Agrippa

Agrippa
Participation Information
1999 Events	Long Beach 1999
Team Information
Team	Team Delta
Team Members	Dan Danknick Tony Buchignani Robert Brewer Fred Dorado Kevin Kennedy Robert Lovin Morgan Boatman Mike Herb
From	Orange, CA
Associated Robots	Spike of Doom, Hazard, War Machine, Evil Fish Tank, Wedge of Doom
Robot Statistics
Weight	207lbs
Power	14x 6 cell 1.8Ah Ni-Cad packs (drive) Hawker GX13 battery (weapon)
Drive	'Surplus 1.3hp DC traction motor'
Weapons	Circular saws
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Agrippa was a heavyweight robot built by Dan Danknick of Team Delta, which fought exclusively at Long Beach 1999.

It was a unique four-wheel drive robot inspired by an articulated Caterpillar loader. The chassis was split into two halves, connected by a horizontal 'pivot point' and steered using a 250lb Warner Electric linear actuator. Agrippa's drive was provided by a 'continuous duty' DC motor, sending power to all wheels through worm gear speed reducers and driveshafts at each end. Both driveshafts were connected by a machined aluminum U-joint; the 'high-traction wheels' themselves were 13 inches in diameter with semi-pneumatic tires.

Agrippa's construction incorporated a 1" welded square tube steel frame, along with chassis and armor sections made from aluminum, carbon fiber/graphite laminate, polycarbonate and magnesium. The front half of the chassis was equipped with the robot's main weapon - a pneumatic 'Linear blade' arm with four pairs of circular cutting disks. The disks themselves were powered by a 12V Honda motorcycle starter motor and Hawker GX13 battery, while the arm pneumatics relied on a CO₂-based system. The arm could also be fitted with an optional spike made from 4130 chromoly steel.

At Long Beach, Agrippa initially reached the third round of the Gigabot Duel tournament, benefiting from Exterminator's forfeit and scoring a draw against Pete Abrahamson's Ronin. However, it would become immobilized by UK competitor Razer, which inflicted internal damage severe enough for Agrippa to pull out of the Loser's Bracket. Agrippa would also become immobilized and damaged further in a three-way exhibition match against Ginsu and Ronin. Following its return from Long Beach, it was dismantled for parts recovery and ultimately scrapped.

Another official photo of Agrippa.

Dan Dankinck with Agrippa.

An render of Agrippa with a camouflage paint scheme.

Outside BattleBots

Agrippa's design was originally conceived for the proposed 1998 US Robot Wars competition, though its weaponry and appearance were to differ considerably from its finalized BattleBots form. Initially, it was planned to be armed with an 'actuated' lifting scoop, again drawing inspiration from Caterpillar loaders. Construction on Agrippa was temporarily halted when initial plans for Robot Wars 1998 fell through.

A similarly abortive plan to enter the 1998 Robotica event resulted in Dan Danknick becoming inspired to design and build Agrippa's 'Linear Blade Weapon', which replaced the scoop entirely. With the weapons and steering mechanism fully functional, the completed heavyweight first attended BotBash in September 1998 as a demonstration robot. At that point, a 'steel fang' was also being considered as an interchangeable attachment, to have swapped the front-most disks and provided a counter against Blendo. Following its BotBash appearance, Agrippa's design would be further modified and refined ahead of its Long Beach entry.

Robot History

Long Beach 1999
Agrippa vs. Exterminator (Forfeit) Agrippa's Long Beach run began in the main Gigabot Duel tournament, the flagship head-to-head competition for heavyweight class entries. Prior to entering the venue, however, it suffered a mishap due to the robot being set on the same radio frequency as an unspecified middleweight competitor. As a consequence, Agrippa began steering and moving on its own while Team Delta were waiting in the entrance queue. Dan Danknick warned the team in front to move out of Agrippa's way, before chasing, holding and deactivating it manually by pressing the onboard 'e-stop switch'. In the process, Danknick received a small cut from the magnesium panel protecting Agrippa's central hinge, though this incident did not impact the robot's entry into the Gigabot class. In the Gigabot Duel bracket, Agrippa was initially due to face Exterminator. However, it would progress automatically to the second round, when Exterminator had to forfeit due to technical issues.
Agrippa vs. Ronin Agrippa's first proper battle would see it face Pete Abrahamson and his tracked entry Ronin in the second round. Very little is known about the match itself, though footage shown in BattleBots Beginnings indicates that, at one point, Agrippa attempted to cut one of Ronin's tracks while pushing it back. Attempts like this however, resulted in the abrasive cutters taking considerable damage. At around the halfway point, both drivers 'switched sides', with Agrippa being controlled by Pete Abrahamson. The stunt also involved Abrahamson and Dan Danknick taking off their team shirts to reveal Team Delta and Team Sinister shirts respectively. While losing nuts for the 'Linear Blade' assembly, Agrippa also rammed Ronin from the side with its spike attachment. The match ran for the full duration with both competitors still mobile at the end. Amidst confusion from the judges - stemming from the driver and shirt swaps - Trey Roski declared a draw, enabling both competitors to progress to the third round.
Agrippa vs. Razer There, Agrippa was due to fight British heavyweight Razer. Before the match, Dan Danknick frantically tried to obtain replacement nuts for the 'Linear Blade Weapon', which he did so from an 'auto parts store'. Razer attacks Agrippa. Agrippa met Razer head-on at an early stage, but in doing so allowed the future UK Robot Wars champion to squeeze through the left-most armor and wheel on the lead chassis half. The wheel was almost pulled off entirely, and the axle remained bent once the two competitors separated. Despite this, Agrippa erroneously backed into Razer, giving Razer the chance to pierce through, crumple and pull open its back shell. Agrippa smokes and has its back armor pulled open by Razer's crusher. Razer's beak pierced deep into Agrippa's electronics, through the polycarbonate sheet protecting its 4QD speed controller and against its power connector. This short-circuited the main 60V NiCad battery pack, immobilizing Agrippa on the spot and destroying most of its internals. Another 'bite' from Razer inflicted damage to Agrippa's drive motor, cracking its brush holder. Needless to say, a smoking Agrippa lost by knockout and was demoted to the Loser's Bracket.
Agrippa vs. S.L.A.M. (Forfeit) For a chance to remain in the Gigabot Duel tournament, Agrippa was scheduled to fight S.L.A.M.. However, the damage inflicted by Razer proved too severe to be repairable in time, forcing it to forfeit from the whole Loser's Bracket. This effectively eliminated Agrippa from the competition.
Agrippa vs. Ginsu vs Ronin (Exhibition) Following a twelve-hour process to repair and replace the necessary parts, Dan Danknick managed to get Agrippa working again ahead of the Rumble events. While Danknick had no intention to enter Agrippa into any more competitions by that point, he and Pete Abrahamson volunteered to enter their machines into an exhibition match against Ginsu, built by BattleBots co-founders Greg Munson and Trey Roski. This effectively marked the second time in which Agrippa and Ronin would fight alongside each other in the BattleBox. All three robots clashed in the center of the BattleBox at various moments, though Agrippa would ultimately find itself impaled on the Spikestrips. This left it fully immobilized on one side, and vulnerable to multiple attacks from Ginsu's sawblade wheels. Agrippa took multiple cuts to its framework, armor and steering actuator from Ginsu, in what would be its final combat match.

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 2
• Draws: 1

Competition	Wins	Losses	Draws
Long Beach 1999	Exterminator (Forfeit)	Razer S.L.A.M. (Forfeit)	Ronin

Trivia

• Out of all the BattleBots entries from Team Delta, Agrippa was the only heavyweight.