Seems Reasonable Robotics are a team currently competing in BattleBots who debuted in World Championship III. The team are best known for their championship-winning heavyweight entry Tantrum, and also debuted Blip in World Championship VI.
The team were founded by Aren Hill and Sean Doherty in 2017, and they debuted the first iteration of Tantrum a year later. However, the team suffered a modest first season, winning only once. This inspired a redesign ahead of the 2019 competition. With their newfound experience, the team took Tantrum all the way to the final four in World Championship V before falling to eventual champions End Game. Seems Reasonable Robotics boasted one of the largest overall teams in BattleBots, though many members have joined since the team expanded to support two heavyweight robots for the 2021 season and beyond, as they split in half to operate and maintain both Blip and Tantrum. Although Blip fell in the last eight to Jake Ewert and Hydra, Tantrum avenged Aren Hill's bot in the semi-finals before knocking out fan favorites Witch Doctor to earn a first Giant Nut for the team.
Blip returned for the June 2022 re:MARS all:STARS event held in Las Vegas. Although it defeated Whiplash in its opening battle, Blip fell to eventual champions HyperShock in the semi-finals.
Returning as the most recent Giant Nut winner, Tantrum was joined by former champions Tombstone and End Game as well as five bracket winners in BattleBots: Champions I. In the hunt for the Golden Bolt, Tantrum defeated the 2016 season champion Tombstone before failing to avenge its 2020 season loss to End Game in the semi-finals.
Seems Reasonable Robotics again returned for World Championship VII with both Tantrum and Blip. However, both robots struggled to find wins during their respective Fight Night campaigns. The two robots also met for their third battle, marking the first time in the modern era that two robots from the same team faced off. Although Tantrum finished 1-3 and Blip finished 2-2, both robots broke into the Top 32. However, they also fell at this stage, with Tantrum losing out to End Game and Blip falling to SawBlaze.
The team applied for World Championship VIII with their newest entry, The Twins. Its currently unknown what this means for Tantrum and Blip.
Outside BattleBots[]
After modest finishes in their first two BattleBots seasons, Seems Reasonable Robotics traveled to China to compete in King of Bots II with Boxing Champion. Largely resembling more recent builds of Tantrum, Boxing Champion followed the punching drum redesign and sported a boxing theme. In a themed event named Attrition War, Boxing Champion scored wins over Earth Shovel, Storm Cut and Dragon King, before losing to Vulcan and Spectre. After this second loss, Boxing Champion was cut from the team of Chinese celebrity Di Yang, and would not compete again in King of Bots. Aren Hill's team won the Technical Innovation Award during the event,[1] and its success in China accelerated their success in BattleBots.
The team also compete in events with a variety of smaller robots. Team members Aren Hill, Ginger Schmidt, Alex Grant, David Mintz and William Stanley all fight with their own 3lb beetleweight robots (see below).
Team Members[]
Aren Hill[]
A mechanical engineer from California, Aren Hill originally applied for the 2016 season on ABC with a spring flipper multibot called Insult and Injury. Despite being accepted, they were later turned down due to team members working for Innovation First International at the time.
He later became the captain and driver of Tantrum for its first three seasons, before shifting his attention to the team's second heavyweight - Blip.
In May 2022, he debuted his 3lb beetleweight in the National Havoc Robot League. Inspired by Tantrum but green and black in color, it was named Shifty and featured swerve drive and a vertical spinner. Competing at the May NHRL event, Shifty showed promise, ending with a 6-2 record, but ultimately fell short of qualifying for the NHRL 2022 Finals in December. He later debuted a multibot vertical spinner in March 2023 named The Twerps, which served as a prototype for the team's intended multibot entry for World Championship VIII.
In mid-2024, Aren Hill featured in a YouTube video by Simon Lizotte, where he built a disk golf robot.[2]
Ginger Schmidt & Alex Grant[]
Ever-present on the team since their BattleBots debut, Ginger Schmidt was promoted to co-captain in 2021, becoming the first female captain to win the Giant Nut. She was also present with the team as part of King of Bots entry Boxing Champion. She has attended several NHRL events with Aren Hill and Jamison Go, and competed in the March 2023 NHRL event with Shifty. Alongside her partner, Mitchell Guillaume, she also fought with RB, another 3lb robot named after the short story by Isaac Asimov.[3] Outside of the sport, she is studying for a PhD in medical engineering at MIT.
A key part of the team throughout Tantrum's time in BattleBots, Alex Grant co-captained the bot for the first time in 2021. He has been responsible for Tantrum's artwork as well as specializing in machining its iconic fists. He also competes in various events with a flamethrowing beetleweight called Dutch Oven. By day, he is a mechanical research engineer.
Dillon Carey[]
Joining the team in 2019, Dillon Carey became Tantrum's driver in World Championship VI and has kept that role ever since. A long-term teammate to Aren Hill, his specialty within the team surrounds the math behind Tantrum, as well as general design and manufacturing.
Sean Doherty[]
Alongside Aren Hill, Sean Doherty founded Seems Reasonable Robotics in 2017 and was present during their title-winning 2021 season.
Erica Chin[]
Much like former and current Tantrum captains, Erica Chin has also been present for every season Tantrum has participated within. She also made up part of the five-person team behind the King of Bots entry Boxing Champion.
Jason Weihman[]
Everpresent with the team since World Championship III, Jason Weihman was also part of Aren Hill's 2016 season multibot entry.
David Mintz[]
Another addition to the team ahead of World Championship IV, David Mintz specialized in welding and grinding parts for Tantrum and Blip. He is responsible for operating Tantrum's self-righter, and also competes with a 3lb robot called Frenzy, unrelated to the heavyweight from Comedy Central BattleBots.
James Doherty[]
Joining during the 2019 season, James Doherty assists the team in engineering. He was partially responsible for designing their minibot Nugget.
Zach Marks & William Stanley[]
Both Zach Marks and William Stanley joined the team ahead of Seems Reasonable Robotics' most impressive season to date. Though their specific roles within the team are unknown, both are mechanical engineers in their own right. William Stanley also lent himself towards the construction of Nugget, and also competes in the National Havoc Robot League with a beetleweight overhead spinner called Tilt.
Katie Widen[]
Another 2021 season recruit, Katie Widen's role largely concerned the aesthetics of Seems Reasonable's robots, notably painting and applying the decorative vinyl for Blip as well as designing the team's shirts for the season. However, she also had a hands-on role within the team, disassembling Blip's drive train and winding its bundles between fights.
Bryan Culver[]
Joining the Tantrum team in 2019, Bryan Culver also intended to be part of Insult and Injury. According to Aren Hill, he was responsible for much of the mathematics behind Blip's unique weaponry as well as CAD work.[4]
Alec Kochis[]
Alec joined the BattleBots team officially in 2021, and operates Aren Hill's 3lb robot Shifty in some competitions.
Robots[]
| Robot | Weight Class | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Tantrum | Heavyweight | World Championship III World Championship IV World Championship V World Championship VI BattleBots: Champions I World Championship VII BattleBots: Champions II |
| Blip | Heavyweight | World Championship VI re:MARS all:STARS 2022 World Championship VII BattleBots: Champions II |
| The Twins | Heavyweight | BattleBots Proving Ground World Championship VIII (Status pending) |
Win/Loss Record[]
- Wins: 28
- Losses: 18
See Also[]
- Boxing Champion (King of Bots)
- Seems Reasonable Robotics website and shop
- Seems Reasonable Robotics on Instagram
- Seems Reasonable Robotics on Facebook
- Seems Reasonable Robotics on YouTube