In robot combat, a self-righting mechanism or srimech (sometimes spelled as srimec or shrimech)[1] is a device used for re-right a robot should it get flipped. Biohazard of BattleBots, was the first robot to self-right.
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Biohazard was the first robot to self-right in combat, (against Vlad the Impaler in the 1996 tournament) however since the match had ended it made no difference to who actually won. The next year Vlad the Impaler fought Biohazard again, the former used its special pneumatic lifting arm and the robot was able to self-right numerous times, yet it still lost the judge's decision.
A robot called Chaos attempted to self-right for the first time in UK Robot Wars Series 2, however, it was unable to self-right. Later in the series, Cassius righted itself after Sir Killalot flipped Cassius over with his drill in the semi-final pinball trial.[2] Cassius was flipped again in the Grand Final, but it self-righted and flipped Roadblock to win the eliminator. In Series 3, the first rear-hinged flipper on Chaos 2 enabled it to catapult itself in the air and then land on its wheels.
Flippers (and often axes and hammers) could be used by a robot to self-right in combat; however, most flippers were powered by CO2 and therefore had limited durability. Axes could be used as srimechs as well.
Robots are listed alphabetically. The weapon indicated is the weapon used to self-right
| Robot's name | Competing series | Weapon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axe-Awe | Series 5, Extreme 1 | Axe | |
| Bigger Brother | Series 4-7, Extreme 1-2 | Flipper | |
| Cassius | Series 2-3 | Flipper | First robot to successfully self-right in UK Robot Wars |
| Chaos 2 | Series 3-6, Extreme 1-2 | Flipper | First rear-hinged flipper to catapult the robot back onto its wheels |
| Dantomkia | Series 6-7, Extreme 2 | Flipper | |
| Dominator 2 | Series 4-6, Extreme 1-2 | Axe | |
| Firestorm | Series 3-7, Extreme 1-2 | Flipper | |
| Iron Awe | Series 4 | Axe | First robot to successfully self-right with an axe |
| Killerhurtz | Series 2-4 | Axe | |
| Lightning | Series 7, Extreme 2 | Flipper | Flipper was side-hinged |
| Terrorhurtz | Series 5-7, Extreme 2 | Axe | |
| Tsunami | Series 7, German Series | Flipper |
Some robots had weapons that couldn't be used for self-righting, so the roboteers used other ideas such as Razer's side wings, Hypno-Disc's srimech bar and Panic Attack's top lid. These did not detract from the weapon yet they could easily break if damaged repeatedly
A rarer and more difficult type of srimech was the shape of the body. Robots like Mega Morg could roll back onto its wheels if flipped. Despite this ingenuity, there were flaws. It was extremely difficult to get the design perfect and if flipped without enough momentum or flipped from the front or back will leave the robot stranded (side-stranded in the former and back-stranded in the latter).