It is a four-wheel drive robot which makes use of twin articulating arms to both lift and pin other robots. These arms are coupled with a 16" diameter vertical spinner which can spin at 220mph. The combination of weaponry is designed to lift opponents and attack the vulnerable underbelly of its opposition with their disk, which is made from 1" thick AR500 steel. The frame of Terrortops was milled from 6061 aluminum.
Terrortops during World Championship VII hero shots.
Terrortops sports a single-toothed disk as well as a variety of lifting arms for different opponents. The robot is driven by Sophia Musk-Burton, with Ben Burton operating its weaponry. Earlier renders of Terrortops had less distinct and vibrant theming, and as such, the robot was originally rejected for the season. However, upon adopting a yellow color scheme, a decorative tail at the rear of the robot and rib cage armor similar to that of Witch Doctor, Terrortops was officially accepted as an alternate.
As its name suggests, the robot has a triceratops theme, reflected in the vertical front armor and horns at the front of the robot, as well as its color scheme and markings. The name itself is a portmanteau of the words "terror" and "triceratops". Work began on building Terrortops in mid-2022[2] and the team confirmed their acceptance via Instagram on September 26, 2022.[3]
Terrortops opened its BattleBots career in impressive fashion, with consecutive wins over Slammo! and Dragon King, but did not advance to the Top 32.
The rookie bot returned for BattleBots: Champions II and fought in the first Sin City Slugfest episode. However, its unbeaten streak was ended by ROTATOR in Round 1.
In April 2023, Team Terrortops officially confirmed their application had been submitted for World Championship VIII.[4] Terrortops now sports a sleeker appearance as well as long, static forks either side of the thinner, hinged forks seen during World Championship VII. Terrortops also has vulcanized rubber wheels, similar to the Brazil wheels seen on various other competitors.
Terrortops is set to appear at BattleBots Faceoffs in October 2024, as confirmed by captain Ben Burton. There, it will fight three other robots in a round robin style group.[5]
The team also applied for the heavyweight division of the 2023 edition of RoboGames with Terrortops, entering under the same name used for BattleBots.[6]
Terrortops destroyed its first opponent, Lay-Z-Bot in the opening fight of Day 2's heavyweight battles. It then drew White Rabbit in the second round, losing by 21-12 judges' decision, before redeeming itself with a win over King Crab in under a minute. Late in the competition, Terrortops took on a powerful drum spinner in Manta. However, both robots were involved in an arena breach during the opening thirty seconds of the fight, where one of Terrortops' forks damaged the Lexan roof and landed outside the arena, mere feet away from the camera crew.
Team Terrortops were offered the chance to continue the fight, but stated they did not feel it would be safe to do so with their remaining forks still equipped. They instead forfeited the fight, ending an impressive run in unfortunate circumstances.[4]
With driving duties shared between Sophia Musk-Burton and captain Ben Burton, Terrortops registered for RoboGames 2024 and first faced Black Dragon after receiving a Round 1 bye. Terrortops lost this fight by knockout after suffering damage to its lifter and becoming stuck on its back. It then picked up wins over Bullion and Swamp Serpent, the latter by forfeit, before achieving a ring-out victory against Mandamus. Terrortops continued on in the loser's bracket, knocking out Original Sin and then taking on BlackJack. However, Terrortops became the victim of another breach as one of the Lexan panels was struck following an impact, causing it to bow "approximately two inches" out of place, leaving a gap large enough that "you could put your hand in it", according to attendees.[7] The area had to be evacuated as a smoking Terrortops was hauled through the pit area.
Terrortops in its starting square during RoboGames 2024.
Terrortops in its starting square during RoboGames 2023.
Terrortops being readied during RoboGames 2023.
Robot History[]
World Championship VII[]
Terrortops vs. Slammo!
Terrortops fitted with its forks ahead of the match.
Terrortops debuted in Episode 8 of World Championship VII, where it faced a fellow alternate in Slammo!.
Terrortops leaves Slammo! to be counted out.
Both robots immediately met in the center of the BattleBox, and Terrortops was able to get its lifting forks underneath Craig Danby's bot, tipping it backward. In the same motion, Terrortops engaged its vertical spinner and attacked the underside of Slammo!, flipping it over. Slammo! recovered, but its lifting mechanism was weighing the back of the robot down, and lifting its front wedge off the BattleBox floor. This allowed Terrortops the opportunity to lift from the front, and it capitalized, lifting again before grazing Slammo!'s armor with its spinning disk.
"I like this technique from Terrortops! Very nice."
— Kenny Florian heaps praise on Ben Burton's team
Terrortops gyro-dances in celebration.
With its arms seemingly stuck in position, Slammo! adopted a sit and spin approach momentarily, but Terrortops was not deterred and drove directly into its opponent. It followed this up by getting underneath the front of Slammo! again and driving it into the rails with its lifter up. Slammo! was now stuck on its rear end, and a count began shortly after. Terrortops took the win by knockout, confirming a debut win for the rookie team.
Post-fight, Ben Burton revealed that it took several attempts to get Terrortops ready for their debut battle. Upon being loaded in the first time, one side of drive died after it became caught on the floor. Once this was fixed, the team then discovered three of their speed controllers had died from static.[8]
Terrortops vs. Dragon King
In its second and final Fight Night battle, Terrortops took on Dragon King, who previously defeated Doomba. For this battle, Terrortops was fitted with the smaller asymmetrical disk seen in its official photos.
Terrortops gets to grips with Dragon King.
Both robots fled their starting squares and Terrortops spun up its weapon before charging at its opponent. Dragon King then got to its flank, lowering its left-side saw but failing to grip Ben Burton's bot. Terrortops raised its lifter, threatening to deliver a blow with its vertical spinner, but instead opted to get underneath the right tread of Dragon King and lift. It then dropped Dragon King, who again failed to capitalize on getting Terrortops' frame inside its jaws.
Terrortops damages the tread of Dragon King.
The rookie bots tussled in the corner of the BattleBox and as Terrortops raised its lifter, the vertical spinner struck left drive pod of Dragon King, slicing into its tread and disabling that side of drive. Terrortops did not come out of this exchange unharmed, however, as a piece of Dragon King's tread was consumed by the vertical spinner, becoming lodged in a bearing and jamming the primary weapon up for good.
Terrortops lands a suplex move on its opponent.
Despite this setback, Terrortops was still able to drive and had full functionality over its lifting mechanism. It slowly approached, sliding the forks underneath the mouth of Dragon King and flipping it over. Terrortops narrowly avoided a pulverizer shot as Will Prater's bot attempted to escape. The pneumatic ram powering its jaws then came loose, hanging limply while Terrortops got underneath again, hoisting Dragon King and performing a suplex move.
Kenny Florian: "No, and Dragon King... oh, look at that lift. Nice suplex there by Terrortops! Beautiful stuff!"
Chris Rose: "Love that! Excellent move by Terrortops."
— Chris and Kenny react as Terrortops throws Dragon King behind itself
Terrortops pins an immobile Dragon King in the closing seconds.
With half the fight gone, Terrortops remained the aggressor, jamming its forks into the treads of Dragon King and using this as leverage to throw its opponent. One of its outermost forks was now bent upward, though this did not impact its ability to consistently get the better of Dragon King. Terrortops driver Sophia Musk-Burton rammed their bot into Dragon King again, looking to take their opponent into the screws and then pinning it in place as Dragon King appeared immobile in the final ten seconds of the fight.
The fight went the distance and the judges ruled unanimously in favor of Terrortops, handing the rookie team their second BattleBots win.
Terrortops vs. Mammoth (Exhibition)
Terrortops fought once more, in an exhibition battle against Mammoth. This fight was released early to the BattleBots YouTube channel ahead of the official premiere of Vengeance in Vegas II.[9]
Mammoth becomes caught on Terrortops early on.
The fight began with Mammoth immediately box-rushing Terrortops, getting its trunk caught in the rookie's lifter. It then swatted Terrortops away before trying to close down the angles and smother its opponent. Mammoth then attempted to lift Terrortops again but ended up launching itself backwards. Terrortops tried to attack the exposed wheels of Mammoth, forgoing its lifter in favor of leading with its vertical spinner. This proved effective as an attempt from Mammoth to attack led to Ricky Willems' robot damaging its own trunk.
Both robots suffer damage.
Immediately following this, Mammoth then got an advantage and shoved Terrortops and flung off part of its decorative rib cage. Terrortops responded by targeting the long, outer forks of Mammoth, chipping away and bending them outward. These attacks also cost Mammoth the tip of its smaller, inner right fork.
Undeterred, Mammoth attempted to shove the rookie into one of the short corners next to the Upper Deck, but failed after Terrortops outdrove the former Top 16 finisher and continued to attack its forks.
Terrortops tears into Mammoth's inside forks.
Near the 1:30 mark, Terrortops successfully tore away both of Mammoth's inner forks and caused further damage to its primary weapon, leaving Ricky Willems' bot vulnerable as the fight passed the halfway point.
Terrortops gets a lift in on Mammoth.
Terrortops then managed to get its forks under the main supporting beam of Mammoth's chassis and lifted its considerably larger opponent.
Terrortops slices through Mammoth's support beam.
Ben Burton's team continued to attack Mammoth, breaking the middle support pole in the process while Mammoth ripped all of the decorative on the right side of Terrortops.
Nearing the end of the fight, Terrortops still proceeded to attack the front of Mammoth until it got swatted into one of the short corners of the Upper Deck at the 0:40 mark. Both robots survived the full three minutes and spent the rest of the fight attacking each other in said short corner.
Damage to Mammoth post-fight.
Terrortops was declared the winner by judges' decision. Post-fight, Ben Burton revealed that after the fight, Mammoth weighed "20-30lbs" less than it did beforehand.[10]
BattleBots: Champions II[]
Terrortops vs. ROTATOR
Terrortops with its UMHW plastic attachments.
Looking to extend its unbeaten competitive record, Terrortops returned for BattleBots: Champions II and took on ROTATOR in the opening round.
ROTATOR slams into Terrortops, overturning it.
Terrortops was quick to raise its lifter as ROTATOR swung around to evade the rookie robot's initial charge. Victor Soto's bot swung around to drive face-first into the front of its opponent before finding itself chased by the World Championship VII alternate. ROTATOR then swiped Terrortops and flung it over, but Ben Burton's bot righted itself.
Kenny Florian: "Nice little self-right but dealing with some drive issues. I don't think Terrortops liked that hit from ROTATOR."
Chris Rose: "No, not at all."
— Kenny Florian and Chris Rose observe Terrortops' drive issues
At this stage, Terrortops was experiencing drive issues as a result of the front wedge being bent down and lifting the wheels off the ground. This allowed ROTATOR to attack without fear. Despite these issues, Sophia Musk-Burton was able to arc the robot towards the center of the BattleBox. The former Most Destructive Award winner continued to attack the wounded Terrortops, threatening to carry it to the Upper Deck, but the rookie's vertical spinner slammed into the steel floor and let it escape.
ROTATOR gets under Terrortops.
ROTATOR used its pointed front to drive Terrortops toward the short corner, who waved its lifter in a desperate attempt to shake free. Continuing its dominance, Victor Soto's robot retreated to spin up to speed before unleashing a sideswipe on Terrortops, flipping it over again.
Kenny Florian: "Impressed with the durability of Terrortops..."
Chris Rose: "Yeah."
Kenny Florian: "This is their first year in here against a veteran bot in ROTATOR. And they may be behind on the scorecards but their weapon is still active and they are hanging on"
— Kenny Florian praises Terrortops for staying in the fight
ROTATOR takes Terrortops to the pulverizer.
Terrortops was taken to the short corner, where it suffered several blows from the 100lb pulverizer and saw its decorative ribcage begin to crack. ROTATOR backed away before nearing closer to assess Terrortops' mobility.
ROTATOR leaves Terrortops for dead.
The rookie bot was no longer moving and was counted out, confirming its elimination in the opening round of the bracket.
BattleBots Faceoffs[]
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.
Terrortops vs. Bloodsport
Terrortops is confirmed to be competing in October 2024, where it will fight in the fifth BattleBots Faceoffs round robin group consisting of three other competitors. One of these, though not necessarily its first opponent, is Bloodsport.
Terrortops vs. HiJinx
Another of Terrortops' opponents is the returning HiJinx.
Terrortops vs. Switchback
Terrortops will also take on Switchback in its group.
Terrortops is one of only two robots in the 2022 competition to have a female driver, the other being Valkyrie.
Terrortops was originally rejected for World Championship VII, but was later accepted as an alternate after adopting its dinosaur theme.[4]
For World Championship VII, Terrortops was given the pit number #8.
According to Zach Lytle of Skorpios, Terrortops was the first ever BattleBots rookie to pass safety on their first attempt.
The Terrortops Logo, designed by Victoria Tomozei, is based on the logo for the popular book/film series Jurassic Park. In addition, the team are dressed as paleontologists to carry on the theme.
Terrortops' mascot is a small brown triceratops nicknamed "Chonk". Victoria Tomozei, when asked about the name, explained "because he's chonky".
The CAD which would gain Terrortops acceptance into World Championship VII was made in just one day.[4]
Terrortops was originally called Attitude Adjuster when the team first applied, but was renamed Terrortops to suit its dinosaur theme.
Terrortops ended World Championship VII's main season as one of only two unbeaten alternates, a feat shared by Double Tap.
