The Obwalden Overlord

The Obwalden Overlord
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship II
Other Names	Obwalden Overlord OB Overlord OOL
Team Information
Team	Team Obwalden Overlord
Team Members	Rob Knight (Captain) James Viggers Cyril Jourdan Lucy Viggers
From	Divonne-les-Bains, France
Associated Robots	Mortis (Rob Knight)
Robot Statistics
Power	5Ah LiPo batteries
Weapons	Articulating arms
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"For us, the whole goal is to... evolve. The experiment was to see how would you attack a machine if you had arms. We're here to show that there's an approach other than brute strength."

— Rob Knight explaining The Obwalden Overlord's concept

The Obwalden Overlord, often shortened to Obwalden Overlord or OB Overlord was a heavyweight robot built by Team Obwalden Overlord which competed exclusively in BattleBots World Championship II.

It was built by English-born Rob Knight, who had previously competed at the 1999 Las Vegas event, Season 2.0 and the first four series of the UK television show Robot Wars with Mortis.

The Obwalden Overlord during World Championship II hero shots.

Much like his previous heavyweight, The Obwalden Overlord entered primarily as a technological showcase, taking the form of a humanoid-style robot measuring 5ft in height. Its main weapons consisted of a pair of articulated arms attached to a swivelling upper torso, both controlled by a 'puppet' device worn by Knight himself. These components were designed to mimic the equivalent anatomy of a human's arms and upper torso, incorporating their own simulated ball joints, 'muscles' and 'ligaments'. When in operation, The Obwalden Overlord's upper body would 'copy' movements that Knight would make outside the BattleBox. Both arms could be equipped with a range of different attachments, including grabbing hands, a lance-like pole, and a round defensive shield.

At the rear, The Obwalden Overlord had two sets of two wheels for drive, which theoretically allowed it to keep driving if it was tipped on its back. Team member James Viggers drove the main robot, with Knight operating its arms and weaponry. The Obwalden Overlord was built in just a 2-3 month time span, with the team often working 20-hour days on the robot in the build-up to filming of World Championship II.

"I guess I saw that BattleBots had restarted and thought "Yes, that was fun. I would definitely do that again... but, let's do something a bit special"."

— Rob Knight discusses The Obwalden Overlord in an interview as part of RoboNerd 2020

The Obwalden Overlord used a total of 36 individual motors to articulate properly, with parts connected by cables visible on the exterior on the robot. These motors were manufactured by a company based in Obwalden, Switzerland called MaxonMotors, who have provided extremely high-precision motors for Mars Rover vehicles in recent years.

MaxonMotors would also become one of the team's main sponsors for BattleBots, providing motors and additional funding for the creation of The Obwalden Overlord, as well as their headquarters making up part of its name. Team captain Rob Knight had prior experience of building non-combat robots which replicated human anatomy through his job at the time, which inspired the design of The Obwalden Overlord.

"It was a crazy thing to do - a triumph and a disaster."

— Rob Knight summarises The Obwalden Overlord

Despite its highly innovative design, The Obwalden Overlord lost its first and only match to Warhead, and neither the team nor The Obwalden Overlord would return for any future seasons of the show.[[File:]] ]]

Rob Knight stated his intentions to compete in a future BattleBots season with a mechanically-simpler design prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, he posted a CAD design of a second Obwalden Overlord machine, tentatively dubbed OOL2.

This machine was intended to use 18 motors in total, four of which were rated at 600W and dedicated to powering the rear wheels, connected to four front omni-wheels by belt drive. OOL2 maintained a similar aesthetic from its World Championship II predecessor, with the main noticeable difference being a mechanism which folds out of the main base unit, raising and lowering the torso of the robot and everything attached to it.

However, updates on The Obwalden Overlord 2 became fewer and further between, with no known posts regarding its development since 2022.

January 2022 concept render for OOL2.

Rob Knight's plans for OOL2, a successor to The Obwalden Overlord.

Rob Knight wearing the device used to power The Obwalden Overlord's arms and body.

The Obwalden Overlord in the red starting square.

The Obwalden Overlord in The Pits, minus its head.

The Obwalden Overlord's arms separated from its torso.

The Obwalden Overlord's torso, showing two motors responsible for powering an upper arm section.

The Obwalden Overlord on display prior to World Championship II.

Robot History

World Championship II

The Obwalden Overlord vs. Warhead The Obwalden Overlord's first fight was against fellow British-born competitors Warhead. The Obwalden Overlord fighting Warhead. Warhead immediately approached The Obwalden Overlord and clamped down on its rounded shield, looking to melt the defensive attachment before spewing flame over the front of the humanoid robot. The Obwalden Overlord looked powerless to fight back Warhead grabbed hold of its left arm, but its right arm dragged limply on the BattleBox floor. As both robots became free, Warhead continued to attack The Obwalden Overlord - this time near the screws. "Torso working..." — Rob Knight as The Obwalden Overlord turns to face Warhead The Obwalden Overlord is ignited by Warhead. Rob Knight's robot raised its shield again, but Warhead bit into its shoulder, leading to its left arm now also dragging across the floor. Warhead continued to smoulder the torso of The Obwalden Overlord, which was now smoking heavily and moving much more slowly. "Well, evolution comes at a cost, Kenny. We're getting a glimpse into the future and- OH, ho-ho! Did anybody order OB Overlord well done?" — Chris Rose Warhead plays with The Obwalden Overlord. Warhead retreated and charged once more, ramming into the front of The Obwalden Overlord. Although its drive was still functional, a fire had begun towards the back end of Rob Knight's robot. One more shove proved enough to topple The Obwalden Overlord as it now lay on its back and struggled to right itself. It was then counted out, confirming its knockout loss. Trey Roski putting out the beaten machine. Post-fight, Trey Roski entered the BattleBox to extinguish The Obwalden Overlord. It was not chosen to be a wildcard, meaning it was eliminated from the tournament.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 1

Competition	Wins	Losses
World Championship II	None	Warhead

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"All the way from Switzerland, the hills are alive with the sound of murder. It’s OBWALDEN OVERLORD!"

Trivia

• The Obwalden Overlord is the first robot from France to compete in a BattleBots tournament, despite its builder originally hailing from England.
  • France had not been represented in any official BattleBots, US or UK Robot Wars event since Steel At Work competed in the 1996 Robot Wars Championship in San Francisco.
• Former Mortis team member Arthur Chilcott was supposed to be part of The Obwalden Overlord team, but was too ill at the time of filming.
• Despite citing their hometown as Divonne-les-Bains, France, one of Faruq's introductions cites The Obwalden Overlord as coming from Switzerland.
  • This is due to Divonne-les-Bains being situated right on the border with French-speaking Switzerland, though geographically speaking, it is a French town.
• Obwalden is one of the 26 cantons (member states) which form the Swiss Confederation, and is where MaxonMotors are based, who provided motors for The Obwalden Overlord.
• The Obwalden Overlord was almost not ready for its match, and was about to be replaced by Skorpios. However, after the introductions for that match were filmed, it was announced that the Overlord was indeed ready.
• Each of The Obwalden Overlord's motors was visibly labelled with the body part it was supposed to control.
  • Several are pictured to be labelled "Brachi", which is a medical prefix for 'arm' - specifically 'upper arm'.