VD6.0

VD6.0
Participation Information
Unaired Events	Pro Championship 2009
Team Information
Team	Team Think Tank
Team Members	Bradley Hanstad Leslie Hanstad Richard Blom Angela Blom Ted Shimoda Andy Meyers Suni Murata Jeff Vasquez Andrew Rossol Nelson Miyashio Edward Rossol Alex Tramiel Daniel Fukuba James Arluck
From	Pasadena, CA
Other Entries	MantaRay, InTriVerter, BatRay, Bullistic, Ringmaster, Bad Kitty
Associated Robots	Whiplash, Splatter, Deb Bot, Matts Bammer, Think Tank, Defender (Jeff Vasquez) Deep Six (Bradley Hanstad, Andrew Rossol) Triton, Chronos, Captain Shrederator (Bradley Hanstad) Yeti (James Arluck) Malice (Alex Tramiel)
Robot Statistics
Weight	220lbs
Weapons	Vertical disk spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"REAL WEAPONS DON'T NEED JUDGES"

— Slogan on the rear of VD6.0

VD6.0 was a heavyweight robot built by Team Think Tank which competed in the 2009 BattleBots Pro Championship.

A 220lb variant of the team's highly-successful VD family of vertical spinners, it was a black and red robot with low sides, a broad front wedge shape and a large flywheel as its main weapon. During testing, the weapon itself was powerful enough to gouge the side of a fully-loaded golf cart. The design of VD6.0's spinner mount also incorporated a large claw-shaped protrusion, likely enabling the entire machine to reverse its way back into the upright position in the event it got tipped over backwards. Though the chunky design of VD6.0 gave the impression of it being two or four-wheel drive, it ran on a tracked system which remained mostly concealed within its bodywork.

VD6.0 performed very strongly throughout the 2009 Pro Championship, winning four consecutive matches against Drumble-B, Eugene, SubZero and future Giant Nut winner Tombstone to reach the final of the main Winner's bracket. Despite being defeated by Brutality at that stage, and Root Canal in the Loser's Bracket final, VD6.0's performance was sufficient for it to finish third overall with a 4-2 record.

VD6.0 taking on Last Rites during RoboGames.

Team Think Tank also competed in both runs of the televised BattleBots show with a variety of machines, including Ringmaster and Bad Kitty, the latter sharing design similarities with VD6.0 along with the same flywheel.

Outside BattleBots

VD6.0 also competed at RoboGames 2009. It suffered a destructive loss to Last Rites, and fell into the loser's bracket. Due to damage sustained, Team Think Tank had to forfeit their loser's bracket match against Counter Revolution and VD6.0 was eliminated.

Robot History

Pro Championship 2009
VD6.0 vs. Drumble-B VD6.0's first Pro Championship draw saw it face the twin drum spinners of Drumble-B. Very little information is available on this match, though BattleBots records confirm that VD6.0 won by knockout after only 15 seconds.
VD6.0 vs. Eugene Eugene gets hit by the pulverizer. This allowed VD6.0 to advance within the main Winner's bracket, where it next fought another drum spinner in the form of Team Moon's Eugene. Again, information on this match is limited, though official records suggest that both robots lasted the full three minutes. VD6.0 prevailed on a judges' decision.
VD6.0 vs. SubZero In the third round, VD6.0 faced the pneumatic flipper of SubZero, winning with a 33 second knockout.
VD6.0 vs. Tombstone VD6.0 fights an ailing Tombstone. With three consecutive victories up to this point, VD6 next fought Ray Billings' powerful horizontal spinner Tombstone. Limited highlights of this match were publicly released by Autodesk Inventor's YouTube channel, interspersed with clips of an interview where Billings discussed the software's role in helping him design his machine. During said clips, VD6.0 was seen to perform a box rush and charge right into Tombstone's bar. Absorbing the ensuing weapon-on-weapon blows, it sustained damage to its front fiber layer, but succeeded in deflecting Tombstone back towards the nearest pulverizer to the red square. At a later point in the match, VD6.0 succeeded in bending Tombstone's top panel upwards through a rearward attack, with Tombstone also struggling to keep its bar working during this phase. VD6.0 threw Tombstone over with its disk while simultaneously pushing it onto the screws, ultimately securing a win via judges' decision after 43 seconds.
VD6.0 vs. Brutality VD6.0 is quickly flipped by Brutality. Having enjoyed an undefeated run to the Winner's bracket final, VD6.0 would face another horizontal, Brutality, for a chance to secure a place in the overall championship decider. However, while swapping out some of the robot's belts, Team Think Tank incorrectly wired their drive speed controller by mistake, effectively leaving VD6.0 with limited mobility from the outset. VD6.0 left the blue square within the opening seconds, but was unable to drive after this. Brutality took advantage by hitting and flipping it over, aided by the gyroscopic forces acting on VD6.0's fully-operational disc. VD6.0 landed disc-first opposite one of the screws, a piece of its front fiber layer dangling from the right-hand side as it balanced on its weapon. Unable to roll itself back onto its tracks - themselves spinning helplessly in the air - VD6.0 took another violent hit from Brutality's bar which threw it back upright. VD6.0 remained immobile, however, enabling the Aptyx Designs machine to repeatedly push and nudge it across the BattleBox until it was counted out. During this time, VD6.0's disk had spun up again and remained active even after the match's conclusion. Thus, despite the risks of doing so, team member Bradley Hanstad was forced to manually switch the weapon off himself while preparing to take it back to the pits.
VD6.0 vs. Root Canal Relegated to the losers bracket final, VD6.0 fought Donald Hutson's Root Canal, in a second attempt to reach the overall final and potentially face Brutality again. While frantically trying to repair their machine following the damage it sustained, Team Think Tank unwittingly only connected half of its required batteries before it was transported into the BattleBox for the fight. As a result, despite Bradley Hanstad confirming that it dominated the first part of the match, VD6.0 suddenly lost mobility at the halfway point and began smoking. Thus, it lost by knockout after one minute and 47 seconds; only upon taking their robot outside the arena venue did Team Think Tank discover their battery mistake. VD6.0 was eliminated from the 2009 Pro Championship as a result, finishing third overall with a strong 4-2 record.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 4
• Losses: 2

Competition	Wins	Losses
Pro Championship 2009	Drumble-B Eugene SubZero Tombstone	Brutality Root Canal