Escape Velocity

Escape Velocity
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship II
Team Information
Team	Team Ground Control
Team Members	Raymond Barsa (Captain) Michael Ricci Ethan Minogue Gerald Hudak Brian Hrywnak Anthony Salvo Michael Mackin Will Rees Nick Lampert Peter Fromm
From	Manhattan Beach, CA
Associated Robots	E2V2 (Raymond Barsa)
Robot Statistics
Weight	250lbs (175lb and 75lb)
Drive	Ampflow motors
Weapons	Flipping arm Shell spinner (Minibot)
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Escape Velocity was a heavyweight robot built by Team Ground Control which competed in BattleBots World Championship II.

It was equipped with a flipping arm with a unusual linkage setup, allowing it to get under robots and lift them over in a scooping motion. The main robot weighed around 175lbs, and was accompanied by a 75lb shell spinner robot designed to resemble the Apollo Boilerplate 12 space capsule which launched in as part of the successful 1964 space mission. According to the team, the spinner packed around 25kJ of energy. As the smaller robot weighed more than 30lbs and therefore did not classify as a minibot, this technically makes Escape Velocity a multibot by definition.

Escape Velocity during World Championship II hero shots.

Escape Velocity was built by a group of SpaceX employees and was designed to look like the equipment used in the lunar landings. The main robot was armored mostly in 0.25" titanium and AR500 steel, and could sport an optional layer of aerospace-grade aluminum honeycomb armor around its front, sides and rear. Though the material itself was light in weight, the latter layer offered extra shock absorption against powerful spinners. Weight constraints meant that Team Ground Control had to forgo the smaller shell spinner whenever they chose to equip the main robot with this modification. Escape Velocity defeated OverDrive in the first round by a unanimous judges' decision, but lost to eventual champion Tombstone in the Round of 32.

Despite showing interest in wanting to build a more durable robot for World Championship III, neither Escape Velocity nor any of its team members would return for future seasons of BattleBots. Both robots were scrapped several years after the competition.

Team captain Raysa previously competed during BattleBots IQ with Team Titanium Knights and E2V2.

Both parts of Escape Velocity on display.

Both parts of Escape Velocity on display.

Escape Velocity's shell spinner.

Inside Escape Velocity's shell spinner.

Escape Velocity firing its flipper in the Test Box.

Robot History

World Championship II
Escape Velocity vs. OverDrive Escape Velocity's BattleBots debut came former Giant Nut winner Christian Carlberg and his rebuilt OverDrive. The first hit between OverDrive's spinning bar and Escape Velocity. As the main robot collided with OverDrive in the middle of the arena, Escape Velocity's shell spinner got up to speed but crashed into the wall and flipped over. OverDrive's primary weapon appeared to have been disabled from this first impact and was a non-factor for the remainder of the battle. Escape Velocity then maneuvered to the back of OverDrive and flipped it twice - once to overturn the returning competitor and again to right it. OverDrive fled Escape Velocity, whose shell spinner was immobile over the killsaws. After a mistimed attempt to flip its partner over, Escape Velocity turned its attention back to OverDrive, toppling it again. This time, OverDrive was able to use its large wheels and drive power to swing itself upright. An inverted OverDrive sat next to its aerial. Remaining the aggressor, Escape Velocity slid the spatula-like end of its arm under OverDrive's right wheel but lacked the leverage to overturn it. Christian Carlberg backed up as Escape Velocity again tried unsuccessfully to bring its shell spinner back into the fight. OverDrive, which was now inverted, had yet to mount a meaningful attack as the fight past the halfway point. One of its aerials lay on the BattleBox floor and OverDrive's mobility appeared affected. Escape Velocity immobilizes OverDrive in the closing moments. OverDrive finally managed to right itself, but needed a strong final minute to appease the judges. Carlberg's robot charged at Escape Velocity, but failed to cause damage as its spinning bar was still out of commission. Shortly after, OverDrive threw itself upside-down once more. Escape Velocity capitalized, flipping OverDrive onto its front and immobilizing it in the final moments. Despite this, there was not enough time for a count-out, so the fight went to the judges. Escape Velocity got the nod from all three judges and took the win, advancing into the Round of 32.
Escape Velocity vs. Tombstone Escape Velocity advanced to the Round of 32 as the No.32 seed, where it faced the 2015 season runner-up and No.1 seed Tombstone. For this fight, Team Ground Control elected not to use their minibot in order to dedicate more weight to adding additional armor to the main robot. Tombstone attacks Escape Velocity. This proved ineffective, however, as Tombstone was quickly able to carve into the front of Escape Velocity. A second hit caused additional damage and was quickly followed by a third, which ripped an entire panel away and threw it across the arena. "Ohh, it just shredded the front of Escape Velocity! Honeycomb flying around the BattleBox!" — Chris Rose Escape Velocity is attacked by Tombstone. This impact destroyed the master power switch and the weapon switch, also cutting a noticeable gash in the 0.25" titanium armor. Tombstone landed a fourth and final attack on the helpless Escape Velocity, carving its side armor as it became clear the No.32 seed was no longer mobile. Tombstone flung shrapnel across the arena in celebration and after just 45 seconds, won by knockout. Escape Velocity was therefore eliminated from the tournament. "We initially tried to circle him to take a glancing blow and slow the weapon. If the weapon slowed, we'd attempt a flip. If the weapon did not slow, we wanted to hit him on the inbound side of his weapon, in order to jam the weapon and try to break it." — Team Ground Control's plan versus Tombstone, according to a July 2016 Reddit AMA Following this fight, the Escape Velocity team signed an armor panel and gifted it to Ray Billings.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

Competition	Wins	Losses
World Championship II	OverDrive	Tombstone

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"Bang! Zoom! Right to the moon! Get ready for an intergalactic atrocity! It's ESCAPE VELOCITY!"

"NASA may be headed to Mars, but this bot's headed straight for Uranus! It's ESCAPE VELOCITY!"

Trivia

• The night before filming, Escape Velocity weighed 255lbs in total, 5lbs over the weight limit. Team Ground Force therefore had to shave weight to qualify to compete in World Championship II.
• Escape Velocity would not be the only space-themed flipper to apply for BattleBots, with Orion being accepted for World Championship V. However, Orion was unable to compete due to COVID-19 travel bans affecting all international teams for this season.