Malvolio: A disagreeable, angry, arrogant little man in Shakespeare's 12th Night. Sucker's a little bastard, really.

It was my intention that Malvolio be a Light Weight class robot (58 pounds) but as I was completing construction to attend the TLC Robotica event I was weighing Malvolio with and without armor. Since I was using aluminum instead of polycarbonate armor for Robotica I knew I would be substantially heavier but Robotica had a 210 pound weight limit, so weight wasn't a concern. With the armor, all mechanics, electronics, and batteries Malvolio weighed a little over 90 pounds. However once I took off the armor Mal was only down to 70 pounds. Since I still wanted to do some upgrades after Robotica I decided there was no way Mal was going to lose 20 pounds. So Malvolio is now officially a middleweight (115 pounds). Malvolio will compete in the next Battlebots event during Memorial Day Weekend in San Francisco.

Because this is my first bot, it is not terribly cutting edge in design. This first bot is a learning process for me, and I plan on being more innovative on future bots. Malvolio is a boxy wedge. The wedge is required due to the implementation of my weapon, but it will also serve as a back up weapon in the likely event that my primary weapon is incapacitated or fails.

Having now attended two events, BattleBots Las Vegas 2000 and TLC Robotica 2001 I've learned that the bot that lasts the full duration of a fight stands an infinitely better chance of winning then one that does not. The most important learning, in my mind, was that if your bot can endure three to five violent minutes in the box, then drive it like you are trying to destroy it. I don't mean drive carelessly or into hazards with abandon. Just that driving aggresively goes a long way toward deciding the winner. One particular rumble comes to mind, but until the shows air on Comedy Central, I cannot give more details.

As is currently planned Malvolio will contain the following hardware, electronics, and various other items. This list could change on the wims of it's flaky creator: