Giant MegaBots warrior robot gets Hollywood's help to battle Japanese rival - Action News
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Giant MegaBots warrior robot gets Hollywood's help to battle Japanese rival

The American underdogs in what is planned to be the world's first giant robot battle have enlisted help from NASA engineers and Hollywood robotics experts in a bid to overcome their favoured Japanese adversary.

The MegaBots Mark II will take on Suidobashi's Kuratas sometime next year

Both Suidobashi Heavy Industry's Kuratas robot, left, and MegaBots Inc.'s Mark II, right, are piloted by humans from within a cockpit. (Kazuyoshi Kato/Flickr Megabots, Inc/Facebook)

The American underdogs in what is planned to be the world's first giant robot battle have enlisted help from NASA engineers and Hollywoodrobotics experts in a bid to overcome their favoured Japanese adversary.

MegaBotsInc., an Oakland, Calif.-based startup, has built a 4.5-metre-tallmechanical gladiator called the Mark II and challenged a Japanese firm to an international battle for supremacy.

Butthe Mark IIisn't quite ready to take on Tokyo-basedSuidobashi Heavy Industry'sKuratas robot, a more polished fighting machine with a big, agile hand that mimics the movements of its humanpilot's hand.

"Our current robot, the Mark II, looks pretty intimidating," MegaBots co-founder MattOehrleinsaid. "The truth is, it's pretty slow. It's top-heavy. It's rusty, and it needs a set ofarmourupgrades to be able to compete in hand-to-hand combat."

That's whyMegaBotslaunched an onlineKickstartercampaign and raised more than $550,000 US from robot fans to turn the Mark II into a real fighting machine faster, tougher, more balanced and equipped with detachable weapons such as a giant chain saw or punching fist.

The startup has enlisted the help of engineers from NASA, software makerAutodesk andthe TV shows Mythbustersand BattleBots.

"We're absolutely confident that Team USA can beat Japan. We've assembled the best of the best of this country. We're not going to let our country down," company co-founderGuiCavalcantisaid.

UFC meets Formula 1

The original Mark II weighed6.8 tonnes, hadmassive paintball guns in place of arms and requiredtwo pilots to operate. The Kuratas, which has been in development for three years, is much lighter than its American rival at 4.5 tonnes,has a single pilotand carries a BB Gatling cannon capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute.

Suidobashi has been releasing impressive YouTube videos touting its machine's featuresfor years.

The exact date and location of the battle between the human-pilotedrobots haveyet to be determined, but it's expected to take place next June.

Win or lose, it's all part ofMegaBots' plan by to make gladiator-style robot combat into big-time entertainment a mix between theUltimate Fighting Championship and Formula One auto racing while developing new industrial technologies and inspiring a new generation of engineers.

There have already been several television shows featuring smaller,remote-controlled andtypically wheeledrobots fighting each other in front of audiences, but theMegaBotsfounders envision an entiresports league where teams from around the world build huge humanoid machinesthat throw each other down in stadiums filled with screaming fans.

"Everyone wins as long as there is robot carnage," saidOehrlein, an electrical engineer. "People want to see these things fight. They want to see them punch each other, they want to see them ripped apart and they want to be entertained."

'Fantastic spectator sport'

MegaBotswas launched in 2014 byOehrlein,CavalcantiandBrinkleyWarren, who grew up playing video games like MechWarriorand BattleTechand wanted to fulfil their dreams of watching massive machines fight.

"We want to bring the giant robots from science fiction and movies and video games to life because now we have the technology," saidCavalcanti, a robotics engineer. "It's really about: How do we put on the best show? How do we make the coolest fight?"

Robot enthusiasts like GordonKirkwoodare eagerly anticipating the fight.

"I think it's going to be a smash hit," saidKirkwood, a robotics engineer in San Francisco. "This has the potential to be a fantastic spectator sport that people would really pay good money to see."

With files from CBC News