Lifters are a type of weapon a robot uses to raise an opponent's means of locomotion, be it wheels, treads or legs, off the BattleBox floor in an attempt to gain control during a BattleBots fight.
Against robots which do not either have self-righting mechanisms or are not invertible, lifters are a viable means of winning by knockout. They can also be used to force robots into unfavorable positions such as against and on top of BattleBox hazards.
Lifters can be powered in a number of ways. One of these is to compress fluid to create pressure, and force movement from a ram connected to an arm, forks or panel. Another is to utilize an electric motor with significant gear reduction to maximize torque and lifting capability.
Types of Lifter[]
Lifting arms are some of the most common types of lifting weaponry seen in BattleBots. They typically consist of a long, narrow surface which can raise up and down. Other subcategories of lifter can also be described as lifting arms.
Main article: Lifting Arms
Lifting forks serve a similar purpose to an arm, but focus on raising and lowering long spikes to slide underneath opponents and catch them on their spiked tips. Examples of robots with lifting forks include Giant Nut winner Vlad the Impaler and British heavyweight champion Panic Attack.
Main article: Lifting Forks
Four-bar lifters are a type of lifting arm which utilize a four-bar linkage to move an arm up and forwards and tip opponents over. The most well-known example of this is the multi-time Giant Nut winner, BioHazard.
Main article: Four-Bar Lifters
Other unique takes on the lifting weapon have been implemented into BattleBots competitors over time.
For example, Breaker Box as both a middleweight and heavyweight used a 360 degree lifter which could rotate around the entire robot's chassis. DUCK!'s 2019 season redesign also adopted this idea. Mouser Mecha-Catbot was one of only a few robots to feature a sideways flipper, with its forks attached to the top panel which tipped opponents to its left side.
Cam lifters operate in a different way to traditional lifting mechanisms as they consist of two, spatula-like forks which rotate to intentionally high-center an opponent. Though they are unable to lift opponents high or overturn them as many other variations of the weapon can, Cam lifters have been used to great effect in BattleBots on Ace, JackPot's minibot which previously went under the name Needle while with Tracer. In this instance, the cam lifter is able to temporarily disable an opponent, giving the main robot an opportunity to land a critical hit. Outside BattleBots, the same concept has been applied to Jeff Waters' own Supreme Ruler, and the British heavyweight Domino.
Advantages & Disadvantages[]
Advantages[]
- They can end a fight quickly if the opponent is neither invertible nor can self-right.
- If they have wedges, then they can still dominate by just scooping the target if the lifter is disabled.
- If the lifter has spikes, then it can also function as a battering ram.
- They can provide self-righting if they have enough power and rotation to do so (as shown by Silverback).
- Alternatively, they can be included with invertible driving and still be as effective.
- Lifters can also function like Grabbers.
- They can be combined with other weapons, allowing weapon synergy.
Disadvantages[]
- Lifters are not very damaging to the opponents.
- Additionally, this can make self-righting harder if the lifter isn't strong and flexible enough (Complete Control showed having the latter problem when it flipped itself over while fighting Chiabot).
- If raised, a lifter's mechanics can be vulnerable to attack, as an opponent can use the opportunity to disable the lifter.
- They aren't the fasted moving weapon, which means a target could escape if they react fast enough.
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