On Saturday, Greatmetal unveiled the first prototype of its giant robot fighter called Monkey King at the GMIC’s G-Festival in Beijing, China. The local robot maker exhibited its mech alongside MegaBots’ Mark III over the weekend.
MegaBots uploaded a Monkey King promo video to its YouTube channel on Saturday as well, and they have hinted at the possibility of a future duel. Japan’s Suidobashi Heavy Industries and their Kuratas robot are also interested.
The two contenders and organizers of the event are reportedly considering letting China join the brawl set for this August. However, logistics and details about the match are being kept secret. In fact, Monkey King could not see action in 2017.
The Monkey King is a light-weight brawler
The first thing to know about Monkey King is that it is, after all, a prototype. Greatmetal’s head and head creator of the giant robot, Shiqian Sun, has said he expects to finish the final design of the battling beast this year.
Monkey King is no ordinary fighting machine, as it has a unique feature that may prove advantageous in combat: it can stand on both two and four legs. Quadrupedal locomotion is certainly more stable than Kuratas’ wheel-based system and the Mk III’s tank-like treads.
Greatmetal has disclosed only a few details about their mech, but one of them could be both a blessing and a curse in the ring against either of its counterparts: it weighs only 4 tons or 8,000 lbs. This is less than half of Kuratas’ weight and roughly a third of the Mk III.
Nevertheless, its light weight could make it faster than its rivals, although we don’t know just how quickly it can transform from bipedal robot to four-legged beast. The Monkey King’s only confirmed weapon is a staff it carries on its back, with which people presume it beats its enemies.
The Monkey King could make the robot fighting league real
#First #Chinese #Fighting #Robot #MonkeyKing @GMX_China #GFestival #April #29 #Beijing #BirdsNest #Stadium pic.twitter.com/9nZdLOU1aH
— GMX吉米客 (@GMX_China) April 23, 2017
MegaBots’ co-founders Gui Cavalcanti and Matt Oehrlein said they were eager to accept the Chinese team’s challenge and excited for the potential realization of their vision of a robot fighting league:
“WE’RE EXCITED TO BE STARTING THE SPORTS LEAGUE OF THE FUTURE, SCIENCE FICTION ROBOTS COMING TO LIFE. ONCE THE DUEL WITH THE JAPANESE TEAM IS SETTLED, WE’LL BE TALKING TO THIS CHINESE TEAM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT’S NEXT.”
The battle between MegaBots’ Mk. III and SHI’s Kuratas is scheduled for this August, although fans are still awaiting more details about the venue, ticket price, and rules of the match. More countries need to come forward with their own robots like Greatmetal’s Monkey King to make this new sport a reality.
Source: Digital Trends
