MegaBots Inc. confirmed their Mark III robot will face Suidobashi Heavy Industries’ Kuratas mech in battle this August. The giant robot duel was first agreed on two years ago, but the pilots were still waiting for a venue.
The American company challenged the Japanese robot makers in 2015. They quickly accepted, but imposed their conditions: the fight had to include melee combat. The two teams agreed and have made weapon modifications to their robots.
Giant robots are starting to go from novelty to real-life things, although they are still far away from the mechas we are used to seeing in films and TV shows. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was recently caught on video piloting his huge robot.
The Japanese want a fist-fight!
MegaBots finished building its Mark II robot in early 2015, and the next logical thing to do was to find a worthy adversary to take on. Japan’s Suidobashi Heavy Industries had Kuratas ready to go at the time, so they gladly accepted.
Both mechs were built with fighting capabilities in mind, although it was all theoretical and for show up until the Americans took the initiative. Since then, the two robot makers have taken to their workshops to prepare for real battle.
The Mark II was initially 15 feet tall and weighed 12,000 pounds, but the Mark III is one foot taller than its predecessor and weighs almost twice as much. It can shoot 3lb projectiles faster than 130 mph, and it is equipped with a giant chainsaw and ripsaw. It can also lift a sedan like it’s no big deal.
SHI accepted the challenge on the one condition that they could punch their opponents to scrap. The 9,000lbs Japanese robot did not have as many guns, but it had a more sophisticated control system based on Microsoft’s Kinect and stood on four wheeled legs instead of two threads like the Mk. III.
“JUST BUILDING SOMETHING HUGE AND STICKING GUNS IN IT IT’S SUPER AMERICAN. IF WE’RE GOING TO WIN THIS, I WANT TO PUNCH THEM TO SCRAP AND KNOCK THEM DOWN TO IT,” said Kogoro Kurata, head of SHI.
MegaBots claims robot fights are the 21st-century live sport
The duel between the U.S. and Japan could very well be the beginning of a new sport. MegaBots raised $2.4 million in past years to set up the logistics of an international robot fighting league.
The match between MegaBots’ Mark III and SHI’s Kuratas will take place at a yet unannounced venue and date this August. Both robot makers said the battle would be live streamed on their respective YouTube channels.
Source: MegaBots