Hypno-Disc

Hypno-Disc brought the horizontal flywheel to UK Robot Wars and made the weapon type popular for good. Built by the Rose family of Middleton Cheney, Dave, Derek and Ken, the robot weighs exactly 100 kg, the heavyweight limit of the original series, and measures 122 × 74 × 47 cm. Drive is electric with radio control; disc mass, speed and motor types were never published.

Its 1999 debut took it straight to the Series 3 Grand Final, lost to the flipper Chaos 2, and it finished fourth in Series 4 (2000) and Series 5 (2001). The team also received the ‘Most Original Entry’ award. The concept matters because a heavy horizontal disc destroys an opponent’s armour rather than lifting it, the principle behind today’s dominant spinner classes.

One unit was built; the robot has not competed since the original run ended, so its status is retired. No freely licensed photograph exists, as the only Wikipedia image is not on Wikimedia Commons. Set against the American Tombstone, it shows how far the mass and tip speed of horizontal spinners have grown in two decades.