ORAC was a box shaped robot that competed in Series 2 of Robot Wars. It reached the Arena Stage of its heat, but was "pepper potted" and burned on the Flame Pit by Killertron, who went on to reach the Grand Final.
The team returned for Series 3 with Orac's Revenge.
The name ORAC comes from the computer in the TV show Blake's 7, a show which Technical Consultant and Judge Mat Irvine worked on as a visual effects designer.
Design
ORAC was a yellow box-shaped robot, with huge wheels. Costing £400 and built over five months, it featured wheelchair technology, including a total of four wheelchair-style casters, and was powered by two car window motors. Its weapon was a 9' circular saw on the end of an arm, and two hardened steel front lifting chisels. ORAC was quick for its time at 10mph, but had a high ground clearance, and was relatively light at 55.5kg.
Robot History
Series 2
ORAC completes the Gauntlet
ORAC began in the Gauntlet by going up the ramp. It avoided Shunt and completed the course very quickly. No other robot completed the Gauntlet within that heat, and ORAC progressed in first place.
Matilda drops ORAC over the edge
ORAC's Trial was King of the Castle, in which it faced Matilda and Shunt. Shunt drove off the ramp by mistake after 6 seconds. Meanwhile, Matilda picked up ORAC and span around with it, and eventually dropped it off after 28.93 seconds. This was enough to keep ORAC in because Schumey only lasted 9.40 seconds.
ORAC is burnt over the flame pit
In the arena semi-final, ORAC faced Killertron. The fourth seed began by missing the yellow machine with its axe several times. ORAC was then hit with an arena spike, and became immobilised. Killertron proceeded to punch holes into it, and it was left smoking on the flame pit.
- "Char-broiled ORAC..."
- — Jonathan Pearce as ORAC is burnt over the flame pit.
Results
| ORAC - RESULTS | ||
| Series 2 | ||
| The Second Wars - UK Championship Heat Semi-Final | ||
| Heat E, Gauntlet | Completed (1st) | Qualified |
| Heat E, Trial (Sumo) | 28.95 seconds (4th) | Qualified |
| Heat E, Semi-Final | vs. Killertron (4) | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 1
Series Record
| Series | ORAC Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Heat, Arena Semi-Final |
| The Third Wars | Entered with Orac's Revenge |
| The Fourth Wars | Failed to qualify with Orac's Revenge |
| The Fifth Wars | Did not enter |
| 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 |
Trivia
- After Series 4, the team built a autonomous submarine powered by renewable energy.
- "We are designing a small autonomous submersible craft to cross the Atlantic ocean and return using only renewable energy. We have 4 engineers/scientists working on the project so far and we estimate it will be a 2 year project. Basically we are going to chuck it off brighton pier and it will page us 7 months later when it gets back!!"
- — The Oracles on their autonomous submersible[1]