Each heat begins with two group battles, as the four top teams go into a mini-league. Points are awarded to competitors based on control, damage and aggression, with maximum points awarded to competitors who incapacitate their adversary. The battles are all overseen by our judges, Professor Noel Sharkey, Professor Sethu Vijayakumar and Dr Lucy Rogers.
During their fights teams must try to dodge the arena hazards - The Pit, The Spikes, The Flipper and Fire. They also have the four House Robots to deal with: Matilda, Dead Metal, Sir Killalot and Shunt.
This series there's a menacing new twist. Hitting the Arena Tyre no longer automatically lowers The Pit. It can also activate a mode called Rogue House Robot. This releases a House Robot to attack the competitors for a period of ten seconds, anywhere in the arena.
