3lb Impulse
3lb Impulse is the first Beetle from Comet Robotics and is an evolution from my Plant, Impulse. 3lb Impulse uses a unique ‘thagomizer’ style design with a beefy wedge in front and a fast tail with a horizontal spinner.
Impulse was designed from the ground up to be competitive. I selectively used my limited budget on great materials, sticking with 3D printing to bring down the cost of some components. I used FEA analysis to ensure the weapon geometry would hold up with no obvious stress risers, and I prototyped my design often. I iterated using 3D printed models and tested wheel molds before committing to a final design. The UHMW tails were machined locally, along with the titanium weapon shaft.
Impulse used custom molded tires made of 20A urethane for unparalleled grip. It’s long forks and thick TPU wedge made it a tank of a robot, tanking even the strongest hits. It’s thick UHMW tail was both lightweight and shock absorbent, and held up extremely well. When Impulse handled well, it could push opponents around and dish out wicked fast hits.
3lb Impulse had a positive win ratio and went toe-to-toe with high profile beetles at competition. Ultimately, Impulse was held back by an undersized weapon motor and poor drive handling.
Meringue
Following the dessert themed branding of our April 2025 NHRL bid, Meringue is a spiritual Impulse V2. Boasting an upgraded design, aesthetics, and most importantly electronics, Meringue is the culmination of hundreds of hours of work testing, driving, and fighting 3lb Impulse. Meringue is set to debut on April 5th, sporting an upgraded weapon motor, chassis, tails and drive train. Come back to this page after April for an update!
