Thwackbots

From Combat Robot

Thwackbots are two wheel drive robots that spin their two wheels in opposite directions to create a spinning effect that spins the entire robot, not just a shell such as in Full body spinners.

Thwackbots use one or multiple bars or hammers to smash into the opposing robot while spinning. The problem with thwackbots is that once the whole robot is spinning with the bar, there is no way to control movement. Some builders have experimented with using microcontrollers and sensors to modify the signal sent to the drive motors in order to provide translational movement, but overall these efforts have not been succesful.