Taco Tuesday

Taco Tuesday
Participation Information
Live	BattleBots Proving Ground BattleBots Faceoffs
Team Information
Team Members	Carter Hurd David McVay Warren St. George Camden Wallraff Unnamed team members
From	Denver, CO
Other Entries	Alta's Projects BattleBot
Associated Robots	Gigabyte, Cobalt (Camden Wallraff)
Robot Statistics
Weight	247lbs
Drive	2x Hub motors
Weapons	Vertical disk spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Taco Tuesday is a heavyweight robot which has competed at BattleBots Proving Ground as part of the BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon live show.

It is an upscaled version of a 1lb robot of the same name, which was built in early 2023. Taco Tuesday sports a rollover taco-inspired design, allowing it to right itself through the geometry of its body rather than a dedicated self-righting mechanism. Unlike its antweight counterpart, which features an eggbeater drum for weaponry, the heavyweight Taco Tuesday sports a front-mounted, vertical disk spinner inspired by the single disk of HyperShock. Made from HARDOX 450 steel and weighing 38lbs, the primary weapon is powered by two motors and can hit up to 250mph. Captain and builder Carter Hurd showcased progress on the robot in Threads.

Taco Tuesday features a unique drive system where its two wheels are perpendicular to one another. One wheel drives the robot forward and back, while another in the back turns the robot around. The shell is made from 1" thick UMHW plastic, with a 4" air gap protecting its vital components held within a steel (later aluminum) chassis. Its tall, concave shape allows it to help tip Taco Tuesday back onto its wheels if flipped over. Atop the chassis are red and green colored pool noodle sections, resembling traditional taco toppings. According to Carter Hurd, Taco Tuesday can accommodate front forks if deemed necessary.

Taco Tuesday fought fellow BattleBots hopeful Disarray two times across the weekend of September 16-17, 2023. For its first battle, Taco Tuesday was accompanied by a minibot called Hawt Sauce built by crewbot Kaz Church, but lost by audience vote after surviving the full duration of the fight. It would return a day later, beating Disarray by knockout to earn a 1-1 record for the weekend.

Hurd would later share plans to upgrade Taco Tuesday. Changes included more torque to its front wheel, the switch to a 50lb dual disk weapon similar to those seen on Witch Doctor and HyperShock, extending its taco shell to better cover front of the robot. Another change was the switch to an aluminum frame, as well as a custom-made 1" thick rear omniwheel made from machined UMHW and metal reinforcement to improve mobility. In the redesign, the team took inspiration from their competitor Disarray, shifting their weapon motors upwards for better access and tensioning. This version of Taco Tuesday fought Magnitude on the weekend of March 23-24, 2024.

In February 2024, Hurd uploaded a YouTube video documenting further changes. The weapon system had been redesigned with its new HARDOX dual disk weapon's four belts better protected, and its drive wheel was made from solid rubber as opposed to being pneumatic. Both drive motors were now also the same, improving its reparability, and the welded tube steel frame had been swapped out for 1" thick aluminum. Taco Tuesday is set to return to the BattleBox in Fall 2024 in a BattleBots Faceoffs group including Witch Doctor, DOOM and the robot it fought twice earlier in the year, Magnitude.

Hurd previously designed a heavyweight robot in 2017, documenting his progress on YouTube. However, this went unfinished and ultimately did not apply.

CAD of Taco Tuesday showing potential upgrades in October 2023.

Taco Tuesday and its team.

Taco Tuesday under construction.

Early CAD of Taco Tuesday.

Outside BattleBots

Carter Hurd has also competed on the US live circuit with 1lb robots Krave Monster and 3lb robots King Googly. He was accompanied by various employees of packaging robotics company Blueprint Automation. In November 2023, Hurd showcased a 150g fairyweight version of Taco Tuesday sporting an axe due to weight constraints.

Carter Hurd's 1lb Taco Tuesday.

The 150g version of Taco Tuesday.

Robot History

BattleBots Proving Ground
Taco Tuesday vs. Disarray (9/16/2023) The advertisement used to promote Taco Tuesday vs. Disarray. Taco Tuesday competed for the first time during the September 16 Destruct-A-Thon show. Its opponent was Disarray, which beat Pteradominator twice in the first two Proving Ground battles. Prior to the match, the team discovered that the rear wheel had too much traction, which their front wheel was unable to generate enough torque to overcome. To fix these issues, the rear wheel was covered in gaffer tape, and tuning was done on-site. They also had to add an extra pole to the top of the robot to assist self-righting. Disarray initiates a pin on Taco Tuesday. In the first exchange, Disarray tore both right side weapon pulleys from Taco Tuesday's weapon, leaving it at half power. Taco Tuesday retaliated by cutting into the left fin of Disarray before being driven into the short corner. Here, it was hit by the pulverizer and struggled to escape until almost a minute into the fight. Disarray then pinned Taco Tuesday against the paddle, getting its drisk underneath the shell of Carter Hurd's robot. Disarray pops Taco Tuesday into the air. Taco Tuesday escaped again and struck Disarray's minibot. However, it was punted across the BattleBox floor several times in the second half of the battle. Taco Tuesday would remain stuck in the corner unable to move out of it for much of the last minute of the fight, also losing its remaining weapon belts and ending the fight without a working spinner. The fight went the distance, with Disarray picking up the win by crowd vote, marking Taco Tuesday's debut with a loss.
Taco Tuesday vs. Disarray (9/17/2023) Taco Tuesday faced Disarray for a second time on September 17, 2023. Frantic repairs had to be made to Taco Tuesday after its last fight, including rebuilding the weapon pulley overnight, and adding zip-ties to the rear wheel to reduce traction further. Disarray attacks the side of Taco Tuesday. In the first exchange, Disarray would get around to Taco Tuesday's side and landed a series of blows that turned Taco Tuesday over. Taco Tuesday would quickly rebound due to its geometry. The knockout hit on Disarray. Finding its footing, Taco Tuesday would engage in a weapon-to-weapon collision with a charging Disarray, flipping it over. After not having had time to test their self-righting tail, this mechanism failed and Disarray could not recover from being upside-down. Taco Tuesday strikes an immobile Disarray. Taco Tuesday went after Disarray's minibot, before trying to right the main robot. This effort proved futile and Disarray was counted out, giving Taco Tuesday the win by knockout and finishing the weekend with a 1-1 record.
Taco Tuesday vs. Magnitude (3/23/2023) Taco Tuesday vs. Magnitude as advertised on the BattleBots website. In March 2024, Taco Tuesday returned to fight fellow Colorado team Magnitude. Both robots spun up to speed, but it was Magnitude which gained the early advantage, getting underneath the left side of Taco Tuesday and making contact with its base. Taco Tuesday drove away from danger and swung around to face Magnitude again, before charging head-on into the screws. Both bots come together. Magnitude got under Taco Tuesday again, popping Carter Hurd's robot up twice and flipping itself over on the second attack. Chad New's robot promptly righted itself, but went weapon-to-weapon with its opponent in order to do so. This engagement benefitted Magnitude more, as it was also able to rip two of Taco Tuesday's weapon belts. Taco Tuesday is flipped over. As the halfway point approached, Magnitude tore into Taco Tuesday's shell before meeting it head-on once more, deflecting it back into the corner. The vicious eggbeater ripped a chunk of the shell away with its next hit, but bounced away as its own weapon was slamming into the BattleBox floor. Taco Tuesday flips Magnitude. Magnitude continued its assault on Taco Tuesday's shell and Carter Hurd's robot consistently bounced back upright, but its remaining weapon belts were loose and the drisk itself was no longer spinning. Taco Tuesday drifted into the Upper Deck before facing Magnitude again. Magnitude landed several more glancing shots on Taco Tuesday before time ran out. Damage to Taco Tuesday's shell post-fight. Post-fight, the crowd cheered loud for both teams and a draw was ultimately declared.
Taco Tuesday vs. Magnitude (3/24/2023) Taco Tuesday fought Magnitude for a second time during the Sunday show. Taco Tuesday balances precariously on the arena hazards. Both robots slowly met in the middle of the arena, but did not make contact as Taco Tuesday evaded Magnitude's weaponry. Chad New's robot got its wedge underneath Taco Tuesday momentarily, but it slipped away. Taco Tuesday was not so fortunate to escape damage in the next attack, however, as Magnitude tore into its shell and tossed it onto the housing for the screws. Taco Tuesday is thrown out of the arena. Taco Tuesday rolled back onto its wheels and drove over Magnitude, losing part of its armor in the process. Magnitude then delivered a big hit which launched Taco Tuesday up and out of the arena after just sixteen seconds. As Magnitude drove away, Taco Tuesday was deemed immobile and Magnitude picked up the win.
BattleBots Faceoffs
Taco Tuesday vs. DOOM Please note that the order of the following fights is unknown, as documentation on the event itself is either limited or non-existent. This is typically true of untelevised events such as BattleBots IQ and those sanctioned by the BattleBots name. Taco Tuesday will return to the BattleBox in Fall 2024, taking on three opponents in BattleBots Faceoffs. One confirmed robot in its group is DOOM.
Taco Tuesday vs. Magnitude Taco Tuesday will face Magnitude for a third time in its group.
Taco Tuesday vs. Witch Doctor Also confirmed to be in Taco Tuesday's group is veteran Witch Doctor.

Results

Exhibition Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Draws: 1
• Losses: 2

Competition	Wins	Losses	Draws
BattleBots Proving Ground	Disarray	Disarray Magnitude	Magnitude
BattleBots Faceoffs	TBC	TBC	None

See Also

• Carter Hurd's YouTube channel

Trivia

• The first iteration of Taco Tuesday was built in two weeks.
• The team received help from Team HyperShock to optimize the speed controllers for Taco Tuesday's weapon.
• For Taco Tuesday's second fight, team captain Carter Hurd loaned a taco hat from Team Horizon.