BATTLEBOT king

Maybe not. But BioHazard does.

BioHazard is Bertocchini's 220-pound titanium robot. BioHazard's powerful arm tosses other heavyweight robots in the air with ease on the near daily repeats of the Comedy Central hit "BattleBots."

Bertocchini and his robot have been a staple on the show, where remote-controlled robots of various sizes fight one another using a variety of weapons.

But Bertocchini's interest in fighting robots began long before.

In the 1994 Robot Sumo competition, he entered a robot named The Beast, which despite its name is actually only a fraction of the size of BioHazard and can be held in two hands. The competition is held at the Exploratorium in San Francisco twice a year. Unlike "BattleBots," Sumo robots act autonomously to push their competitors out of a circle. When Bertocchini won the competition, he started thinking about bigger and better robots.

In 1996, he created BioHazard and entered the 4 feet by 4 feet rolling robot in Robot Wars, an early predecessor to "BattleBots." He won that competition too. The next year, he won again.

But in 1998, the Robot Wars creators moved their battles across the Atlantic Ocean, starting up a successful show in England.

"They left us Californians with no competition," said Bertocchini.

In 1999, the robots were back, with a new name and new organizers at the helm. This time the robotic carnage was moved to Long Beach, and once again Bertocchini took first prize.

But when Comedy Central began its first season of "BattleBots" in the fall of 2000, TV viewers could never have guessed BioHazard's winning statistics.

"I was knocked out in the first round," he said.

The second season was a different story. BioHazard used its strong lifting arm against Vlad the Impaler, and after ramming the other robot into submission, walked away with the Golden Nut, the show's first-place award.

The next season, Bertocchini had to settle for second place. Although Bertocchini said that obviously second place isn't the same as winning first, he was satisfied that his robot made it that far.

"When you consider the number of robots competing, even winning one match is an accomplishment," he said.

Bertocchini did walk into the latest bout hoping to take back the title. The show was taped on Treasure Island in November.

Viewers will be able to find out how he did when the new "BattleBots" season starts Jan. 8. Because he signed a non-disclosure agreement with the show, Bertocchini couldn't say how BioHazard fared this time around, but he did say he would watch every show.

Bertocchini is still tinkering with BioHazard, replacing the robot's linear actuator, which is part of the lever system that lifts the arm quickly and forcefully into the air. He is also putting on custom-made wheels that cost $150 a pop to replace when the old ones run down.

He is working on a new robot as well, a super heavyweight weighing more than 220 pounds. He won't say much about his new creation, only that it will have a completely different weapon than BioHazard.

But Bertocchini spends much of his time running robotbooks.com, a Web site that sells books on making robots, robot kits, and toy robots, including the toy version of BioHazard. With the money he makes off of the site and "BattleBots"-related merchandise, six months ago Bertocchini was able to quit his job as a mechanical engineer for Raychem in Menlo Park.

"Building robots, selling robots, repairing robots. Everything's robots," he said of his life.

Despite the hold that robots have over him, Bertocchini said there are times when he gets fed up with his mechanical menaces.

"Right after a competition, you come home with a broken robot, and you don't even want to look at it for a couple months," he said.

Still, Bertocchini thinks that robots are one of the best hobbies that kids can have. They're much better than baseball, he said. This hobby can actually teach young people useful skills.

He asks anyone who is interested in robots to visit his Web site, where he has listed many helpful robot-building tips.

"I've printed everything I know, so I can't give anymore advice than that," he said.

With a new generation on board, Bertocchini said there's no end to where robot building and robot fighting can go.

"I want the whole world to be interested," he said.