Tornado Mini

Tornado Mini
Participation Information
BBIQ	BattleBots IQ 2009
Team Information
Team	University of Texas at Arlington
Team Members	Stephen Denison Miguel Rodriguez Stephen Savoie Senai Andai Panayiotis Shiakolas Jim Williams
From	Arlington, TX
Other Entries	Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck Mini
Associated Robots	Reckless
Robot Statistics
Weight	15lbs
Top Speed	20mph
Drive	2x Brushless motors
Weapons	Horizontal bar spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Unrelated to the similarly named 15lb robot from a High School team, Tornado.

Tornado Mini was a 15lb robot built by students of the University of Texas at Arlington, which competed exclusively in the College Division of BattleBots IQ in 2009.

It was a short, disk-shaped robot armed with a long, horizontal overhead spinning bar. Tornado Mini measured twenty inches in diameter and was around two inches in height. According to team member Senai Andai, Tornado Mini's lightweight spinning bar was capable of reaching "over 300mph". While Tornado Mini did not have a designated self-righting mechanism, it could use the gyroscopic forces of its own weapon to balance upon a cone-shaped addition above the weapon shaft and flip itself back over.

A top-down view of Tornado Mini.

Tornado Mini's overall design gave it a striking resemblance to the similarly-named heavyweight named Tornado Mer and built by Team Van Cleve, though the two robots are unrelated. Tornado Mini was actually inspired by fellow Texas competitors RHS Robotics and their middleweight, The Blender.

The team behind Tornado Mini later fought in the 2008 competition with middleweight Thunderstruck and the 2011 event's 15lb College division with Thunderstruck Mini.

Robot History

BattleBots IQ 2009
Tornado Mini vs. Angry Turtle Tornado Mini took on Angry Turtle during the event. During this short battle, Tornado Mini made a habit of tearing up the front of Angry Turtle before both robots stopped working simultaneously. The referee stopped the match and it went to a judges' decision, who voted in Tornado Mini's favor.
Tornado Mini vs. Blender Mini Tornado Mini looks on as Blender Mini struggles to self-right. Tornado Mini is known to have taken on fellow Texas entry Blender Mini during the competition. After Blender Mini became unbalanced and was overturned. Tornado Mini was able to watch on as it looked to right itself, landing glancing shots in the meantime. Blender Mini stopped spinning after a final tap from Tornado Mini, who won by knockout.
Tornado Mini vs. ? Aside from winning this fight, the remainder of Tornado Mini's competitive opponents are not known. However, Tornado Mini did not place in the Top 3 robots for the event, so much have lost two fights later in the bracket.
Mini Class Rumble Post-tournament, Tornado Mini fought in a four-way rumble against The Dethinator, Quasar and Blender Mini in the 120lb arena. After a strong opening few moments, Quasar was overturned and left spinning in the corner of the arena. Tornado Mini and Blender Mini were left to fight it out, but Blender Mini was flipped over by the hellraiser. As Tornado Mini and The Dethinator both ground to a halt, Quasar was revealed to have righted itself, and proved functionality as the last robot remaining. As such, it won the rumble.
Mini Class Rumble Tornado Mini also fought in a three-way rumble, this time against just Quasar and Blender Mini. Again, however, Quasar took the win.

Competitive Wins/Losses

• Wins: 2 (Minimum)
• Losses: 2 (Minimum)

Exhibition Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0 (Minimum)
• Losses: 2 (Minimum)

Total Wins/Losses

• Wins: 2 (Minimum)
• Losses: 4 (Minimum)

Competition	Wins	Losses
BattleBots IQ 2009	Angry Turtle Blender Mini	? ? Quasar (Rumble) Quasar (Rumble)