Razer Mykeprime / Flickr under Creative Commons Licence

Robot Wars is coming back to television. The smashing of metal; burning of robots; deadly house robots and familiar crushing of dreams will return to the BBC this year.

It's unclear whether Craig Charles will be at the helm when the show reboots but a change in presenter will not be the only thing that has moved on in the 13-years since the show last graced television sets. Robotics technology has moved rapidly. "Hopefully we're not going to see too many rotors on robots as that will limit the creation," Ian Lewis the co-creator, along with colleague Simon Scott, of piercing robot and winner of the UK and World Robot Wars championship Razer. The robot is famously remembered for mercilessly destroying beloved House Robot Matilda. "I think you will see some very powerful machines that come from the new lithium batteries. It was always a bit of a bind in the early days having to use the lead acid technology," Lewis explained. "These days the lithium can give you so much power that you almost don't have to consider the battery weight into the robot.


Technological change will undoubtedly play a huge part in the creation of the next generation of Robot Wars contenders. Batteries, weapons, materials and computing have all improved dramatically -- and it would not be farfetched for fighting robots to be created that are powered by the £4 Raspberry Pi computer.

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"Materials, technology, and weapons have moved on - fighting robots are now more powerful, more reliable and more spectacular than ever," Andrew Marchant the creator of Tornado, which beat Razer to become Robot Wars champion, told WIRED. "I think we will see some really good powerful piercing machines," Lewis said.

Depending on the rules of the show, the weight of the robots, and technical feasibility it is not farfetched to say drone technology could even be adapted to the competitors. That's without considering the potential of new House Robots.


Marchant reiterated the continued popularity of robot fighting competitions saying they have carried on in "sports halls and theatres up and down the country" since Robot Wars finished. A UK 'live' tour of Robot Wars still travels the country today but without the mainstream TV backing does not reach a mass audience.

Although Marchant said a "Tornado Mk2" won't be returning in the upcoming BBC series there may be a return for the robot in the future.

As for Razer, however, Lewis said it is highly possible that the former champion would return to the arena for this year's series. "We got its design right in the first place," Lewis said. "It wasn't a lucky moment because we put a lot of thought into it but it was a darn good machine. "If we did enter Robot Wars again, which we are interested in doing, it would be a slightly updated version of Razer."