Calypso

Calypso
Participation Information
Live	BattleBots FaceOffs
Team Information
Team	Team Horizon
Team Members	Joshua Kong (Captain) Alon Belkin Alex Price Dylan McKenzie Wesley Socia Conor O'Brien Derek Tran Cindy Lu Kyle Loyola Dylan Woessner
From	Los Angeles, CA
Other Entries	Horizon
Associated Robots	Cobalt, Gigabyte (Alon Belkin, Derek Tran) Axolotl (Alon Belkin) Jackpot, Project Aegis, Altair, Category 5 (Joshua Kong) Valkyrie, Chronos (Kyle Loyola)
Robot Statistics
Weapons	Undercutter spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Calypso is a heavyweight robot built by Team Horizon which has competed at BattleBots FaceOffs.

It is a four-wheel drive robot with a wide chassis made from HARDOX steel. Based upon Joshua Kong's 1lb robot of the same name, Calypso is armed with a horizontal, asymmetric spinning disk weighing 45lbs positioned low to the ground to act as an undercutter. Either side of the primary weapon are two hinged forks, which allow Calypso to behave like a controlbot. This can also be replaced by a more defensive wedge. Rather than being fully invertible, Calypso uses gyroscopic forces to self-right when inverted. The robot sports a crab theme and is accompanied by two minibots called Pork Chop and Meat-Tornado. Both are hobbyweight SPAM kitbots available for purchase at horizon250.com. Calypso itself is driven by Joshua Kong, with Derek Tran operating its weaponry. It appeared in the first group of BattleBots FaceOffs in September 2024, where it took on Skorpios, MadCatter and Roundhouse.

"After losing to DOOM, we knew we wanted to get the audience on our side. So we said, we need a theme that can appeal to a 10-year-old. No one's going to cheer for a Greek myth or a lemonade."

— Alon Belkin explains the origins of the crab theme

The robot was built on an extremely tight timeline, going from CAD to combat ready in just six weeks, with members of multiple other teams assisting in the build.

"After Axolotl, I swore I'd never do that again. And now? I'm doing it again."

— Alon Belkin on the rapid nature of Calypso's build

Calypso backstage with its sharp edge protection.

Calypso under construction in August 2024.

A render of Calypso.

Joshua Kong's 1lb version of Calypso.

Robot History

BattleBots FaceOffs
Please note that the order of the following fights is unknown, as documentation on the event itself is either limited or non-existent. This is typically true of untelevised events such as BattleBots IQ and those sanctioned by the BattleBots name. Calypso vs. Skorpios Calypso's debut came against Skorpios during BattleBots FaceOffs, in the first of its three group fights.
Calypso vs. MadCatter Also in Calypso's group was Founder's Award winner MadCatter, though the order of its remaining fights is unknown.
Calypso vs. Roundhouse Calypso also faced Roundhouse during the group.

Results

Exhibition Wins/Losses

• Wins: TBC
• Losses: TBC

Competition	Wins	Losses
BattleBots FaceOffs	TBC	TBC

Trivia

• Horizon was originally announced to be competing in BattleBots FaceOffs to mask their new build, before the team announced Calypso on August 26, 2024.
  • This was also reflected on the BattleBots website and in a Skorpios Builder Blog episode covering the event.
• According to Alon Belkin, Calypso costs around $6000 less per robot than Horizon.