C2 Robotics, formerly known as Team Coolrobots, are a BattleBots team best known for their championship-winning superheavyweight Minion and their heavyweight OverKill. The team have competed in all five Comedy Central season and have since competed in BattleBots with a variety of robots, most recently taking over Yeti ahead of its World Championship VI return.
The team were initially headed by builder Christian Carlberg and assisted by drivers Brian Roe and Luke Khanlian, who drove Minion and TriDent respectively. They were notably sponsored by game publisher Wizards of the Coast, best known for the game Magic: The Gathering.
They won many battles during and after BattleBots in a number of weight classes and in numerous competitions. Between competing under the names Team Coolrobots and C2 Robotics, Carlberg's team have competed for 25 years with a variety of different robots. Carlberg himself would also mentor a team of California Polytechnical State University students as they entered Chunk into the 2009 Collegiate Championship. Former member Jason Bardis would pilot the crowd-favorite Dr. Inferno Jr. and later become a permanent judge, whereas Luke Khanlian would become part of the BattleBots safety team in 2019.
Since Yeti's retirement following World Championship VI, the team have produced OverKill ShowBots for the live show BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Outside BattleBots[]
Christian Carlberg's team have also competed in numerous live events over the years. For 2004's ROBOlympics event, he originally teamed up with Team Van Cleve as they signed up with Floor Jack, but had to withdraw.
After a gap spanning over a decade, he returned to the event now known as RoboGames in 2017 with a middleweight version of OverKill named Rampage. This was driven by daughter Carissa Carlberg, and reached the quarter-finals with a modest 2-2 overall record. C2 Robotics planned to return for RoboGames 2018 with UniKill, but again had to drop out.
Carlberg joined former teammate Jason Bardis as the pair competed in TLC's Robotica with Mini Inferno.
The team also built Steg - robot thrown together by Luke Khanlian using leftover parts from Toe-Crusher for a news segment.
Team Members[]
Christian Carlberg[]
- "We've developed techniques for building robots quickly... I built a fast, fun, robot, right in front of the camera, in only about five hours."
- — Christian Carlberg during Season 4.0 of Comedy Central BattleBots
Christian Carlberg on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2000.
Founder and captain of Team Coolrobots, later C2 Robotics, Carlberg was present for both 1999 events, even helping with the construction of various hazards in the absence of Peter Lambertson, all five Comedy Central Seasons, the first three World Championships and the 2021 season too. He also remained present as Chunk entered the 2009 Collegiate Championship under his team name.
He is a former movie effects specialist who graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1992. Coming out with a Masters degree in 1995, Carlberg began trying to break into the entertainment industry. His first movie was Spy Hard, which was followed by the TV movie, Rattled. Over a period of two and a half years, Carlberg worked on Starship Troopers, Mimic, Species II, Virus and Frosty. He quickly landed a job at an effects house, where he picked up valuable hands-on experience and met some of the people who would later form his robot-building team. A year before his BattleBots debut, he began designing rides at theme parts for Walt Disney, recommended by friend and fellow competitor Dan Danknick. He also lent himself to a number of aerospace companies during his career.
As BattleBots gained popularity on Comedy Central, Carlberg starred alongside Lisa Winter on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as they showcased Toe-Crusher and Tentoumushi for the live audience ahead of the premiere of Season 2.0.
Brian Roe[]
Driver of the Giant Nut-winning superheavyweight Minion, Brian Roe remained part of the team throughout all five Comedy Central seasons. He returned to C2 Robotics for the 2016 season as a named member, but did not return in 2018 or beyond.
Luke Khanlian[]
Luke Khanlian was part of Team Coolrobots from 2000 until 2003, and returned as Christian Carlberg made his return in 2015.
He was only present for the first of OverDrive's two seasons of competition, and has since held the role of chief safety inspector for BattleBots.
Carissa Carlberg[]
Daughter to Christian Carlberg, Carissa joined the team ahead of the ABC reboot at the age of 12. She was present as the team entered Mecha Rampage in 2018, but did not rejoin her father as C2 Robotics entered Yeti into future competitions. She took control of OverDrive for the dedicated Daughters Rumble in 2016, against Bad Kitty and The Ringmaster, falling short overall to the latter.
She would also drive Rampage to a quarter-final finish at RoboGames 2017.
Jessica Carlberg[]
Christian Carlberg's wife Jessica was also present for each of Team Coolrobots' Comedy Central BattleBots competitions, as well as three reboot seasons with OverDrive and Mecha Rampage respectively.
Jason Bardis[]
Present only for Team Coolrobots' first two events in Long Beach and Las Vegas, Bardis left the team in 1999 to pursue and spearhead his own team, Infernolab, winning multiple Giant Nuts with fan favorite Dr. Inferno Jr. and entering the 2016 season with The Disk O' Inferno.
He then retired to become a full-time judge, a role which he kept until the end of World Championship VI and its subsequent spin-off, BattleBots: Champions I.
Robots[]
| Name |
Weight Class |
Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Toe-Crusher | Lightweight | Long Beach 1999 Season 2.0 Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| Knee-Breaker | Middleweight | Long Beach 1999 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| Little Slice | Middleweight | Long Beach 1999 |
| Nasty | Superheavyweight | Long Beach 1999 (Did not compete) |
| Slugger | Heavyweight | Long Beach 1999 Las Vegas 1999 |
| Minion | Superheavyweight | Las Vegas 1999 Season 1.0 Season 2.0 Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| OverKill | Heavyweight | Season 1.0 Season 2.0 Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| Dreadnought | Superheavyweight | Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| TriDent | Middleweight | Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| UpperCut | Heavyweight | Season 5.0 |
| Little Killer | Antweight | Season 5.0 |
| Chunk | Middleweight | 2009 Collegiate Championship |
| OverDrive | Heavyweight | World Championship I World Championship II |
| Mecha Rampage | Heavyweight | World Championship III |
| Yeti | Heavyweight | World Championship VI * |
* Yeti competed in World Championship II, III and IV under Team Yeti.
Win/Loss Record[]
- Wins: 49
- Losses: 32
- Draws: 1
Trivia[]
- Several of Team Coolrobots' robots appeared in the Season 3 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled "Precious Metal." In addition, the victim, accused, and killer were named Christian, Brian, and Luke respectively, referencing Christian Carlberg, Brian Roe and Luke Khanlian.
- Christian Carlberg appeared on the cover of a 2013 issue of the Nuts and Volts magazine, where he kickstarted his flashlight project HexBright. Due to a lack of time and funding, however, it was discontinued.