Creature's anti-vert config, with thick TPU side armor, a flat 4140 steel wedge, and long AR500 steel forks
Internal layout showing off the frame-integrated drive gearboxes, the small lifter mechanism, and the electronics
Creature's anti-horizontal config, with a 4140 wraparound wedge and a shallow 4140 hinged wedge
Creature pins Full Court against the wall at RCL Nationals 2025
Caleb Hecht (left) and myself (right) are shocked and elated during the winning moment at RCL Nationals 2025
Creature - 12lb Combat Robot
A high-performance hobbyweight combat robot with a strong lifter, heavy armor, and a powerful 4-wheel drivetrain
Quick Facts
“Creature” is a hobbyweight (12-pound) combat robot designed for ruggedness and control. The design features a strong, compact lifter mechanism with a 3-stage gear reduction, a powerful 4-wheel drivetrain with the drive gearboxes integrated into the frame rails, and a variety of armor configurations to counter different weapon types. I started building this robot in 2023 with my teammate, Caleb Hecht (who deserves credit for the initial idea, as well as many of the design and manufacturing decisions), and we fine-tuned the design over the course of several iterations and competitions, culminating in a first-place finish at RCL Nationals 2025. No major design changes are planned at this time, but we’ll continue to compete with Creature when we find the time. Read more about each version of the robot below.
Design Iterations
Version 4 - Creature gets competitive
Major redesign with an overhauled weapon system and updated materials
Quick Facts
Summary
Creature V4 represents the culmination of 2.5 years of competition and iteration. It is very similar to V3, but with a number of optimizations and improvements to make the bot more compact and durable.
Two copies of Creature V4, set up with the vertical config (left) and the horizontal config (right)
Creature and Full Court lifting one another and generally causing chaos at RCL Nationals 2025
The lifter's output gears were bought on eBay and had custom internal features machined
A lifter output gear just after machining, held in a pair of aluminum soft jaws in a mill vice
Creature shows almost no damage after its fight with Slam Plan at NHRL World Championships 2024
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Anti-vertical config, with a flat 4130 wedge, thick TPU side armor and pontoons, and long AR500 steel forks
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Anti-horizontal config, with a wraparound 4130 wedge and a shallow hinged sub-wedge
Major Improvements
- Adjusted overall proportions to reduce the robot's footprint, allowing more weight for different armor configs
- Replaced UHMW arm plates with fully dense TPU 3D prints, which don't deform elastically
- Added thick TPU top armor and outrigger forks to vert config, for better protection and corralling ability
- Redesigned lifter mechanism with a revised reduction ordering, fewer components, and a more compact layout
- 20:1 planetary -> 15:9 chain -> 60:18 spur, for a ~111:1 reduction
- Chassis rails include backup threaded mounting holes and revised side-support mounting for better repairability
| Problem Encountered | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Electrical issues, including noise on the signal lines, and voltage spike damaging the receiver / BEC | Swapped to higher current ESC's, added large capacitors to each ESC, and re-did the wiring to better separate signal and power lines |
| Single central magnet caused ground clearance issues | Replaced with 4 smaller magnets, 1 near each wheel, to avoid high-centering |
| Driving too hard into arena side rails could wedge the long anti-vert forks under the rail, getting the bot stuck | Added welded caps to the long forks, increasing the height and angle of the fork tips |
