Captained by Aren Hill, Blip is a four-wheel drive, wedge-shaped robot armed with a powerful rear-hinged flipper. Unlike other flippers such as SubZero and Bronco, Blip is unique in the fact that its weapon is not powered by a traditional pneumatic system. Its complex weapon mechanism operates through a internal 16lb flywheel spinning at around 9,000rpm, which stores energy that it will later use to flip with. The mechanism utilizes solenoids to engage a clutch, and then twists a Dyneema cord housed within the chassis. This cord is attached to a spinning component which in turn yanks the weapon frame and allows it to flip, all in around four hundredths of a second. This weapon proved to be highly powerful in testing, as shown in a Facebook post where it launched the first iteration of Tantrum's chassis high into the air.[1]
Blip during World Championship VI hero shots.
The robot itself is primary blue in color with black and white stripes on its body and weapon, designed by team member Katie Widen. Much like Tantrum, it features a pair of eyes to give the robot character, and long forks to help the primary weapon get underneath opponents. The underside is made from titanium, which was bent with help from Team Whyachi.[2] It also makes use of magnets to keep the robot grounded as often as possible. In an interview with Pete Abrahamson, Aren Hill stated that Blip's concept was around a year and a half in the making prior to the 2021 season.[3] Blip impressed in its rookie season, winning with consecutive knockouts against Rusty and Overhaul, before defeating Donald Hutson and Lock-Jaw by judges' decision to become the first debuting robot of the 2021 season to reach a 3-0 record. Aren Hill then drove Blip to victory over Valkyrie and JackPot, but lost out to Hydra in the Top 8. Despite this setback, he supported Tantrum as the robot he formerly captained made it all the way to the title decider, knocking out Witch Doctor to earn the team's first Giant Nut. Blip would not end the season trophyless, however, as it took home the Best Design Award at the end of the competition.
In a brief interview, Aren Hill explained that Blip shares several components with Tantrum, including drive trains and armor materials. He also states the unique flipper mechanism allows for greater power from the primary weapon than if it was to be powered by more traditional means, while remaining compact. Aren Hill states Blip is roughly half Hydra's size, and a third of the size of Inertia Labs heavyweight Bronco. Alongside a handful of other robots from the season, including Tantrum, Blip made an appearance as a static display at a live premiere of the tournament conclusion in San Jose, California.
In June 2022, Blip was confirmed to compete in that year's re:MARS all:STARS event. Having defeated veterans Whiplash in the first round, Blip was unable to get the better of HyperShock and fell at the semi-final stage.
Blip during World Championship VII hero shots.
Since the conclusion of the 2021 season, Aren Hill has confirmed the team's intention to upgrade Blip ahead of World Championship VII.[4] In October 2022, Blip was publicly revealed to be competing, ranked #10 in the Pre-Season Power Rankings.[5] Many of its upgrades were described by Aren Hill as "quality of life changes", including making it easier to drive and reworking its ability self-right with greater ease. Aesthetically, sported different decals on the flipper and its sides. Unlike in its impressive debut season, Blip lost consecutive fights to End Game and HUGE, but was able to rebound by defeating defending champion Tantrum and rookie flipper Banshee, recovering to an equal 2-2 record and making the Top 32. However, Blip was outdriven and outmatched by SawBlaze and fell at this stage alongside Tantrum, whose Giant Nut defence also ended in the Round of 32.
Blip also fought in BattleBots: Champions II, but fell in the first round to Black Dragon. In a post-season recap video covering the fight, Aren Hill confirmed that Blip in its current form would be retired, but the team would seek to redesign it with new technology to prevent its gyro problems.[6]
Blip was among the BattleBots competitors displayed at Open Sauce in San Francisco in July 2023. Alongside Tantrum, Blip was also on display at Open Sauce 2024.
The World Championship VI version of Bilp was used in a Mark Rober video under the name Fat Tail. Uploaded in September 2024, Fat Tail fought Ray Billings' RoboGames heavyweight Stink Eye.[7]
Blip as Fat Tail.
Fat Tail ahead of its fight.
Robot History[]
World Championship VI[]
Blip vs. Rusty
Blip launches Rusty across the BattleBox.
Rusty is penned in the corner by Blip.
Blip's victory dance.
Blip's BattleBots debut came against the previous season's Rookie of the Year, Rusty. Despite its redesign, Dave Eaton entered the 2020 season bot into this battle, fitted with its sledgehammer weapon. The fight began with Blip darting towards Rusty as it slide underneath its side. Blip pushed Rusty a few inches before launching it across the BattleBox, causing it to land on its back. Rusty righted itself and trundled back to Blip, who nudged it towards the side of the Upper Deck. Blip slid under Rusty again and threw it into the railing, before trying to flip Dave Eaton's bot onto the new BattleBox hazard but instead throwing it behind Blip onto its side again. Blip repositioned and tossed Rusty against their team's pulverizer, activating it as Rusty landed and peeling the metal armor away from the top, which Blip flipped into the air as Rusty was no longer mobile. Rusty fired its sledgehammer several more times as it was counted out, and Blip earned a first BattleBots victory at the first time of trying.
Blip vs. Overhaul
Blip faces off against Overhaul.
Overhaul is counted out as Blip looks on.
Fresh off its debut win, Blip faced the returning Charles Guan and Overhaul. Surprisingly, it was Overhaul who landed the first meaningful attack of the match, quickly flipping Blip, who self-righted almost instantly. The two ended up in the corner where Overhaul lost a tire and was flipped again by Blip. Overhaul, now upside-down, could not catch a break as Aren Hill's bot kept attacking Overhaul, flinging it aside the Upper Deck on one occasion. After being coerced into the corner again, Overhaul was shoved against the wall, stuck on its side and without both rear tires now. It was counted out, and Blip took the win by KO to move to 2-0.
Blip vs. Lock-Jaw
Lock-Jaw gets to the side of Blip.
In its third and final Fight Night battle, Blip fought veteran Donald Hutson and Lock-Jaw. It looked to not only finish with an undefeated 3-0 record, but become the first newcomer of the 2021 season to earn a guaranteed spot in the Round of 32. For this fight, Blip featured multiple hinged wedges at the front dubbed 'piano keys' during the show. From the start, both robots charged out of their squares but Lock-Jaw got caught up on the BattleBox floor. Although it caused sparks to fly, Lock-Jaw only grazed the armor of Blip before its ground clearance was breached and Aren Hill's bot tossed it upwards. As Lock-Jaw's weapon continued to spin, the gyroscopic effects in play unbalanced it and soon after, fire began to emit from the veteran. In response, it fled to the middle of the arena and powered down the primary weapon. Blip gave chase and was eventually able to get underneath Lock-Jaw again, but not enough to get a flip in. Lock-Jaw was backed into the screws of the Upper Deck momentarily before being thrown directly onto the newest arena hazard. Donald Hutson managed to drive Lock-Jaw away, but met Blip at the short corner. Aren Hill was able to maneuver his bot under Lock-Jaw again and send it twisting in the air before landing on its forks. Now upside-down, Blip launched last season's Bounty winner several more times before Lock-Jaw was able to win the ground game, finding itself in a tug-of-war with the rookie bot. With assistance from Screw Job, the two bots were able to work together to power Blip into the corner and high-center it in the closing moments. However, this proved too little, too late in the eyes of the judges, who voted in favor of Blip, sending it to 3-0.
Blip vs. Valkyrie
Valkyrie's disk collides with Blip before breaking.
Comfortably in the Top 32 with its 3-0 record, No.7 seed Blip now took on the No.26 seed Valkyrie. Fortunately for Blip, the primary weapon of Valkyrie died just ten seconds into the match, and it was reduced to a push-bot for the remainder of this fight. Having tanked the initial attack from its opponent, Blip initially misfired before getting under tossing Valkyrie over and then onto the Upper Deck. Valkyrie drove off and righted itself against Blip, but Aren Hill's bot gave chase. Blip threw Valkyrie multiple times while it was caught in the short corner and several more times against the pulverizer in that corner. As the fight wore on, Blip continued to slide its flipping arm underneath Valkyrie's defunct disk and toss it around the BattleBox. Valkyrie's drive was still working though, so Blip showed no signs of letting off. Later in the fight, Blip threw Valkyrie towards the arena wall and was close to achieving an out of the arena flip, but Valkyrie escaped, though its drive was now slowing down. Blip's eighteenth and final flip beached Leanne Cushing's bot against the wall where it was unable to get down. Valkyrie was counted out and Blip advanced to the Top 16.
Blip vs. JackPot
Blip gets underneath JackPot as it lands a hit.
JackPot is flipped and counted out.
Next up for Aren Hill's flywheel flipper was the hometown team, Las Vegas representatives JackPot. Straight out of the gate, Blip started to circle JackPot, looking for an angle with their flipper. Jackpot got stuck on the floor and Blip began to get a foothold in the match. Blip again circled the Vegas bot and eventually slid underneath, flipping it over onto their die-mond discs. Blip maneuvered JackPot to the pulverizer and fired it against their underside. As Blip retreated, it became clear that one of JackPot's forks was stuck upwards and the robot did not have enough torque in its weapon to right itself. JackPot was counted out and Blip moved on.
Blip vs. Hydra
Blip takes on Hydra.
Hydra throws Blip early on.
Blip struggles to self-right.
Blip is counted out.
Blip's broken left-side wheel.
Looking to continue its impressive undefeated debut campaign in the quarter-finals, Blip's next opponent was fellow flipper Hydra. For this battle, Blip was equipped with Tegris wings to help absorb the impact of landing upside-down and protect Blip's frame.[8] As the fight began, both robots approached the center of the BattleBox as their ground games were tested. Blip found itself maneuvered into Hydra's starting square and Jake Ewert's bot was able to breach the front of its opponent, throwing it against the wall. Blip landed upside-down but as it tried to flip back, Hydra tossed it again and it landed in the short corner. Blip tried several times to throw itself back onto its wheels, but despite twisting through the air each time, kept landing on its lid. Hydra watched on before trying to flip, but misfired and only scratched the surface of Blip. Aren Hill's bot was able to escape the onslaught from Hydra as it threw itself onto the Upper Deck. However, its right side became caught on the housing for the screws of the arena hazard. Blip was able to partially free itself, but in doing so, found itself with its right wheel high-centered. Its piano key wedgelets were also now stuck on the housing of the screws and its left rear wheel was buckled from an earlier Hydra attack, meaning Blip was unable to escape the Upper Deck and was counted out. As such, Blip was eliminated from the competition at the quarter-final stage.
Returning for the exhibition matches at the end of the season, Blip faced Big Dill. For this fight, Blip was fitted with forks as opposed to its traditional wedge or piano key wedgelet setups. Both robots spent the first twenty seconds dancing around one another, looking for an opening. Eventually, Blip got its entire flipping panel underneath Big Dill and carried it to the middle of the BattleBox before launching it high into the air. Big Dill landed on top of the pulverizer and fell right side up, but Blip gave chase, sliding underneath its opponent but failing to get the leverage to launch it again. It was then Big Dill's turn to gain control points as it got underneath Blip, coercing it into the short corner and pinning Aren Hill's bot against the Upper Deck. In the process, Big Dill managed to dislodge one of Blip's wheels, but this did not appear to affect it. Blip got underneath Big Dill again and threw it over with an intentionally weaker flip, allowing Emmanuel Carrillo's machine to rest upside-down against the Upper Deck. Blip then approached and delivered a much more powerful flip which sent Big Dill twisting through the air, spiking itself into the floor of the Upper Deck with its own fork upon landing. Blip fired its flipper in celebration as Big Dill was counted out, with Aren Hill's bot declared the winner by knockout.
re:MARS all:STARS BattleBots Challenge (2022)[]
Blip vs. Whiplash
Blip was one of eight robots selected to compete in the second re:MARS all:STARS Challenge in June 2022. In the first round of the main tournament, it faced Matt Vasquez and Whiplash. Blip went into this battle in its standard twin-fork armor configuration with revised side stripe patterns. In an audience vote predicting the match winner, as highlighted in the released Vegas All Stars edit, Blip only received a 19% share of the total votes.
Whiplash lands awkwardly against the rails.
Both competitors first rammed each other head-on in the center of the BattleBox. Blip backed out and rammed Whiplash again, before pushing the 2020 season runner-up past the Upper Deck and the control booths. In doing so, it took advantage of Whiplash's control issues, influenced by the latter's experimental 13-fork setup.[9] Leaving tire marks over the arena floor in the process, Blip proceeded to launch Whiplash into the spiked bumper.
"Blip trying to get the angle for the flip. [Blip throws Whiplash towards the control booth] Yeah! And the first flip of the night! There we go!"
— Will Bales as Blip lands its first attack on Whiplash
Whiplash is unceremoniously thrown around by Blip.
Whiplash landed upside-down and tried to self-right, only for Blip to get underneath and initiate a second flip. Blip continued throwing Whiplash into the air and the Lexan wall panels, but without ejecting it from the arena. Pete Abrahamson estimated that Blip's sixth flip threw its opponent at a height of between twelve and sixteen feet.
"Looks like Blip's taking over the janitor job here."
— Will Bales' one-liner as Blip shoves Whiplash in between more flips
Blip throws Whiplash again.
Blip maintained its onslaught, catapulting Whiplash towards the control booth, commentators' table and the Upper Deck. Whiplash, itself struggling to maintain mobility with its new brushless drive system, became completely stationary at this point. Two more flips from Blip sent Whiplash back towards the lower killsaw slots, now upside-down with its lifting arm in the raised position. Blip gingerly approached Whiplash as the latter's disk, then stationary, spun back up. While Chris Rose touted the possibility of a knockout win, Aren Hill consulted with Jeff and Jason Vasquez whether they wanted Blip to keep flipping their machine. Both agreed, and Blip resumed its attacks, again tossing Whiplash around in front of the lower-right pulverizer.[9]
A smaller flick allowed Blip to briefly pin Whiplash upside-down against one of the arena paddles. Blip initiated another series of high-powered flips as Will Bales observed that Whiplash's arm was no longer functional; the force of Blip's attacks had been enough to shatter the arm's gearbox, as well as crack the robot's main chassis.[9]
Chris Rose: "I mean, is Whiplash even... moving anymore, other than through the air?"
Will Bales: "No. Looks like the arm's dead."
— As Blip is about to send Whiplash onto the Upper Deck
Blip's final attack.
With its seventeenth and last throw, Blip sent Whiplash spiralling onto the Upper Deck. Although Whiplash was back on its wheels, it lay completely immobilized. Blip performed its victory spin as Whiplash was counted out, advancing further into the tournament.
Blip vs. HyperShock
In the semi-finals, Blip challenged HyperShock, driven for this event by Alex Bales. The twin forks were exchanged for the piano key configuration.
Blip gets underneath HyperShock.
Blip tactically approached HyperShock in the opening seconds, briefly pushing it from the side. Its movements were interrupted when the piano keys caught one of the killsaw slots, forcing Blip to back away and park over the BattleBots logo. Aren Hill's machine next tried to capitalize on a driving error by HyperShock, which simply drove its own forks over the piano keys. Blip began pushing HyperShock back at high speed, but again, bumped into the killsaw slots. Another tentative exchange followed, with Blip again driving under HyperShock, but still struggling to find a good opportunity to land its first flip.
HyperShock is overturned.
Alex Bales uses the Upper Deck to right HyperShock.
Following another nudge, a more forceful head-to-head exchange saw Blip being flung backwards by HyperShock's vertical spinner. Blip, seemingly unaffected by this attack, drove under HyperShock again after the latter's right wheels suddenly locked up. Its flipper sent HyperShock gyrating into the air and onto its back, after which Alex Bales' machine struggled for control and resorted to self-righting via the Upper Deck.
Blip suddenly stops moving.
As this happened, Blip shuffled back and forth near the BattleBots logo, then suddenly stopped moving entirely. When all three commentators noticed this, Will Bales and Pete Abrahamson both suspected that it was having technical issues. Though not identified in commentary for the Vegas All Stars release, it was confirmed by Team HyperShock's Kyle Awner that Blip's batteries had desoldered, cutting all power to the machine.[10]
Chris Rose: "So what is Blip doing right now, Pete? Just kind of biding his time, or is there a problem?"
Will Bales: "Looks like Blip is having issues, and HyperShock has just stopped moving because they're on fire. And Blip is not moving."
Pete Abrahamson: "Blip is playing around with radio control."
Chris Rose: "Oh, there's a countdown! I think that Blip is being counted OUT!"
— As Blip’s immobility is noticed
Blip is left to be counted out.
A count-out was initiated for Blip, while Aren Hill and his dismayed teammates watched on. HyperShock, itself half-immobile and suffering an internal fire, was awarded the win by knockout. Blip was eliminated from the re:MARS tournament as a result.
World Championship VII[]
Blip vs. End Game
Blip returned for World Championship VII, first facing World Championship V and Golden Bolt champion End Game in Episode 2'sMain Event. Blip was set up with its piano key wedgelet configuration, which had been popularized by End Game itself in previous seasons, as well as top finishers such as Whiplash and Hydra. Blip also had two horns either side of its flipper, added to try and snag End Game if it rode up its sloped front. The Golden Bolt winners sported their own piano key configuration - sets of fourteen taller, defensive wedgelets separated by four thin, offensive forks.
End Game and Blip square off.
Blip gingerly approached the 2020 season champions as they spun up to speed. As Aren Hill tried to bait End Game into an early charge, they closed off the angle and got underneath Blip, delivering a blow to its underside and then its top armor. Blip quickly recovered and tried to take advantage of a sharp turn from End Game by attacking from the side, but became caught on the BattleBox floor. This disrupted Blip's attack, so it instead opted to attack End Game head on. Blip was able to get underneath the innermost forks of End Game, pinning it against the arena.
Blip and End Game go head-to-head.
Referee David Sanfillipo counted the pin and Blip eventually released its opponent. End Game responded by hitting the front of Blip, delivering an uppercut which threw it over. Now upside-down, Blip was vulnerable to further attacks, but Team End Game opted to hone in on Blip's piano key wedges. As Blip self-righted against the arena wall, End Game found itself caught momentarily underneath the pulverizer. Although this offered Blip valuable time to escape, its ground game had been severely affected by End Game's spinning disc. Blip returned to face its opponent, but without its wedgelets, rode directly up the front of End Game and narrowly escaped being launched by its vertical spinner.
End Game throws Blip over.
With the next attack, Blip was not so fortunate. End Game met Blip head on, throwing it through the air and sending Aren Hill's bot twisting chaotically. Blip landed inverted, but was still able to right itself and drive away. All of a sudden, End Game's primary weapon stopped, much to the surprise of Nick Mabey and the rest of the team. Blip's flywheel flipper was still functional, but it lacked the ground game to feed End Game into position. Blip spent the remainder of the fight trying unsuccessfully to find a way underneath End Game and found itself pinned against the screws of the Upper Deck in the closing seconds.
Despite this, Blip survived until the end of the three minutes. The judges unanimously called the fight for End Game, as Blip joined Tantrum with a 0-1 start.
Blip vs. HUGE
Blip ahead of the fight.
Blip's second opponent came in the form of Jonathan Schultz and HUGE. For this battle, Blip was equipped with additional armor across its sloped front and sides to try and deflect HUGE's powerful spinning bar.
HUGE rides up the front of Blip early on.
The match began with Blip trying to drive around HUGE to get to its wheels. However, HUGE turned sharply and smothered its opponent, dealing a hit to Blip's frame. Aren Hill then drove underneath one of HUGE's wheels, but could only deliver a small flip in response.
"Aren Hill knows he's gonna have to eat a few shots if he wants to get in close enough to flip HUGE..."
— Kenny Florian as Blip dances around HUGE
Blip flips HUGE.
As Jonathan Schultz's bot turned to face Blip, the flipper slid underneath and was able to throw HUGE through the air. The vertical spinner of HUGE made contact, but Blip countered with a series of flips. Now inverted, HUGE was spinning its blade downward and sliced into Blip's flipper panel, embedding its weapon into Aren Hill's machine.
"Ohh, that's a nice maneuver! Is that blade stuck in Blip's face?!"
— Chris Rose as HUGE takes Blip to the Upper Deck
HUGE and Blip become stuck.
With both robots stuck together, HUGE took the opportunity to drive Blip into the Upper Deck, later retreating. Despite their best efforts, HUGE could not separate itself from Blip and both referees signalled for an unstick.
"Listen up, teams, listen up. We got two robots that are stuck together here; we're gonna try to separate them. If not, it goes to the judges and it's a judges' decision..."
— John Remar explains the unstick process to both teams
Blip gets under HUGE in the last ten seconds.
Though not shown in the episode, both robots were successfully separated and the fight was able to resume with just over ninety seconds remaining. HUGE got its blade up to speed and Blip continued to target the wheels. Its flipper was no longer working, however, and Blip was reduced to a wedgebot for the remainder of the fight. Although Blip attempted to drive into HUGE's wheels to flex and unbalance it, Both bots remained aggressive, as HUGE tore away one of Blip's flipper extensions, but Aren Hill retaliated by tipping HUGE over in the closing seconds.
The fight went the distance and the judges awarded HUGE the win by unanimous decision, putting Blip at a precarious 0-2 record.
Blip vs. Tantrum
In the show's first competitive fight between two robots from the same team, Blip faced defending champion Tantrum in the Main Event of Episode 8.
"It's a family affair. Tantrum versus Blip - the reigning world champion will try and take down its creator."
— Chris Rose pre-fight
Blip loses a fork in the center of the BattleBox.
Both robots were fast out of their starting squares as Blip immediately got to the side of Tantrum and slid underneath, threatening an early flip. Aren Hill hesitated as Tantrum tried to rock itself away from danger by thrusting its drum back and forth. With its flywheel powered up, Blip's weapon engaged and landed the first attack of the fight. Tantrum quickly self-righted and turned to face its opponent, landing a few glancing punches to the front of Blip.
A fire starts within Tantrum.
Suddenly, a fire erupted from the right-hand side of the reigning champions, where its speed controller was housed. The flame quickly diminished, replaced by smoke as Tantrum found itself pinned in the corner by Blip. Dillon Carey drove Tantrum out of danger and as Blip turned to face it, Aren Hill's bot lost one of its front forks. However, Blip was still able to get in underneath and drove its opponent towards the drivers' booths, flipping Tantrum over in front of its co-captains, Alex Grant and Ginger Schmidt. Tantrum righted itself again, but was on the back foot and its drum weapon was no longer spinning.
Chris Rose: "Come on Aren, let's see it! C'mon, up here..."
Kenny Florian: "Give it to us! Come on, I dare you!"
— Chris and Kenny react as Blip threatens to launch Tantrum in front of their booth
Blip pins Tantrum in the corner before launching it through the air.
Now in the short corner, Blip had Tantrum pinned and the blue half of Seems Reasonable Robotics counted as the flywheel flipper charged up for another attack. Smoke began to pour from the reigning champions and Blip pulled the trigger, tossing it through the air.
Ginger Schmidt: "Hahaha, oh my God..."
Chris Rose: "A nervous laugh from Ginger Schmidt as her robot gets taken into the corner. Holy smokes!"
— Chris and Kenny react as Blip threatens to launch Tantrum in front of the commentary booth
Tantrum is pinned in the corner late on.
Both robots regathered in the opposite corner and although Blip rode up the front of Tantrum, the lack of a spinning weapon meant it simply posed little threat to Aren Hill's new creation. It was now also missing a fist, and one of its self-righting arms had become bent inward. Once more, Blip won the ground game and charged Tantrum into the rail, and then into the screws of the Upper Deck.
Tantrum ending the fight on top of the Upper Deck.
With second remaining, Tantrum lost its other fist but began to fight back, pushing Blip back late on. However, it was quickly driven back to the short corner and with the last attack of the fight, found itself thrown atop the Upper Deck.
The fight went the distance, and Blip was declared the winner by a unanimous judges' decision. Although Blip earned its first win of the season, it put both robots from Seems Reasonable Robotics at a perilous 1-2 record.
Blip vs. Banshee
Blip with its new nose configuration.
Blip's last Fight Night opponents were newcomers Team Small Robots and their own flipper-wielding heavyweight Banshee. For this battle, Aren Hill's machine exchanged its twin front forks for the regular piano key configuration, while a metal block was placed on the end of its flipper arm in an attempt to maximize contact with its opponent.
Chris Rose: "Face to face... Blip's key, Kenny... get under Banshee, right?"
Kenny Florian: "Absolutely, and there you go. You see it. Blip is the lower bot here to start. When it comes to flippers, winning the ground game... is the name of the game!"
— As Blip begins to control Banshee in the opening moments
Blip hunts down Banshee.
Both competitors met in the center, with Blip scooping up and pushing Banshee back after the latter tried to ram it. It continued to pressure a retreating Banshee over the killsaw slots and around the center, starting a highly tentative phase where the two robots merely bumped and pushed each other across the BattleBox. In the process, Blip's right-most wedgelet popped off its hinge after making contact with the floor.
Blip gets under the back of Banshee, but cannot flip it.
Blip eventually forced Banshee against the top-left paddle regardless, evidently attempting to line up its first flip. However, the metal block attachment prevented it from getting underneath and throwing Banshee over; the flipper merely firing in thin air. After a few seconds, Blip reversed, only to almost throw Banshee and itself over with a high-speed ram. It continued to ram and push Banshee at high speed, though its momentum was abruptly halted as it caught one of the top-left killsaw slots.
"You know, I wonder if that attachment Aren added there on the front of the flipper is actually hindering Blip's ability, to get all the way underneath Banshee. Is this a case of modification backfiring a bit?"
— Kenny Florian, after Blip unsuccessfully tries to flip Banshee with the block attachment
Banshee is overturned by Blip.
Blip upheld its more aggressive approach, side-swiping Banshee as it re-emerged from the top-left pocket. More rams and pushes were exchanged; Blip slammed Banshee into the bumpers and red square screws, while continuing to lose more of its piano keys. However, even by the half-way point, neither robot had made significant use of their flipping weapons. Blip continued to dominate by shoving and slipping underneath Banshee. While pushing David Small's machine backwards over the top-right killsaw slots, its piano keys again caught the slots. A near-simultaneous thrust from Blip's flipper panel allowed Banshee to briefly get underneath as the match entered its final sixty seconds.
"Under a minute to go now! Blip has been the more aggressive robot, but it's given these fans... very little in the way of flips."
— Chris Rose, commenting on the limited weapon use by Blip by the late stages
Blip throws Banshee again.
Blip quickly darted free, popping a wheelie while turning to face Banshee from the edge of the blue square. Another head-to-head exchange allowed it to pressure, collect and ram Banshee against the control booth wall bumper. This forced Banshee up Blip's flipper, allowing Aren Hill's machine to finally launch it against the Lexan and take down part of the BattleBots banner. After a few seconds - where Banshee lay motionless on its back - Blip nudged and threw Banshee twice more, into the control booth banner and the red square screws respectively.
"...excellent driving - there's a flip! It looks like they have it going... perhaps there was just... a part of the strategy... to pour it on late in the fight!"
— Kenny Florian while Blip unleashes its late series of flips on Banshee
After more tentative moments and nudges from both robots, it rammed Banshee into the blue square screws and Upper Deck bumper. Once a recovering Banshee drove itself up its front end once again, Blip flicked it over, then catapulted it across the arena perimeter.
Both robots survive to a judges' decision.
Blip continued to pursue and intercept Banshee's movements, as the latter bounced off the top of a screw mount and found itself on the opposite side of the BattleBox. Collecting Banshee from the right-hand side, it briefly pinning it against - then threw it into the air from - an Upper Deck mount bumper. Within the last ten seconds, Blip flipped Banshee a final time across the the arena center, before forcefully ramming it into the top-right bumper as the end buzzer sounded. Both robots narrowly avoided a strike from the nearby pulverizer, coming to rest within the corner as Kathryn Godfrey and John Remar instructed their teams to conduct functionality tests.
The subsequent judges' decision ruled Blip as the unanimous winner, sealing it a 2-2 Fight Night record and a place in the main championship bracket. Though both commentators agreed that it was the more controlling and aggressive throughout, Kenny Florian felt that the metal block attachment did 'a disservice' to Seems Reasonable Robotics' machine during this match.
"...I know strength of schedule is a thing, but it's... much better to take the questions out of it and get to 2-2."
— Aren Hill, upon being asked by Chris Rose about the 'pressure' placed on Blip before its win over Banshee
Blip vs. SawBlaze
Blip's setup for facing SawBlaze.
Blip's recovery to 2-2 was enough to grant it the No.25 seed in the Round of 32, where it took on the No.8 seed SawBlaze. For this single elimination fight, Blip again sported additional armor across its sides. In response to its loss to its Fight Night loss to HUGE, this armor was also added to Blip's flipper panel, and the robot also had smaller wedgelets in between its two longer forks.
"I've faced Jamison Go before, when I was driving Tantrum back in Season 5. Got the better of him then; gonna try to get the better of him this time."
— Aren Hill alludes to his 1-0 record over Jamison Go pre-fight
SawBlaze and Blip face off.
Early in the fight, SawBlaze rushed to the center of the BattleBox as Blip was slower out of its starting square. Blip tried to get underneath the front of Jamison Go's robot, but was unable to prove itself as the lower bot. It instead got around to the side of SawBlaze, but could not get far enough under to flip and the No.8 seed escaped.
SawBlaze pins Blip before unleashing its hammer saw.
SawBlaze then found itself momentarily scooped under by Blip, but Aren Hill's flipper failed to fire its weapon and took a hit from the 100lb pulverizer instead, also losing a fork in the process. SawBlaze then got to the flank of Blip and drove it across the width of the arena before ending its attack with a vicious hammer saw shot. This saw Blip's remaining fork become stuck underneath the robot as it attempted to escape danger, which left it vulnerable to a second charge by Jamison Go.
SawBlaze rams Blip into the Upper Deck.
SawBlaze landed a third shot, striking the extra top armor of Blip as gashes began to show. The fight moved near the drivers' booths, where Blip tried to get the right angle to attack but lost its other fork instead. With its opponent's ground game compromised, SawBlaze remained aggressive and slammed Blip into the screws of the Upper Deck, striking its top with the hammer saw again before releasing Blip in the short corner. Blip slid itself underneath SawBlaze in order to escape, but was again unable to flip due to SawBlaze disabling the solenoid for its weapon with an earlier attack.[11] It instead managed to get to SawBlaze's flat back as Blip drove the No.8 seed into the rails, almost flipping it over with pure drive power.
Both robots duel in the short corner.
With over half the fight gone, Blip had not fired its weapon once, but Blip's inability to do so was not yet evident to Jamison Go's team, nor Chris and Kenny in commentary. SawBlaze slid under the forkless front of Blip before delivering another couple of visceral blows to the front and top of Blip. It then got under again, driving Blip across the arena and into a short corner as Aren Hill's robot took a blow from the opposite pulverizer.
"Blip has taken some HUGE overhead shots. That top armor is all torn up..."
— Kenny Florian with under a minute of the fight remaining
In spite of this punishment, Blip was still able to get itself underneath SawBlaze in the final minute, having been reduced to a full-body wedge for most of the battle. However, SawBlaze landed several more brutal attacks to the top of Blip in the final thirty seconds.
Chris Rose: "Well Kenny, about a dozen strikes with the hammer saw for SawBlaze and a total of zero flips for Blip."
Kenny Florian: "Yeah, and watching some of these shots again in slow motion, I think Blip may have lost function to that flipper earlier than we gave Aren credit for..."
— Chris and Kenny acknowledge Blip's loss of its primary weapon post-fight
Both robots survived the full three minutes, but the judges ruled unanimously in favor of SawBlaze, eliminating Blip and Seems Reasonable Robotics from World Championship VII.
BattleBots: Champions II[]
Blip vs. Black Dragon
Blip competed in BattleBots: Champions II, where it faced off against Black Dragon in Round 1 of the second Sin City Slugfest bracket. For this bout, Blip returned to its twin fork configuration.
Aren Hill showed confidence pre-fight in Blip having the superior ground game, something Team Uai!rrior claimed of their own robot, and stated his desire to land a number of flips on his opponent. He also highlighted the need to rack up Aggression and Control points in the absence of having a damaging primary weapon.
Blip gains an early advantage.
Both robots began tentatively with Black Dragon spinning up as Blip approached. Aren Hill met the Brazilian bot head on before looking to navigate to its side. Blip then breached the front forks of Black Dragon and got underneath, throwing it with a small flip. Black Dragon bounced around before landing against the wall, and Blip pinned it in place for a few seconds.
Blip catches fire.
Blip struggled to edge Black Dragon in range of its flipper, and the Brazilian robot wiggled free. Gabriel Bertozzi took the fight to the middle of the BattleBox and Black Dragon landed a quick uppercut to the front of Blip, followed by a series of lesser shots to its chassis. Its eggbeater spinner briefly halted, Black Dragon was pinned by Blip again before the left-side speed controller for Blip's drive caught fire.
Chris Rose: "OH NO!"
Kenny Florian: "Blip is on fire!"
Chris Rose: "I don't think we've ever seen that in the few seasons that Blip's been around!"
— Chris and Kenny react to Blip's fire
In this moment, Black Dragon's spinner managed to remove Blip's right fork and then suffered a hit to its back end. Gabriel Bertozzi then drove Black Dragon up the front of its opponent, who hesitated before throwing it upside-down. In doing so, however, Blip suffered damage to its flipper as the panel was now peeled up at the front. The Seems Reasonable Robotics entry was also struggling with its left-side drive as Black Dragon returned to the middle of the arena and threw itself back over.
Blip is immobilized and counted out.
Black Dragon drove up the front of Blip again, who fired its weapon and upended the former semi-finalist once again. Team Uai!rrior's bot retreated again to self-right and then got to the back of Blip. Before they could land a hit, Blip suddenly stopped moving and Aren Hill began applauding his opponents, conceding defeat. Referee John Remar counted Blip out, eliminating it from the bracket.
“When he clears you for take-off, get ready to fly. He'll send you on a trip through the unfriendly skies. The flight's a bit bumpy but the landing's a calamity. When you go ka-boom like the Hindenburg, oh the bot-manity! It's BLIP!”
"From Mountainview, California, by the time he shows up on your radar, it's too late. You're already dead. It's BLIP!"
"He'll flip you from Cali over to the East Coast. From Alaska down to Texas. From frozen to toast. He will run you cross-country with no tourist tips. He owns the whole map. Now he's tossed out your trip. It's BLIP!"
"This bot might seem goofy but don't you dare laugh. Just cause he's got a funny face doesn't mean he won't break you in half. Sure, he looks silly but he can still take your life like an ice cream truck with cut brake lines or a clown with a knife. It's BLIP!"
"Don't get too close. He'll throw you up in the air. Go ahead, try it. Double dog dare. Didn't listen? Hey, dummy. Look up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's you about to die. Give it up for BLIP!"
"From Mountain View, California. He's black and blue, but you're about to be, too. It's BLIP!"
"This team's incredibly dangerous, so you should be cautious. Even though the lead builder looks like Dwight from The Office, you get no Jim and Pam happy ending. You'll be totally dead 'cause this bot may be small, but it gets the job done. That's what she said. Here to drop you like a pot of chili, it's BLIP!"
"From Mountain View, California, how you gonna beat this robot? How, Sway? You ain't got the answers, man. You ain't got the answers. Prepare to flip with BLIP!"
"From Mountain View, California, forget a mountain view, he'll throw you so high, you'll be able to see the curvature of the Earth. It's BLIP!"
Trivia[]
Over 400 individual windings make up a bundle which, when twisted, acts as the mechanism powering Blip's primary weapon.[12]
According to Aren Hill, a new bundle was made after every World Championship VI battle.
If all the greased string inside Blip's flipping mechanism was laid out, it would stretch for almost a quarter of a mile.
Blip was initially going to be called MoonShot, but this was changed to avoid a clash of space themes with Orion, who already had pedigree with Apollo in Robot Wars.
Ironically, Team Seems Reasonable Robotics would fight the team behind Orion in King of Bots, where Aren Hill's Boxing Champion lost out to eventual co-champions Vulcan.
A sticker on the underside of Blip reads #FlipWithBlip, which was visible during their World Championship VI fight against Overhaul.
Blip landed a total of 18 flips in their bracket win over Valkyrie, the highest of which measured 14ft off the BattleBox floor.
Blip features a large wind-up key which serves as a lock for its primary weapon.
After the conclusion of World Championship VI, among the range of parts Seems Reasonable Robotics sold was Blip's wind-up key.
Both Blip and Tantrum were present at Robot Ruckus in November 2021 as static displays.
On September 2024 Blip was featured in a Mark Rober's video where, after the latter explained its mechanism, Blip is shown launching a 250lb load up to, statedly, 20ft high during a test with Aren Hill.[7]
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