Japan and the US are going to have a robot duel

Spread the love

The American robot manufacturer MegaBots has challenged Japan’s Suidobashi Heavy Industry to a robot duel. The Japanese have accepted this via a YouTube video and are placing the responsibility for organizing the game with the Americans.

The challenge to the duel was posted on YouTube by MegaBots late last month. The Americans will deploy their Mark II. That is a 4.5 meter high robot of 5.5 tons that runs on petrol. “And because we’re Americans, we’ve mounted really big guns on it,” said one of the creators. The Mark II is a two-seat, tracked robot that can fire 1.3kg paintballs at 100mph.

The Japanese see it as a matter of honor and start the duel. “Giant robots are part of Japanese culture. We have to win this,” said Kugoro Kurata, head of Suidobashi Heavy Industry. Kurata has had the Kuratas in house since 2012. It is 4 meters high, weighs 4 tons, and has room for one person. Though lighter and smaller, Kuratas has dual gatling guns, a targeting system, and a heads-up display.

The Japanese is not impressed with the Mark II. He thinks it is “too American to build something big and put weapons on it”. Kurata herself prefers to see the two robots literally fight each other. “I actually want to be able to smash them to scrap.” When and where the two robots will fight it out is not yet certain. The Americans only state in their video: “In a year we will go into battle.”

You might also like