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A self-righting mechanism, also known as a srimech, is a device on a robot which aids in flipping a robot back over when they are inverted or stuck in an unfavorable position.
The colloquial term srimech is a portmanteau of the words self-righting mechanism.
Vlad the Impaler rights itself using its piston.
History and Design[]
Self-righting mechanisms are implemented into BattleBots designs in order to negate weapon types which are capable of flipping a robot over. These typically consist of an electrically-powered arm positioned towards the back of a robot which tips it onto its rear wheels and allows for quick and efficient self-righting. This has been true of robots like End Game, Witch Doctor, JackPot, Blade, Quantum, older versions of HyperShock and since its 2020 rebuild, Tantrum. More unique examples of dedicated self-righting mechanisms include the punching ram seen on Vlad the Impaler and the severed arm holding a knife on DeathRoll which articulates outwards.
Gigabyte self-righting using its pole.
Several robots will make use of non-articulating self-righters in order to remain upright. Robotic Death Company's fleet of shell spinners, Megabyte, Super Megabyte, Invader and Gigabyte, make use of an angled pole protruding from its chassis which, although the pole itself does not move, makes use of forces at play from the shell spinning to help flip the robot back over if unbalanced. Proving Ground entry Taco Tuesday makes use of a flexible pole which protrudes beyond its shell. This prevents the robot from becoming stuck upside-down, and forces the robot to roll back onto its wheels. Although unpowered self-righting mechanisms are simple and do not require power to work, they are prone to breaking off.
Another way for robots to self-right is through torque reaction. This sees robots with swinging weaponry recover from being stuck by swinging their weaponry until they become unbalanced and return to their wheels.
Matador self-rights using its flipper.
Bite Force uses its weapon and the arena to self-right.
Not every robot requires a dedicated self-righting mechanism in order to self-right. Many designs have been able to do so using their primary weapons. Flippers such as Hydra and Inertia Labs' fleet of flipping robots could right themselves using their weapon, whereas robots armed with axes and hammers like frenZy, Beta and Chomp could use their overhead weaponry to recover from being flipped. Hammer saws like Skorpios and SawBlaze have shown the ability to recover in the same way and those with spinning weapons can throw themselves weapon-first into the arena with the hope of flipping over again.
Invertible robots armed with powerful vertical spinners will benefit from spinning upward, so it is in their best interest to be the correct way up if their weapon cannot spin in both directions. Therefore, robots such as Minotaur, Copperhead and Yeti have a tendency to use gyroscopic forces from their own weaponry to lift one of their wheels off the floor and flip themselves over. Notably, the redesign of HyperShock between 2020 and 2021 saw it drop the dedicated self-righting mechanism, as its improved design and longer wheelbase now more reliably allowed it to recover from being overturned. The main benefit to this is to reallocate weight elsewhere as a result of it not being dedicated to a separate self-righting mechanism.