Clawed Hopper

Clawed Hopper
Clawed Hopper in its Series 5 appearance
Participation Information
UK Series	4-5
Team Information
Team Members	Andrew Hughes Joshua Hughes Nicholas Clement
Robot Statistics
Weight	200kg
Dimensions	0.78m x 1.3m x 0.83m
Top Speed	2mph
Power	5x Electrical Motors
Weapons	Steel claws and spinning drums
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Unlike many walking robots, there are no exposed legs here. I wonder if that's why Clawed Hopper have made history here."

— Jonathan Pearce

Clawed Hopper was a walkerbot that competed in Series 4-5 of Robot Wars. It was notably the first walkerbot to win a battle in the UK Championship, against Twister in The Fifth Wars.

Its name was most likely a pun on the word 'clodhopper', referring to both a type of heavy shoe, and a type of Canadian candy.

Design

"Two mechanically powered claws give it half the name. Hopper, well this is a walker machine with its steal and aluminum and other parts from a local scrap heap. Will it hop to the very top, or will the mighty 138kg weigh it down?"

— Jonathan Pearce introducing Clawed Hopper in Series 4

Series 4 appearance

Clawed Hopper was a heavyweight walkerbot designed to resemble an insect, painted yellow in Series 4 and green in Series 5, and armed with a pair of steel claws which moved up and down with the robot as it walked. Its walking mechanism consisted of a rectangular frame that moved in an elliptical pattern, featuring spikes on the underside which provided traction for the robot to move forwards and backwards. The robot's body was made from steel and aluminium along with other scrap materials and mounted on a spinning turntable, which allowed Clawed Hopper to turn swiftly with a zero-degree turning circle.

Clawed Hopper in Series 5

In Series 5, a chain-operated 13kg spinning drum was added to each side of Clawed Hopper capable of spinning at 5000RPM. A pair of rollbars was added on top to allow it to roll back onto its feet in case it was flipped. Its top speed was 2mph.

Clawed Hopper enjoyed all the advantages of being a walker - it was a powerful pusher (capable of pushing Hammer & Tong with ease) and its walking frame's gyroscopic movements helped it recover from being flipped. However, it was slow (even in victory) and vulnerable from the side.

Robot History

Series 4

Clawed Hopper resists the flipper of Bigger Brother

Bigger Brother topples Clawed Hopper

Dead Metal roasts Clawed Hopper on the flame pit

Clawed Hopper participated in Heat J of the Fourth Wars for its first televised appearance. In the first round melee, Clawed Hopper was placed up against fellow newcomers Hammer & Tong and the number 14 seeds Bigger Brother. In the battle, Clawed Hopper took a side-on attack from Bigger Brother, and nearly toppled over. Clawed Hopper landed on its feet and went after Hammer and Tong, pushing it towards the arena wall. Bigger Brother flipped Clawed Hopper onto its side, but Clawed Hopper again fell back onto its feet. However, on its third attempt, Bigger Brother successfully flipped Clawed Hopper onto its back.

"And again and over it goes! Clawed... (laughs) Oh. It's just like a beetle, you want to put it out of its misery though, when the beetle turns over on its back. Who's gonna turn Clawed Hopper over?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dead Metal and Sgt Bash closed in on Clawed Hopper. Despite attempts to use its legs to bash Dead Metal's saw away, Clawed Hopper was attacked and put on the flame pit. Dead Metal then put it on the arena floor flipper where due to its weight it didn't go very far, but it still did not land the right way up. Dead Metal then attacked it one last time before cease was called.

"Clawed Hopper goes belly-up and out of the competition"

— Craig Charles

Series 5

"A sturdy walking robot with two front claws, two rotating flails on the sides and two srimech bars over the top. Slow, sluggish, but a walker can carry twice the weight at 200kg."

— Jonathan Pearce introducing Clawed Hopper in Series 5

Clawed Hopper seals Twister's fate...slowly

Clawed Hopper returned for the final Heat of Series 5, and was placed up against the experienced Team Berserk with their new machine Twister. In the battle, despite its slow, sluggish movement, Clawed Hopper eventually met Twister near the centre of the arena, where one nudge from the hefty Clawed Hopper saw Twister break down immediately. Twister was subsequently counted out by Refbot and then Clawed Hopper very slowly pushed Twister towards the open Pit of Oblivion, and eventually got the former Heat Finalists down it. For the first time in Robot Wars, a walker was through to the second round of the main competition.

"Clawed Hopper...took him seven and a half months to get across the arena there, to press the [pit release] button. We just edited it for you"

— Jonathan Pearce, mocking Clawed Hopper's speed

However, in the second round of the Heat, Clawed Hopper stood very little chance, fighting the number two seeds Pussycat.

Philippa Forrester: "This is the first time a walker has got through to round two, and that's your robot. How do you feel?"

Team Clawed Hopper: "Very pleased, we thought we'd be trashed in the first round to be honest"

Philippa Forrester: "And here you are, then tragically, you're pitted against seed number two, grand finalist from last year, the Pussycat. What does that do?"

Team Clawed Hopper: "I think our run might come to an abrupt end...however, we will give it our best shot"

— Pre-match interview with Philippa Forrester

Pussycat cuts into Clawed Hopper

Pussycat buried its blade into Clawed Hopper's spinning flail several times, severing the chain and causing it to break. Clawed Hopper was falling to pieces when cease was called, but survived to a judges' decision. However, Pussycat was the winner of the battle, eliminating Clawed Hopper from the competition.

Craig Charles: "You suffered an awful lot of damage."

Andrew Hughes: "Yeah, but we kept on going!"

— Post-battle debrief, met with applause from the audience

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 2

Series Record

The Clawed Hopper team

Series	Clawed Hopper Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Did not enter
The Fourth Wars	Heat, Round 1
The Fifth Wars	Heat, Round 2
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars

Clod Hopper, Clawed Hopper's Techno Games entry

The team also entered Techno Games with a sprinting robot called Clod Hopper, which was a large shoe-shaped robot which featured a similar walking mechanism to Clawed Hopper, complete with turntable. Its name and design were a direct play on the 'clodhopper' shoe.

Trivia

• Clawed Hopper was the first walking robot to both compete in and win a battle in the main competition.
• Clawed Hopper is one of only two walkerbots to have progressed beyond the first round in the main UK series. The other is Series 6 Heat Finalist Anarchy.
• Clawed Hopper was the only walkerbot to compete in the main UK tournament twice.
• In the Series 4 recap and Battle Card, the 'e' was omitted from the first half of Clawed Hopper's name, meaning that it was spelt Clawd Hopper.
• Of the fifty robots to return from Series 4 to compete in Series 5, Clawed Hopper was one of only ten to perform better in its Series 5 appearance. The others were Razer, Bigger Brother, Firestorm, Diotoir, Prizephita Mach 2, Kat 3, Reactor, Rick and Destruct-A-Bubble.
• According to Andrew Hughes in the Series 5 opening, Clawed Hopper weighed more than all three team members put together.