seen in Series 3. One spike 'hole' is capable of emitting sparks. The Perimeter Patrol Zone (commonly known as PPZs) - The Second Wars only – A narrow band around the perimeter of the arena that replaced the Patrol Zones. A competitor robot that entered this area was open to attack by any or all of the House Robots stationed there. The Pit of Oblivion - The Second Wars onwards - Arguably the arena's most iconic feature, this was a 4-foot (1.2 m) square hole in the arena floor, painted black on the inside and partially filled with old tyres. If a robot drove, fell, or was pushed into the Pit, it would be instantly eliminated. In The Second Wars, pits were added to both lanes of The Gauntlet. For The Third Wars the Pit was open during the first two rounds of each heat, then covered during the heat final and following matches. In The Fourth Wars, the Pit was redesigned, with a yellow-and-black chevron-tape outline and was covered until halfway into a battle, whereupon it would "descend". From its very first appearance in The Second Wars, the Pit included a small pyrotechnic "explosion" that formed a large ball of white smoke. This would activate when a robot fell into the Pit, primarily used to show that a competitor had fallen in. This was changed to a small firework explosion for The Third Wars but the smoke returned for The Fourth Wars and remained until the end. From Extreme 1 onwards there was a device on the arena wall that competitor or house robots could use to activate the pit opening. In Extreme and The Fifth Wars that device was a tyre. For The Sixth Wars the tyre was replaced by a metal bumper. The tyre returned in Extreme 2 and remained for the remainder of the shows' run. The pit was enlarged and given an LED decoration on the inside for the eighth series, with the pyrotechnic no longer used. Since Series 9, the pyrotechnics have been added back to the Pit. Flame Pit - The Second Wars onwards - A large square grill located close to the right bottom corner of the arena. Used to set fire to flammable robots and damage electronics. For the eighth series, this was moved to the upper left corner of the arena. The Corner Patrol Zones (commonly known as CPZs) - The Third Wars onwards - the House Robots were now confined to the four corners of the arena much like in The First Wars. Which house robot was used in which battle was defined by a rota system but would also sometimes depend on if a house robot was being repaired. In The Fourth Wars, the house robots switched to a rota system of Shunt, Matilda, Sgt. Bash and Dead Metal. Sir Killalot consistently appeared every round excepting battles 3 & 4 of the War of Independence. From The Fifth Wars and Extreme 1 onwards only two house robots were allowed in the arena at a time and this moved in a rota through all of the machines. However some House Robots did not appear in a show or on some occasions missed several shows before making an appearance. For Series 8, the CPZs are larger and L-shaped. The house robots no longer attack competitors who enter any CPZ, but stick to guarding their own. The Floor Flipper - The Third Wars onwards - A powerful pneumatic flipper set into the floor, capable of throwing a robot across the arena. It was generally only used on robots that had already been defeated, but was occasionally fired during events such as the House Robot Rebellion. When originally introduced, it just looked like a part of the arena floor. For The Fourth Wars the flipper was given a yellow/black paint scheme similar to the redesigned Pit of Oblivion. For Extreme 1/Series 5 the power of the flipper increased, allowing it to hurl even the heaviest robots into the air and flip featherweight robots out of the arena. For Series 8, this is no longer used as a coup de grace for defeated robots, but fires independently during a fight. It is positioned diagonally on the floor and is capable not only of launching robots into the air but also trapping robots as it closes. Angle Grinders - The Third Wars and Extreme 1 to The Seventh Wars - Abrasive grinding wheels built into the arena railings. The grinders were replaced with small pneumatic spikes in The Fourth Wars but brought back from Extreme 1 onwards. Pneumatic Spikes - The Fourth Wars only - As mentioned above, they replaced the Angle Grinders but proved ineffective so were omitted after one series. CO2 geysers - The Fifth Wars and Extreme 1 onwards - High pressure CO2 outlets designed to cause internal damage to robots, but were more useful for extinguishing fires. The Drop Zone - The Fifth Wars and Extreme 1 to The Seventh Wars - A square on the arena floor where heavy objects (television sets, ocean buoys, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.) fell from the top of the arena. Like the Floor Flipper, it was only used robots that were already immobile. It first appeared in Series 6 and Extreme 2, although the spot where the object would fall, a black square with a yellow 'X' shape across it, first appeared in The Fifth Wars and Extreme 1. Viewers did not know the purpose of this at the time. It is believed it was due to be used in Extreme 1 but technical difficulties meant it was abandoned. The Disc of Doom - The Sixth Wars and Extreme 2 only - A circular spinning panel set into the arena floor activated by a buffer similar to the pit release. This hazard was used to disrupt a robot's driving and worked well on lighter competitors, but proved ineffective against Heavyweight robots. It first appeared in both The Sixth Wars and Extreme 2 but was removed for The Seventh Wars to be replaced by The Dial of Doom in the near future. The Dial of Doom/Doom Dial - Introduced in The Ninth Wars. A dial that will activate when the arena tyre is pressed. If the dial swings left, it will open up the pit and if the dial swings right it will activate "Rogue House Robot" which allows a house robot to leave the CPZ and attack a competitor robot for up to 10 seconds. Additionally, from the Tenth Wars, swinging right may trigger "The Fog of War" in which the arena is filled with CO2 for 10 seconds, obscuring the robots from view.

A robot could lose a match in several ways during the knockout format of the show:

Immobilisation: A robot that is unable to move is counted out. In the original series 30 seconds of immobility were necessary, in later series this was reduced to 10 seconds. Pit: One of the arena hazards is the pit of oblivion, a large square hole in the arena. A robot that falls or is pushed into this is eliminated. Removal from arena: If a robot is ejected from the arena — typically by the flipper of an opponent, it is eliminated. In the original series the perimeter of the arena was a short barrier, in later series the wall was higher, making this type of elimination harder. In the rebooted series, only certain areas of the arena were not fully walled off. This meant that removal from the arena was only practical in certain areas. If none of the above conditions were satisfied, a panel of three judges (listed below) scored the competitors on style, control, damage and aggression. The judges' decisions are based on the following categories: Aggression: The extent to which the robot was on the 'front foot' against the opposing robot as opposed to staying out of trouble. Damage: The amount of damage inflicted on the opposing robot. Control: The ability of the driver to push opposing robots, avoiding the arena hazards and if they're attacking how they're meant to. Style (original series only): The extent to which the robot demonstrated its abilities such as self-righting. For the revived series, the style category was omitted.[20] In the original series, the Aggression, Damage, Control and Style points were weighted 3:4:2:1 respectively. In the 2016 series the weightings for Aggression, Damage and Control were 3:2:1,[21] with "Style" no longer a judged criterion. Although the format changed several times over the years, these rules remained the same across all series and competitions.

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