This is the real deal for those who always wanted to see a duel between gigantic robots. It may become a reality within a year, it seems. And no, it is not for a new movie. This challenge has been put up by USA to Japan, which has already been accepted.
MegaBots founders Gui Cavalcanti and Matt Oehrlein, have issued the challenge to Suidobashi Heavy Industries from Japan through a video on YouTube. In true American style, the video is done teeming with full patriotism as the whole message borders on parody, in a hilarious way, of course.
Suidobashi, we have a giant robot, you have a giant robot. You know what needs to happen. We challenge you to a duel.
Suidobashi’s response to them is also clever and witty where the video stars the creator and founder, Kogoro Kurata wrapping a Japanese flag as a cape.
However in a more serious fashion, the Japanese were apparently calm and collected in their response, stating,
We cannot let another country win this. Giant robots are all about Japanese culture.
The MegaBots Mark II robot is 15 feet tall, weighs 5.4 tons and carries enormous paintball guns that can shoot projectiles at speeds exceeding 100 mph. Meanwhile, the Kuratas is a 13-foot-tall robot that weighs 4 tons and is decked with diverse weapon systems, including a “smile-activated” BB Gatling gun. Kuratas is guided by one person while the Mark II needs a two-man crew.
MegaBots’ primary challenge demanded that the battle should happen in one year’s time, and Kuratas replied by recommending that they even forego the cannons and punch it out in an old-fashioned brawl. Although additional specifics for time and location have not been released, let’s all pause for a moment and consider that the world we have been expecting is finally here.
Let us compare the bots:
Name: Mk. II
Designers:
Location: San Francisco, California
Debut: 2015, Bay Area Maker Faire
Height: 15? (standing)
Weight: 12,000 lbs
Cockpit: Dual pilot
Locomotion: Two tracks, from a CAT 289c skidsteer, one of the largest made. Legs are A36 plate steel, lasercut and welded at the seams. 13 degrees of freedom across 20 hydraulic actuators
Power: 24HP honda gas engine spinning a hydraulic gear pump
Armaments: Arm cannons. The right arm can fire 3lb, 6? paint cannonballs at 130mph. The left arm has a 20x shot missile launcher, firing 2.5? circumference paint missiles 150mph.
Name: Kuratas
Creator: Kogoro Kuratas, Suidobashi Industries
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Debut: 2012
Height: 13.1? (standing)
Weight: 9,900 lbs
Cockpit: Single pilot
Locomotion: Four wheels, each mounted to individual legs. 30 hydraulic actuators
Power: Diesel engine
Armaments: BB mini-gun shooting 6000 rounds per minute, water bottles
Note: You can order your own Kurata mech suit from Amazon.jp for just $1 million.
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