Doomba

Doomba
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship VII (Alternate)
Other Names	Dooomba
Team Information
Team	Team Hot Mess
Team Members	Brice Farrell (Captain) Thuong "Lou" Nguyen Brian Glatfelter Liz Chavarria Rudy Andriani Christopher Chamberlain Philippe Voyer Sharon Chamberlain
From	Nottingham, MD
Associated Robots	Battle Royale With Cheese (Brice Farrell) Mammoth (Thuong Nguyen, Brice Farrell, Liz Chavarria) Sporkinok (Liz Chavarria) Pardon My French (Philippe Voyer)
Robot Statistics
Weight	250lbs
Drive	2x Surpass 70120 brushless motors
Weapons	Undercutting disk Flamethrower Lifting fork Axe Chainsaw
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Not to be confused with Doomba and Friends, which was not selected for the World Championship III.

Doomba is a heavyweight robot built by Team Hot Mess which competed as an alternate during BattleBots World Championship VII.

It is a two-wheel drive, dodecagon-shaped robot whose name is a portmanteau of the word 'doom' and the Roomba series of robotic vacuum cleaners, the latter of which inspired the shape of the robot. Doomba's frame is made from ¼" AR steel, protected by 1" of UMHW plastic to give it a white appearance. The idea for Doomba came from captain Brice Farrell's 12lb robot Hack and Decker.

Doomba during World Championship VII hero shots.

The robot features a 20lb undercutting blade, recycled from the 2021 version of SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE, and a flamethrower for weaponry. Doomba also has a top-mounted lifter which can house multiple weapons including a DEWALT chainsaw, a Pulaski axe and a large fork utensil.

"Building Doomba, it was all about having fun so that's why we chose a really cute bot design. We put big googly eyes on it because that's fun. We put a chainsaw on it because that's fun. We put a flamethrower on it... also fun. And then we put an undercutter on it so we can beat up bots because ripping a bot apart is the most fun!"

— Team captain Brice Farrell on Doomba's design ahead of its debut battle

The team posted their official application in March 2022, with the typography of the bot's name being inspired by the Doom video game series. Doomba was ultimately accepted as an alternate, where it was scheduled to fight Rusty. On short notice, however, this was changed to Double Tap and the team did not have time to fully prepare Doomba for the horizontal spinner of its opponent. After losing in destructive fashion, Doomba was offered a second fight against Ostrich Air's robot, but the team refused. They were later given an alternative match-up against Dragon King, which they also lost despite lasting the full three minutes.

Team captain Brice Farrell previously competed with Battle Royale With Cheese in World Championship III and as weapons operator of Mammoth from World Championship IV onward. Thuong "Lou" Nguyen has been part of Team Mammoth since 2018, and is listed as part of their team for World Championship VII also. Liz Chavarria fought in World Championship V as part of Team PRIDE with their bot Sporkinok and later in World Championship VII on Mammoth.

In a May 2023 Team Whyachi live stream, Brice Farrell and Philippe Voyer confirmed the team were working on a brand new Doomba with a fully custom, two-stroke chainsaw system with improved reliability. When asked about the possibility of competing in BattleBots Proving Ground, Brice Farrell entertained the idea, but stated the commute to Las Vegas from Baltimore was not viable for the team.

Doomba in the Test Box during World Championship VII.

Doomba ahead of BattleBots filming.

Robot History

World Championship VII
Doomba vs. Double Tap Doomba's BattleBots debut came in Episode 5 of World Championship VII, where it was originally supposed to face Rusty. However, due to mechanical issues, it instead fought Double Tap. "I may abort the box-rush if they get up to speed..." — Brice Farrell explains his backup plan Doomba takes on Double Tap. Doomba raised its chainsaw and powered its undercutter as Double Tap drove towards the corner and spun up its own weapon. Both rookie robots met head-on and Doomba came off worse. On impact, Doomba's drive motor leads were pulled out and its top lid protecting the electronics was loosened. Both googly eyes were also torn away, one of which fell down a killsaw slot. Doomba began to smoke and its lid came away as it could now only drive in circles. Double Tap lands a decisive hit on Doomba. "Doomba moving like it's left its parking brake on, Chris, and... Uh-oh, here's some smoke!" — Kenny Florian commentates as Doomba struggles to move Doomba is left with limited mobility. Doomba's electronics were now completely exposed, but Brice Farrell's robot was technically still mobile as per the new rules on mobility for World Championship VII. Knowing this, Double Tap went in for another strike and tore away some of its UMHW armor. Team Hot Mess signalled that their robot was now dead. "If you were ever curious how many wires it takes to put a robot together, start counting." — Chris Rose as Doomba is counted out A count began on Doomba as Double Tap mercifully backed off, signalling a debut loss for the chainsaw-wielding robot. Team Hot Mess later revealed that, had they been given ample time to prepare, they would have switched to the version that was equipped with AR500 armor designed to defend against spinners.
Doomba vs. Dragon King Doomba in the red square. For their second battle, Doomba was drawn against Will Prater and Dragon King. With more time for the team to prepare, the robot entered the match with a functional chainsaw. The two competitors engage in combat. Both robots raced out of their squares, with Doomba turning straight towards the Upper Deck screws. It spun round and clipped the screw mount with its undercutter, continuing to spin as Dragon King attempted to attack. Doomba landed a few grazing hits to Dragon King's lower jaw, though these caused the undercutter to temporarily stop rotating. Having attempted to outdrive Will Prater and Zach Lytle's machine, it was bumped and pushed from the side towards the red square. Dragon King pivoted round and grasped Doomba from the right-hand side. Sparks flew as Doomba took its first slice from Dragon King's right-hand saw, though both competitors quickly separated. Doomba gets its chainsaw into play. Doomba spun and reversed over the bottom-left killsaw slots, continuing to spin before charging forwards into the front of Dragon King. However, this proved risky as its ground clearance was breached by Dragon King's lower jaw, allowing the latter to grab it. At that moment, Doomba swung its own chainsaw down on Dragon King, briefly causing its right-hand saw to lock up. "...here comes Doomba, and OH, they've caught the chainsaw! Bags the Tomahawk Jam!" — Chris Rose as Doomba swipes down on Dragon King Doomba takes a slice from Dragon King. Following another separation, it swerved backwards towards the center, hesitated, then slammed front-first into the bottom-left corner. Doomba again hesitated, before charging out of the corner towards Dragon King, which had used this moment to demonstrate its articulated track and weapon modules. Both robots briefly clipped each other as a result, with Doomba proceeding to lure Dragon King across the BattleBox. Doomba turned sharply into Dragon King's jaws. With its undercutter no longer spinning, it was again grabbed and sliced by the black and gold machine, which used its left saw to cut away into Doomba's top panel. In response, Doomba pushed Dragon King sideways, breaking free once Dragon King lost its grip and briefly rode up its front end. "I can't do anything when he's on me like that." — Brice Farrell, as Dragon King builds an advantage over the more compact Doomba Doomba made a temporary excursion to the bottom-right killsaw slots, before ramming the side of Dragon King and weaving across the inner perimeter. It lowered its chainsaw just as Dragon King initiated another clamping attack, enabling the latter to again cut into the weapon. Doomba was pushed back in circles, and broke free while raising its chainsaw back up. However, while reversing, it got itself stuck on the killsaw slots opposite the control booth. Again, both robots broke free, with Doomba briefly getting itself stuck on the killsaw slots opposite the control booth. In this predicament, it took more damage from Dragon King's right-hand saw, and swung its chainsaw down again while being driven around into the bottom-right corner. Dragon King caught the bumper mid-push, leaving Doomba to roll backwards under the blue square pulverizer. Blow by blow, the pulverizer knocked off parts of Doomba’s chainsaw as the match entered half-distance. "That pulverizer... anti-chainsaw! It's an anti-chainsaw pulverizer!" — Chris Rose as Doomba's chainsaw takes a pounding Dragon King damages the chainsaw housing of Doomba. It became apparent during this moment that Doomba had become immobilized on the left-hand side, preventing it from escaping the pulverizer on its own. Dragon King pushed it clear from the hazard, before clamping and cutting into its bodywork once more. "Doomba now out from under the pulverizer, but Dragon King starts slicin' away like they're serving up some birthday cake... and I don't think this is what Brice Farrell wished for when he blew out the candles!" — Chris Rose, as a battered Doomba takes more cuts from Dragon King's saws As its opponent reversed, Doomba raised the damaged chainsaw, though this was not enough to prevent it being pushed back under the pulverizer by Dragon King. Taking a direct hit to the top panel, it turned to point its front end at Dragon King, only to be clamped and sliced once more. When Dragon King reversed, Doomba still struggled to gain forward or reverse movement, and was promptly bumped by the former while it pushed a broken chainsaw piece away. Doomba eventually managed to coast backwards on its right wheel into the bottom-right corner, where it continued to spin around in circles. Doomba takes out a weapon chain on Dragon King. When Dragon King closed in once more, Doomba flailed its chainsaw around, raising it far enough over itself to make contact with Dragon King's right-hand saw. Moments later, it was pinned against the bottom-right bumper, though its chainsaw became snagged in the arm and chain for Dragon King's right-hand saw. Doomba struggled to pull its weapon out, though its opponent's weapon had also began locking up in the exchange. Suddenly, Doomba snapped its chainsaw down, which was enough to break the chain off of Dragon King's saw arm. Chris Rose: "Oh, and there goes the belt of one of Dragon King's saws. Are we gonna see a late push from Doomba?" Kenny Florian: "Well, they've gotta get their chainsaw or the undercutter going again and do that, Chris!" Chris Rose: "[to Doomba] Come on, now! Give us some sparks!" — After Doomba prises one of Dragon King's weapon chains off Doomba is pinned in the corner. Though Doomba succeeded in incapacitating part of Dragon King's weaponry, it remained in the corner, and was again pinned as the match entered its closing moments. Shuffling and spinning around during the final ten seconds, it dodged another charge from Dragon King, only to be lightly nudged just as the end buzzer sounded. Despite lasting the full distance this time around, Doomba lost the judges' decision to Dragon King, marking its second loss in as many BattleBots matches.
Doomba vs. Overhaul (Exhibition) Doomba fought once more during the season, in an exhibition match against Overhaul. Filmed as part of Vengeance in Vegas II, this fight was unique as both robots - not just Doomba - were armed with chainsaw weaponry. Doomba also had two roomba minibots for this fight. Overhaul snaps the chain of Doomba's weapon. The fight began with Doomba slowly leaving its starting square as Overhaul was already crab-walking and suffering from drive issues on its right hand side. While Overhaul struggled to move, Doomba started attacking with its chainsaw, raising and lowering it as the chain on Overhaul's chainsaw snapped on impact with the floor. However, Overhaul raised its non-functional chainsaw and returned the favor, disabling Doomba's own weapon. Overhaul approaches Doomba with two damages tires. With both chainsaws out of action, Overhaul bumped into Doomba and knocked off its left googly eye. After Overhaul overturned one of the roomba minibots, Doomba began to spin its undercutter, chipping away at the tires of Overhaul. In this moment, it accidentally destroyed one of its own minibots before taking a chunk out of Overhaul's right rear tire. As it turned to face Doomba, the undercutter tore into Overhaul's right front tire, damaging both wheels on the side it was experiencing drive issues on. Overhaul flips Doomba, which promptly self-rights. Halfway through the match, Overhaul's drive issues had disappeared and it started to whack at Doomba with its dead chainsaw. Overhaul eventually managed to knock Doomba over but Brice Farrell's machine successfully knocked itself back on its wheels. After this, Overhaul got a pin on Doomba and managed to grab on to it and carry it for a few seconds before dropping it in the middle of the BattleBox. Doomba causes Overhaul to lose a second tire. Both robots remained aggressive despite Doomba suffering some attacks from the killsaws. With thirty seconds remaining, Overhauls front right tire fell off until its back right tire also fell off ten seconds later. In the final seconds, Overhaul managed to tip Doomba on to its side with half of its drive down. The exhibition went the distance and Doomba was declared the winner by split decision.

Results

Competitive Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 2

Exhibition Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 0

Total Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 2

Competition	Wins	Losses
World Championship VII	Overhaul (Exhibition Match)	Double Tap (Undercard Fight) Dragon King (Undercard Fight)

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"From Nottingham, Maryland, call this robot Bruce Campbell because his chainsaw is groovy. Hail to the King, baby. It's DOOMBA!"

Trivia

• Doomba was the first modern era BattleBots competitor to sport a chainsaw weapon.
• Team Hot Mess produced a Pikachu-shaped undercutting disk, but this could not be used due to concern over copyright infringement.
• In the lead-up to October 2022 filming for BattleBots, the Doomba team jokingly teased pepper spray as another alternative weapon.
• According to the team, Doomba cost $16,500 with $3,000 of in-kind sponsorships. This included money from DEWALT, who captain Brice Farrell worked for at the time.
• Doomba was the only semi-autonomous robot in World Championship VII.
• Doomba’s name is likely a play on the Goomba from the Super Mario Bros franchise.