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P1 was a heavyweight robot built by Aberrant Robotics which competed in three BattleBots seasons, having debuted in World Championship IV.

It is a flat, four-wheel drive robot armed with a front-hinged, electrically-powered lifting arm which can double up as a self-righting mechanism. Designed to look like a race car, it also had a spark shooter at the rear which was mostly for decoration. P1 also had a short-lived minibot called Burnout, armed with a flamethrower weapon.

P1's name derives from the shorthand term for place one, which is used in Motor Racing to denote the race leader or winner. This encompasses Aberrant Robotics' racecar theme, which is clear in the aesthetic design of the bot. The team took inspiration from former Robot Wars competitors such as Firestorm and Cassius in creating their front-hinge flipper design.

"It was inspired by British front hinge flippers (ours is an electric lifter, though, not pneumatic) and auto racing. It's meant to be fast and heavily armored, with lots of flashy extras."
— Aberrant Robotics explain their inspiration for P1[2]
P4

P1 during World Championship IV hero shots.

In its debut season, P1 was silver and orange in appearance, but failed to make an impact on the competition. It lost consecutive Fight Night battles against SubZero and Sidewinder before failing to win a three-way exhibition rumble and ultimately finishing 0-3 overall. The team later elaborated on the issues suffered throughout the 2019 competition, which included their independently-powered wheels struggling to find grip and make contact on the uneven BattleBox floor and radio interference in their debut battle.

P! WCV hero shot

P1 during World Championship V hero shots.

For World Championship V, P1 underwent a number of changes to improve its reliability ahead of their second BattleBots season. According to the team on Reddit, new wheels and a more reliable drive setup led to a more compact machine, and 50% more drive power in total.[3] P1 was also orange and blue in color, paying homage to Gulf Racing's success in Le Mans championships. The team had multiple offensive and defensive wedge configurations depending on their opponents. P1 was without Burnout for the 2020 season, but earned its first BattleBots wins against Chronos and SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Though despite its much improved season, P1 was snubbed by the Selection Committee and missed out on the Top 32.

Also competing in BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, P1 advanced to the semi-finals of the Icewave episode before losing to eventual Bounty slayer Skorpios.

P1 WCVI hero shot

P1 during World Championship VI hero shots.

P1 returned for World Championship VI, with upgrades focused on the strength of its front wedge and overall reliability. Brandon Zalinsky was also cited to be part of multibot Caulk, with the third part of it being an upscaled version of his spinner thwackbot, Starchild, but they would ultimately not compete. P1 began strong in the 2021 season, finding itself 2-0 after wins over Valkyrie and Jäger, but was pegged back in its third Fight Night battle by 2020 season quarter-finalist Ribbot. P1 impressed in the bracket as it upset a significantly upgraded HyperShock before matching SawBlaze in the Top 16. Despite going the distance, P1 fell at this stage in a much-improved season for the team.

Aberrant Robotics announced in April 2022 that despite their relatively deep tournament run, they would turn their attention to a new build for future seasons.[4] This became two new builds, as members of the team joined forces with members of both Uppercut and Valkyrie to form Omega Team, which have entered heavyweight versions of RIPperoni and Starchild into World Championship VII. Despite these new builds, P1 would attend as a prop.

"P1 as a robot will be put on hiatus for the time being while we embark on a multi-year project to develop a crazy, innovative new weapon for it. We don't just want to put a vertical spinner on it."
— Aberrant Robotics explain their decision to retire P1

Robot History[]

World Championship IV[]

P1 vs. Sidewinder

P1 Sidewinder

P1 and Sidewinder do battle.

P1's first ever BattleBots match came against newcomer Sidewinder. P1 was doing okay to start as they were able to withstand the first impact with Sidewinder and then managed to get under them and lift them up. However, P1 then started to have sparks shaved off and lost the right prong on their flipper, but was otherwise unscathed. P1 then took a big hit that ripped off a full tire, tore the rubber off another, and immediately got one of the forks on its wedge stuck on a peeled section of the floor carved up by Sidewinder's bar. Even with the assistance of Sidewinder, P1 was unable to free itself and it was counted out, giving Sidewinder the win by KO.

P1 vs. SubZero

P1 SubZero

P1 attempts to right itself.

P1's next match was against the veteran SubZero. Before the match began, P1 was at a disadvantage as the wedge that was attached to the machine did not stay flush to the damaged floor, and the forked wedge was damaged from Sidewinder. The match was off to a poor start for P1 as it was driving with some problems and its rear spoiler fell off before SubZero flipped it twice. SubZero then flipped P1 upside down towards the wall and then flipped both P1 and its minibot at the same time. P1 finally self-righted and after another flip, P1 was having drive issues since it lost its back left tire and was trapped near the screws by SubZero. P1 was able to drive upside down as it self-righted again, but it was directly in front of SubZero and it was thrown dangerously close to the wall, but it got lucky and bounced back down. After that flip, P1 started having more drive problems as SubZero waited, got into position, and flipped it out of the arena, leading to an instant KO as SubZero threw Burnout out of the arena as well.

P1 vs. Extinguisher vs. The Four Horsemen (Exhibition)

P1 vs The Four Horsemen vs Extinguisher

P1 gets underneath part of the multibot while Extinguisher is atop the screws.

P1 Extinguisher Four Horsemen 3

P1 continues to attack during the rumble.

P1 then had an exhibition rumble with newcomer Extinguisher and veteran The Four Horsemen. P1 started off the rumble rather poorly as they immediately lost their sacrificial spoiler but were able to lift Extinguisher into the air and eventually onto the screws, pinning it. After a bit of maneuvering, P1 worked with Daisy to put Extinguisher into the screws, causing some damage to Extinguisher's underside that allowed Burnout to ignite a battery inside Extinguisher with its flamethrower. With Extinguisher out of commission and on fire, P1 made an attack on The Four Horsemen, but other than a few shoves, couldn't do much to any of the bots due to drive issues and the lack of a primary weapon. The rumble came to an end as Extinguisher's flames caused safety concerns and The Four Horsemen were given the win on a judges' decision.

World Championship V[]

P1 vs. Chronos

P1's first match of the 2020 season was a Fight Night duel against Chronos. The full battle was only initially released as part of the Basement Tapes, later being included in Episode 4 of the ITV4 UK version with full interviews and commentary.
"He's a big horizontal ring spinner, and we have a wedge. There's really no mystery to it. We put on all our additional armor on the front... we will press forward as soon as the match starts... we'll hit him into the back wall. Hopefully get him up onto the screws, up into the back wall, something like that."
— Brandon Zalinsky outlines P1's tactics against Chronos (ITV4 UK version)
P1vChronos

P1 leaves Chronos stranded against the barrier.

The fight started with Chronos spinning up and P1 losing its spoiler. Chronos sunk its shell into P1's wedge, but had stopped spinning, allowing P1 to attempt a flip. Chronos had space and time to spin up once again, but was no longer spinning to the same speed. P1 appeared to be struggling with drive however managed to slide underneath Chronos and throw it against the side wall, beaching its opponent in the process. Chronos was counted out, and P1 earned its first-ever Battlebots victory. In the ITV4 version, a highly emotional Brandon Zalinsky dedicated P1's victory to Aberrant Robotics and their sponsors, while explaining the turmoil and changes his team had faced in the off-season.

"This last year, we lost so much fund... The last team member from Clemson graduated, we lost most of our funding, we lost our build space, we lost our machines, we lost so much. And I'm so proud of this team that has completely rebuilt, got a new build space, new funding, SolidWorks, SendCutSend, Big Blue Saw, all these amazing companies helped us make this happen. This is just number one. We gotta keep... we gotta keep working."
— Brandon Zalinsky's post-match interview (ITV4 UK version)

P1 vs. Copperhead

Copperhead kicks P1 up into the air

P1 is immediately attacked by Copperhead.

P1's next match was against Copperhead. Unfortunately for P1, the first hit they took from Copperhead kicked them into the air and the impact temporarily shut off their speed controller. Once it rebooted, P1 was moving and it attacked Copperhead's drum again. This time, the impact was so severe that the front wedge was forced into P1's body, where it managed to damage the battery and jam half the drive system completely. P1 was counted out, giving Copperhead the win by KO.

P1 vs. SMEEEEEEEEEEE

P1 lifts SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE

P1 balances SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE on its flipper.

P1 flips SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE onto the screws

SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE is sent onto the screws courtesy of P1.

Now 1-1 overall, P1 was in need of another win and found itself against Joe Fabiani and SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE. P1 struggled in the opening moments of the fight, as they were unable to do much to their awkwardly-shaped opponent. Eventually, P1 got under it and took SMEEEEEEEEEE to the screws, where SMEEEEEEEEEEEE became high-centered. P1 freed them and continued to attack, even when they began having drive issues. After several seconds where SMEEEEEEEEEEEE was spinning in place while P1 looked for an opening, P1 managed to remove SMEEEEEEEEEEEE's right disk before taking it back to the screws and flipping it over. With around 20 seconds left and with no way for SMEEEEEEEEEEE to escape, SMEEEEEEEEEEE was counted out, giving P1 the win by KO.


Despite their 2-1 record, P1 was snubbed of a place in the Top 32.

BattleBots: Bounty Hunters[]

P1 vs. Tracer

Tracer grinds P1

P1 is attacked by Tracer's vertical spinner.

Tracer rips off P1's right front wheel

Tracer tears a wheel from P1.

P1 slams Tracer into the screws

P1 slams Tracer into the BattleBox screws.

P1 returned for BattleBots Bounty Hunters, where it had to earn the right to fight Icewave for a shot at part of the $25,000 prize. But first, it had to overcome newcomer Tracer. Things started off very well for P1 as they got under Tracer and took them to just beside the screws, where Tracer became hung-up on the screw casing. P1 opted to free them and lost its right front wheel but continued to control the fight. P1 kept going head-to-head with Tracer's weapon but mostly only had sparks come off each time. P1 then brought Tracer to the screws where Tracer was nearly flipped but stayed upright. Both robots then nearly avoided the pulverizer before P1 took Tracer back to the killsaws but was having trouble moving properly as only the left front wheel seemed to be working. Time ran out and the judges awarded a 2-1 split decision for P1.

P1 vs. Skorpios

P1 skorpios

Skorpios lays into P1 as a wheel comes away.

P1 was next up against Skorpios. The bot had issues from the opening bell as their wedgelets got caught underneath the chassis, giving their opponent a prime chance to strike. P1 found itself being shoved all around the arena but not really taking any major damage apart from losing the same wheel it lost against Tracer. This still left P1 at a major disadvantage as they were unable to properly get under Skorpios until the final seconds, when Skorpios drove itself up P1's front and was upended, unable to self-right, But despite the team's premature celebrations, time ran out before Skorpios could be counted out. The fight went to the judges, who awarded a 3-0 decision in favor of Skorpios, thus eliminating P1 from the bracket.

World Championship VI[]

P1 vs. Valkyrie

P1 Valkyrie s6

P1 tanks the hits from Valkyrie.

P1 valkyrie s6 2

Valkyrie tears a wheel from P1.

P1 Valkyrie damage

Post-fight damage to the leading edge of P1.

P1 Valkyrie damage 2

P1 after its win over Valkyrie.

P1 returned for World Championship VI, looking to seek redemption for their previous campaign. Their first fight came against Leanne Cushing and Valkyrie, who were fitted with their newest disk, Dr. Acula. The fight began with P1 charging immediately at Valkyrie, looking to tank early hits from their undercutter and break the weapon. Though P1 lost a rear wheel early on as Valkyrie rode over the top of it, P1 used its low profile and front wedge to unbalance Valkyrie. Suddenly, its weapon motor overheated and a small fire erupted from the front of the bot. P1 remained aggressive, sliding underneath its opponent and using its front-hinged lifter to throw Valkyrie forwards. Valkyrie's drive had also been affected by these exchanges, though P1 was also struggling on just three wheels. Later in the fight, Valkyrie attempted to right itself with their own team's pulverizer but was unsuccessful in doing so. Referee John Remar threatened a count on Valkyrie, but both bots survived to the end as the fight went the distance. The judges awarded a unanimous 3-0 decision in favor of P1.

P1 vs. Jäger

Jäger P1

Jäger fighting P1.

Jager p1 1

Arm Muscle lands a shot to the top of P1.

P1 jager 3

P1 attacks the Jäger minibot as Arm Muscle lies immobile and Toe Kicker tries to escape the Upper Deck.

P1 jager 4

The remaining half of Jäger is flipped back onto the Upper Deck by P1.

P1 s second fight was against German newcomer Jäger. The fight began with P1 ramming into the small, unnamed minibot that Jäger had decided to run in the fight alongside its two main bots, Toe Kicker and Arm Muscle. But it immediately got underneath P1 and high centered its opponent. Jäger was quick to capitalize with Arm Muscle getting a hammer saw hit onto the back of P1, but it was propped up a little bit too high for Toe Kicker to get a good hit, and its blade just slid underneath P1 and took out the right two wheels on the mini bot instead. P1 then pondered which part of Jäger to go after, and after bumping into each one, promptly flipped over Arm Muscle. The hammer saw finds itself unable to self-right after this exchange, and the fight becomes a 1v1 between P1 and Toe Kicker. The undercutter finds itself driven into the screws by P1 and shortly after, the Upper Deck, where it was stranded on top. While immobile on top of the Upper Deck, P1 decides to play with the broken minibot, driving it into the screws. The countdown began but with two seconds remaining, Toe Kicker escapes the hazard and flees to avenge Arm Muscle. P1 opted to use its significant weight advantage to push Toe Kicker around, eventually propping it back on the wall of the Upper Deck. This time, Jäger was unable to escape and P1 took the win by knockout.

P1 vs. Ribbot

P1 Ribbot 2021 s6

Ribbot's vertical spinner hits the front of P1.

Last up for P1 in the Fight Night rounds was Ribbot, with both looking to finish with an undefeated 3-0 record and earn a guaranteed spot in the Round of 32. As the buildup to the fight began, both robots positioned themselves side-by-side as if to ready themselves for a drag race before returning to their squares. P1 spent the opening moments circling its opponent as Ribbot attempted to get its vertical spinner into play. Ribbot became caught on the BattleBox floor momentarily, but continued its pursuit of P1. It then grazed its disk across the right front of P1 as sparks began to fly, with Ribbot shoving it backwards into the screws of the Upper Deck. However, P1 pushed back and was able to lift Ribbot's front wheels off the ground, using its superior drive power under the circumstances to drive Ribbot under the pulverizer. After several hits to Ribbot's top armor, P1 drove back before Ribbot breached the front and buckled part of its wedge upwards and out of shape. P1 was then punted across the BattleBox and found itself overturned. Although it was able to self-right, it did so onto the edge of the Upper Deck, leaving itself vulnerable to another assault from the WPI students' bot. Ribbot attacked again and threw P1 onto the Upper Deck, where it was only able to drive in circles. Unable to escape, P1 was counted out and finished Fight Night with a 2-1 record.

P1 vs. HyperShock

P1 HyperShock 1 2021 s6

A rare driving error by Will Bales.

Hypershockp1 2

P1 is pinned by HyperShock in the closing seconds.

P1 made it into the Top 32 for the first time. Seeded No.20, it found itself drawn against No.13 seed HyperShock. Both robots sought to escape their squares and they met for the first time in front of the teams. HyperShock got under P1 momentarily, but its primary weapon was not spinning up to full speed. After a brief tussle in the corner, HyperShock drove over P1 and was finally able to spin up. P1 turned to face HyperShock but in doing so, was flung into the air, landing upside down. Brandon Zalinsky's bot righted itself, but while its lifter was still slightly up, HyperShock saw an opportunity to attack and drove over the top of its opponent again, this time landing upside down itself. P1's confidence grew as HyperShock was less effective when inverted, but it could still drive on its two rear wheels and cause issues for its opponent. HyperShock was kept in the short corner as P1 hoisted its opponent atop the Upper Deck, but Will Bales' bot clambered off before using its opponent as a ramp and climbing over the BattleBox hazard a second time. Still inverted, HyperShock continued to drive around in the hope of bouncing right side up. Meanwhile, P1 was reluctant to right its opponent as HyperShock again mounted the Upper Deck, but could not get back onto all fours. HyperShock drove over the top of P1 several more times, but was not causing damage. With over half the fight gone, HyperShock finally self-righted and spun its weapon again to make up for lost time. The forks slid underneath P1's wedge and again threw the front-hinged lifter across the BattleBox. P1 righted itself, but now HyperShock's weapon was not spinning at all. P1 was pushed into the killsaws in the closing moments and pinned it against the wall as time ran out. The judges, however, unanimously ruled in favor of P1 and Brandon Zalinsky's team advanced to the Round of 16.

P1 vs. SawBlaze

Sawblaze p1 1 Top 16

SawBlaze threatens to attack the top of P1.

Sawblaze p1 backhand

SawBlaze lands a backhand attack on P1.

Sawblaze p1 2

SawBlaze presses P1 against the housing for the screws.

After its upset win, P1 advanced to face the No.4 seed, Jamison Go and SawBlaze. As both robots fleed their starting squares, it was SawBlaze who won the immediate battle for low ground, getting its forks in underneath P1 and landing a strike to their left-side top panel. SawBlaze pressed P1 against the pulverizer and attacked again with its hammer saw, before freeing its opponent. P1 attempted to escape but was scooped up by SawBlaze again, alternating between using its flamethrower and its primary weapon. Although it did not appear to have taken much visible damage, P1 was experiencing drive issues and there was a loose chain on the BattleBox floor. P1 danced around the front of the Upper Deck momentarily before SawBlaze got underneath again and drove it into the screws. P1 fired its weapon as it drove away and as SawBlaze was snagged by the floor, P1 inadvertently took another shot to its front plow from their saw. SawBlaze recovered and continued to win the ground game, breaching the front of P1 at every available opportunity. Later in the fight, P1 found itself stuck in the short corner as SawBlaze continued its assault on Brandon Zalinsky's machine. Despite the one-sided affair, P1 was still mobile at the end of the fight. However, the judges ruled unanimously in favor of SawBlaze, meaning P1 was eliminated from the tournament.

P1 vs. Lucky (Exhibition)

P1 Lucky 2021 Exhibition

Lucky drives over the top of P1.

P1 Lucky 2021 Exhibition KO

P1 is immobilized on the Upper Deck.

P1 returned for the exhibition fights at the end of the season, named Vengeance in Vegas. In its final battle before retirement, P1 met Lucky. Notably for this fight, Lucky's controls were handed back to Mark Demers. The robot itself featured a long, hinged wedgelet at the front which protruded beyond its wedges either side of the primary weapon. As the fight began, both robots began by circling one another before P1 collided with the front of Lucky. P1 briefly got underneath the wedge of Lucky, but it was the Canadian robot which took the early advantage, getting to the side of P1 and shoving it against the wall. As Lucky gave chase, P1 evaded several charges in the center of the arena. Lucky tried to ram P1 into the Upper Deck, but ultimately drove itself into the hazard's screws instead. It reversed to the blue square and attempted to charge again, but its single front wedgelet became caught on a seam in the floor and interrupted its attack. P1 chased Lucky, who was driving backwards to correct its positioning, desperate not to give Brandon Zalinsky's bot an opening to attack. One of P1's small forks then got stuck in the killsaw slot, allowing Lucky to get to its side, though any attempt from the Canadian bot to take advantage resulted in P1 being freed. At this stage, neither robot had used their primary weapon in what had become a tactical driving battle. Lucky got its wedgelet under P1 again, this time shoving it into the red square. Upon reversing out of trouble, Lucky drove over the top of P1, who activated its front-hinged lifter. However, this was mistimed and Lucky escaped. Both robots again returned to the center of the BattleBox and Lucky evaded a few attempted attacks once more. Lucky reversed over the top of P1 again and as Lucky forced P1 back, its wedgelet slid underneath the front of P1 and pushed it into the screws. With P1 sat directly on top of Lucky, the Canadian representative fired its flipper for the first time in the battle, throwing P1 onto the Upper Deck. However, it landed on the central housing for the screws and upon landing, P1 could not gain enough purchase as it was partially high-centered. Having only used its primary weapon once in almost three minutes, Lucky took the win by knockout.

Results[]

P1
World Championship IV
Fight Nights
0-2
Fight Night #1 (Untelevised) vs. Sidewinder Lost (KO)
Fight Night #2 vs. SubZero Lost (KO)
Exhibition Matches
0-1
Exhibition Match (Untelevised) vs. The Four Horsemen, Extinguisher Lost (KO)
World Championship V
Fight Nights
2-1
Fight Night #1 (Untelevised) vs. Chronos Won (KO)
Fight Night #2 vs. Copperhead Lost (KO)
Fight Night #3 vs. SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE Won (KO)
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters
Bounty Hunters - Icewave Bounty
Semi-Finals
Quarter-Final vs. Tracer Won (Split JD)
Semi-Final vs. Skorpios Lost (JD)
World Championship VI
Fight Nights
2-1
Fight Night #1 vs. Valkyrie Won (JD)
Fight Night #2 vs. Jäger Won (KO)
Fight Night #3 vs. Ribbot Lost (KO)
World Championship Tournament
#20 Seed, Round of 16
Round of 32 vs. HyperShock (13) Won (JD)
Round of 16 vs. SawBlaze (4) Lost (JD)
Exhibition Matches
0-1
Exhibition Match vs. Lucky Lost (KO)

Competitive Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 5
  • Losses: 7

Exhibition Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 1
  • Losses: 1

Total Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 6
  • Losses: 8
Competition Wins Losses
World Championship IV None Sidewinder (Untelevised Undercard Match)
SubZero
(Undercard Match)
The Four Horsemen (Exhibition Rumble)
World Championship V Chronos (Untelevised Undercard Match)
SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE
(Undercard Match)
Copperhead
(Undercard Match)
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters Tracer Skorpios
World Championship VI Valkyrie
(Undercard Match)
Jäger
(Undercard Match)
HyperShock
Ribbot
(Undercard Match)
SawBlaze
Lucky (Exhibition Match)

Faruq Tauheed Introductions[]

"It's the sabotage from the parking garage and it will valet you to waste. You won't get validated, but you might get decimated. Let's go all the way down to P1!"

"Nothing could be finer than a bot from Carolina. It will fool you with its southern charm and flip you until you bought the farm. It's a one way ticket to Narlston. It's P1!"

"When you hear its name, it means you've lost this war game. There's no way you can win the championship when you say, 'Dang, you sank my battleship.' Here to wreck the fun, it's P1!"

"From Hudson, New Hampshire, he'll drape a checkered flag over your closed casket, it's P1!"

"From Hudson, New Hampshire, racing its way to the 'Box, it's P1!"

"Racing has the Daytona 500 and one in Indianapolis, too. 500 laps and you better not crash or else, you're probably screwed. But enter a race with this bot and I have to question your wisdom because when we say the P1 500, we're not counting laps. We're counting victims. It's P1!"

"This killer bot driver will rip out your Earn-heart, leave you screamin' and broken like a robot Sandra Bernhard. He's got a petty death wish for you like racecar Charles Bronson so don't ever cut off this robot or he'll cut off your Jimmie Johnson. It's P1!"

"From Hudson, New Hampshire, at least one better than P2. It's P1!"

"From Hudson, New Hampshire, racing his way to Bounty immortality, it's P1!"

"From Hudson, New Hampshire, raise the checkered flag for P1!"

Trivia[]

P1 RIPperoni cameo BB Champs II

P1's cameo during BattleBots: Champions II.

  • P1 is the only front-hinged flipper to compete since BattleBots returned in 2015.
  • According to P1's Facebook Supporter reveal, P1 was entered under Clemson Combat Robotics, likely an early name for Aberrant Robotics.[5]
  • P1 made a surprise cameo during BattleBots: Champions II when RIPperoni was introduced sat atop it ahead of their bracket final against HyperShock.

References[]

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