A US company by the name of Megabots Inc. has challenged Japanese company Suidobashi Heavy Industries to a giant robot duel. We can"t make this stuff up.
Megabot"s founders, in a video that can only be described as "very American", challenged the Japanese company"s Kuratas mech to a robot rumble. The Kuratas is a $1.4 million robot weighing in at a massive four tons. On the weapons side, it is equipped with several BB gatling guns capable of spitting 6,000 rounds a minute. Additionally, these can be set to fire when the pilot smiles, a unique feature we are sure.
According to the video below, Megabot"s robot, the Mark II, runs on gas and has cannons which are capable of firing large paintball rounds at speeds of over 100 mph. The Mark II weighs in at a staggering six tons, two more than Kuratas, and requires two people to pilot it. Of course, Megabot knows and admits in the video that both robots will need modifications before they become "battle ready". At the end of the video they invite the Japanese company to prepare themselves and name the place.
Of course, this wouldn"t mean very much without a response from the Japanese company. In fact, Suidobashi has issued its own reply video, accepting the challenge which will take place roughly one year from now. Kogoro Kuratas admits that they were surprised when they saw the video, but aren"t taking the challenge lightly, upgrading the Kuratas with melee combat and other capabilities.
The robot"s creator adds that they have a duty to win this battle due to the fact that "giant robots are Japanese culture". Hilariously, he couldn"t resist commenting on how "American" of an idea it was to "build something huge with guns on it." A comment we bet Megabots" founders (wearing their US flag capes) took as a complement.
So mark your calendars folks, this one is shaping up to get pretty interesting. It will definitely be interesting to see these two battle it out a year from now, robot-to-robot. Suidobashi hasn"t announced where they want the rumble to take place nor have the companies explained the details of the fight. Due to the nature of the mechs, requiring human pilots, we imagine they will need to have some intense safety measures. One thing is for certain, this won"t be quite like your typical childhood Gundam tv show or Michael Bay film.
Source: Mashable