This is definitely the stuff movies are made of (remember Voltron and Pacific Rim?). Just imagine two ginormous robots fighting to the finish. Yet, this is exactly what you should expect by mid 2016.
Meet The Robots
Last June, U.S.-based MegaBots, Inc. challenged Japan’s Suidobashi Heavy Industries to a robot duel, which Suidobashi accepted on the grounds that it would be a melee combat – that is a hand-to hand combat.
This challenge gave both teams a year to make the modifications necessary to engage in robot-on-robot combat. At the time of the challenge, the Mark 2 weighed six tons (6,000kg), had controls for two pilots, and fired paint cannonballs at speeds of over 160km/hr.
But as the June date draws closer, Megabots has been putting the finishing touches to its Mark 2 model, which it calls America’s first fully-functional, giant piloted robot. When fully upgraded, the Mark 2 will be five times faster and more powerful, self-balancing, and armored for hand-to-hand combat.
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Suidobashi Heavy Industries on the other hand has created the Kuratas; a towering, single-pilot robot, which is already commercially available. The Kuratas, named after its designer and launched in 2012, weighs a little less that its American counterpart at 4.5 tons (4,500kg) and features Gatling guns controlled by an advanced targeting system and a full heads-up display (HUD).
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For Suidobashi, this challenge is a must-win because it is a matter of national pride; since giant robots are an active part of the Japanese culture and have been featured in Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga) for decades with such household names like Gundam and Evangelion.
Describing what fans should expect of the duel, Kuratas said:
I want to punch them to scrap and knock them down to do it
No venue or date for the epic fight has been set, only that it will take place in June 2016, as sci-fi fans wait with bated breath.
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