Peter Lambertson

Peter Lambertson
Personal Information
Years Active	1999-2002 2015-Present
BattleBots Information
Role	BattleBox Designer Hazard Operator (Comedy Central) WOPR Operator (World Championship II-Present) Senior Producer (World Championship I-Present)
Seasons	Long Beach 1999-Present

Peter Lambertson, often shortened to Pete, is an American technician who is best known for his involvement as a crew member during the classic and reboot eras of BattleBots.

His main roles in competitions have included designing and constructing the BattleBox, the main combat arena which has been everpresent during the show's history, as well as operating its hazards from a control room directly opposite the BattleBox itself. It was the latter through which Lambertson received official nicknames, such as "Evil Genius" and "Box Master", during his televised appearances in the Comedy Central run.

Lambertson was involved in the show since its early beginnings, devising the initial Long Beach 1999 incarnation of the BattleBox (fully named the BattleBox Arena) for which he was credited in the highlights video BattleBots Beginnings. His next major appearance was in the introduction of the 1999 Las Vegas event, where he concisely explained the arena's features including the Lexan enclosure, steel floor and hazards already implemented at the time (killsaws, floor and wall spikes). At various moments, Lambertson demonstrated the robustness of the walls and floor by hitting them multiple times with a sledgehammer.

Pete Lambertson and La Machine.

Throughout most of the Comedy Central seasons, Lambertson was credited as "BattleBox Design/Construction Manager" whilst making more prominent appearances as the arena's weapons operator. In these, he often expressed clear enthusiasm and energy in his role before and during battles. Lambertson was featured in the Season 3.0 behind-the-scenes segment 'Inside the Box', where he briefly detailed the updated hazards for that season including the newly-introduced pistons and screws. He also emphasized that he took more enjoyment in making robots 'fly' than severely damaging them, though this assertion was immediately challenged by then-BattleBots co-host Tim Green.

Peter Lambertson during Season 3.0.

In Season 3.0, Lambertson appeared prominently during the Lightweight battle between The Wacky Compass and Wedge of Doom. This stemmed from a message - "Pete, please be kind!" - written on the side of The Wacky Compass, requesting him not to inflict too much damage to it via the hazards. In response, Lambertson replied "I don't do kind." before giving a double thumbs-down to the camera. Ultimately, The Wacky Compass would sustain major damage to its framework and exposed internals upon being pushed under a pulverizer by Wedge of Doom, to a triumphant gesture from Lambertson upon the fight's conclusion.

Sometime in 2002, Lambertson became BattleBots' vice-president of operations, later being promoted to senior vice-president by the time of the televised show's revival in 2015.

Pete Lambertson operating the WOPR during World Championship II (2016)

Lambertson reprised his onscreen and behind-the-scenes roles for the ABC and Discovery seasons, once again being recognized as one of the leaders of the dedicated BattleBots Arena Crew. As weapons operator, he now oversaw the computer-controlled WOPR system, which automatically activates the majority of hazards at pre-programmed intervals. During World Championship I, Lambertson was also credited as a Senior Producer alongside Matt Neubauer, and more specifically in World Championship II as Senior VP of Event Production.

Though no longer able to manually activate hazards in main competition fights, Lambertson and his team were still entrusted with adjusting the WOPR code for the 2016 and 2018 seasons, mainly to increase the unpredictability and frequency in which certain hazards (e.g. the killsaws) were activated. Among the improvements devised was a 'reverse system' for the screws, reducing the likelihood of them getting jammed by trapped robots and in turn damaging their own motors. His son Shawn Lambertson now also works within BattleBots, holding the title Operations Manager and credited as one of the show's 'CrewBots' since the first ABC season.