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"It took ten weeks to build this war machine. Its four drills, 300mm circular saw and four saw cutters look menacing - it's even drilled a hole in a fridge door in training! The motors from a Kawasaki motorcycle can generate 9mph, and it's certainly Do Ron Ron, Do Ron Ron!"
— Jonathan Pearce introduces Ron

Ron was a competitor robot that fought in Series 2 of Robot Wars. It reached the Trial stage, but was eliminated after being pushed off the Sumo ring by Shunt in under five seconds.

The team would later enter Series 3 with Axios, which was defeated in the first round of its heat.

Design[]

Ron

Side view of Ron

Ron was a small red and white box-shaped robot resembling a remote control car, with four outside wheels and an assortment of weapons including four drills, a 300mm circular saw and four saw cutters. Its batteries came from a Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet, and the robot featured a titanium lid and motors from a Kawasaki motorcycle that gave it a top speed of 9mph. The robot also featured a diamond-shaped logo on the back panel which read 'Ron Ron', as well as a few yellow and black 'skull and crossbones' stickers which were placed on its top armour to conceal damage sustained during its Gauntlet run. An unusual feature of Ron's design was a set of two vertically-placed castors on the top-rear frame, enabling it to drive inverted using only its two front wheels.

Ron was built within ten weeks, and was claimed to have successfully drilled a hole in a fridge door during testing. The team stated that its main strength was its pushing power, but Ron's high ground clearance, along with its lack of front wedge, saw it being comically eliminated in the Sumo Trial after falling foul of Shunt's bulldozer blade.

"Well RON apparently took 10 weeks to build and had batteries from a Eurofighter which looked strange as they had 20 of them, and with lots of batteries you can't get a high current flow which you definitely need when you are using starter motors which take a LOT of power."
Oliver Steeples explains why Ron had twenty batteries[1]

Etymology[]

RON

Ron described as "RON RON" on its pit table

The name Ron was styled relatively consistently as RON on the team's website. The quote at the end of Ron's Series 2 introduction ("It can certainly Doo Ron Ron, Doo Ron Ron!"), as well as the robot's rear logo and Craig Charles' remark immediately following its Gauntlet run ("Well the Doo Ron Ron did not Ron Ron!"), are all references to Da Doo Ron Ron, a 1963 R&B song by American vocal group The Crystals - Ron's pit table (see Series Record) also appeared to call the robot "RON RON".

The Team[]

Ron was entered into Series 2 by a team representing Cranfield University, in Bedford. Team captain Colin Offer was joined by teammates John Economou and Chris Ransom, all of whom were also present when the team entered Series 3 with Axios. The team also featured a 4th member referred to only as "Professor Ron," after whom the robot was named. Professor Ron was only seen in the team's video diaries in Robot Wars Revealed, where he provided supplemental information about the robot.

Robot History[]

Series 2[]

Rongauntlet

Ron attempts to clear the see-saw

Ron gauntlet

Ron is attacked by the House Robots

Ron competed in Heat F, and was the third robot to attempt the Gauntlet. It started by choosing the centre route and was briefly turned around by the arena spikes, before darting towards the see-saw. Dead Metal moved the see-saw away as Ron began making a run up it, with Ron turning around and reversing up the see-saw as Sir Killalot followed it.

"It's lost its way, it's lost its bearings - and Dead Metal pushes it in under!"
Jonathan Pearce as Ron falls off the see-saw

Ron fell off the see-saw as it attempted to clear it, and was promptly pinned under it by Dead Metal. Shunt proceeded to attack Ron, causing dents in its top armour as its batteries ran out of power and the robot lost mobility. Despite this, Ron had still reached a distance of 11.6m, putting it second overall in the results table behind Corporal Punishment and allowing it to progress to the Sumo Trial.

"Well, the 'Do Ron Ron' did not 'Ron Ron'."
Craig Charles in the post-run interview
Ron trial

Ron is instantly pushed off the Sumo platform

Prior to its Sumo run, Ron's team was optimistic about its performance, asserting to Philippa Forrester in the pits they did not need to work out any tactics as they believed that its torque and pushing power were ideally suited for the Trial. However, this was swiftly and comically disproven during the run itself, when Shunt charged at Ron plough-first, causing it to roll over and tumble off the platform after only 4.60 seconds. This brief run eliminated Ron from the Second Wars.

"The Ron team plastered then...a-ha-HA! And doesn't it show? Well, they fancied the event...so did Shunt!"
— Jonathan Pearce's entire commentary for Ron's Sumo run

Results[]

RON - RESULTS
Series 2
The Second Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Trial
Heat F, Gauntlet 11.6m (2nd) Qualified
Heat F, Trial (Sumo) 4.60 Seconds (5th) Eliminated

Series Record[]

Series Ron Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Heat, Trial
The Third Wars Entered with Axios
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
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[]

  • Ron is one of twenty robots never to have fought in robot combat, having only ever competed in the Gauntlet and Trial stages.
  • Despite appearing as the final entrant in its trial Ron was not the last robot to compete, as the Whirling Dervish team discussed on Robot Wars Revealed that they knew they had only needed to survive longer than five seconds.

References[]

Navigation[]

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