U.S. Robotics firm MegaBots' Mark II robot to fight Japan's Kuratas robot in 2016 (Click Image To Enlarge)
Japanese mega-robot creator Suidobashi Heavy Industry, headed by Kogoro Kurata, accepted a challenge this week from US robotics firm MegaBots for a winner-take-all robot brawl to take place next summer in a giant stadium at a yet undetermined location.
Giant Robot Fights - Image Courtesy of jalopnik.com (Click Image To Enlarge)
The event is expected to kick off a new global industry, perhaps worth billions, in which giant robots battle for supremacy. Like all emerging sports over the past several decades, mainstream sponsors are lining up: Autodesk, Engadget, Business Insider, Rolling Stone, The Huffington Post, VICE, and the Discovery Channel. The following video from the DARPA Robotics Challenge shows what looks to be the ground floor of a new sports industry in the making.
U.S. vs Japan To Kickoff Global Robot Fighting Industry
Kurata, pictured in the bandana in the image below, is the creator of Kuratas, a 13.2 foot (4 meters) tall, four-legged, 4-ton robot that can reach speeds up to 6 miles per hour (10 km/h). Kuratas also has twin Gatling guns, an electronic targeting system and a full heads up display.
The US opponent will be Megapots Mark 2 which is 15.1 feet (4.6 meters) tall and is designed to hurt Canon-sized paintballs at over 100 mph (160 km/h). MegaBots is led by Andreas Hoffmann's MIT Ph.D thesis "Robust Execution of Bipedal Walking Tasks from Biomechanical Principles".
Giant Robot Fights U.S. vs Japan Robot Challenge - Image Courtesy of Japantimes.com (Click Image To Enlarge)
Following is a video on the US vs. Japan Giant Robot Duel Challenge:
COMMENTARY: I can hardly wait to see this "Battle of the Titans" when Japan takes on the U.S. in a robotic no-holds-barred fight. You are talking about a lot of firepower and tonnage. They already have robot battles, but nothing like this. These are truly beyond belief, gigantic robots. It should be quite a sight.
Courtesy of an article dated July 12, 2015 appearing in Industry Tap
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