Blendo
Combat robot
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Interest in “Blendo” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-25.
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Key Takeaways
- Blendo is a combat robot designed and built by Jamie Hyneman.
- Blendo pioneered the full-body kinetic energy spinner weapon, which later became common in BattleBots .
- Blades attached to the shell inflicted damage on its opponents, often removing bodywork and, in some cases, propelling them over the polycarbonate safety shields into the audience.
- After two matches against the robots Namreko and DoMore, it was deemed too hazardous to continue by the event supervisors and the insurance company, due to pieces of its opponents being thrown over the arena walls.
- It returned in the fourth Robot Wars in 1997, after the height of the arena walls had been increased to prevent debris from reaching the audience.
Blendo is a combat robot designed and built by Jamie Hyneman. Adam Savage handled the electronics and control systems.
Blendo pioneered the full-body kinetic energy spinner weapon, which later became common in BattleBots. The robot featured a shell constructed from a wok and was powered by a 5hp lawnmower engine. Blades attached to the shell inflicted damage on its opponents, often removing bodywork and, in some cases, propelling them over the polycarbonate safety shields into the audience.
Combat performance
Robot Wars
Blendo made its debut in the second Robot Wars competition in San Francisco (1995). After two matches against the robots Namreko and DoMore, it was deemed too hazardous to continue by the event supervisors and the insurance company, due to pieces of its opponents being thrown over the arena walls. Blendo was granted co-champion status in exchange for withdrawing from the competition. It returned in the fourth Robot Wars in 1997, after the height of the arena walls had been increased to prevent debris from reaching the audience. In this competition, Blendo once again faced off against two robots (Hercules and Punjar) and swiftly defeated both. However, after causing damage to the arena walls in both matches, Blendo was again asked to withdraw in exchange for co-champion status.
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