Giant Kuratas robot comes to life in Japan

[prophetomega]

TOKYO - Like many Japanese, Kogoro Kurata grew up watching futuristic robots in movies and animation, wishing that he could bring them to life and pilot one himself. Unlike most other Japanese, he has actually done it.

His 4-tonne, 4-metre (13 feet) tall Kuratas robot is a grey behemoth with a built-in pilot’s seat and hand-held controller that allows an operator to flex its massive arms, move it up and down and drive it at a speed of up to 10 kph (6 mph).

“The robots we saw in our generation were always big and always had people riding them, and I don’t think they have much meaning in the real world,” said Kurata, a 39-year-old artist.

“But it really was my dream to ride in one of them, and I also think it’s one kind of Japanese culture. I kept thinking that it’s something that Japanese had to do.”

His prototype robot comes equipped with an operating system that also allows remote control from an iPhone as well as optional “guns” that shoot plastic bottles or BB pellets and are powered by a lock-and-load system fired by the pilot’s smile.

The robot, which took two years to pull together from concept to construction, also comes with a range of customized options from paint scheme to cup holders.

It isn’t cheap. The sticker price for the most basic model alone is around 110 million yen ($1.3 million).

Kurata said while he has received thousands of inquiries about buying a robot, he’s also received a large number of cancellations and declined to specify how many people have actually bought one.

But that’s not so important.

“By my building this, I hope that it’ll sort of be the trailblazer for people who can do more than myself to make different things,” he said.

“They might be able to make a society that uses robots in a way I can’t even imagine. I expect more from the implications of building it than from the robot itself.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2iZ0WuNvHr8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TztFUjrI2CE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Vwn5V3MmI0Q

Source:http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/28/giant-kuratas-robot-comes-to-life-in-japan

[Summer-Time-Fun]

I'd hate to be an enemy of Japan 5 years from now.
They're going to have army's of robots. That thing looks tough, pretty cool!

[zoolanimal]

it is only a prototype right so no telling where development will go. however, it runs on wheels so right now it is more oriented to an urban environment

want to bet it is intended to quell the insurrections and food riots in the japan of the late 21st century - global warming - rising populations - rising waters - drought = civil unrest - want to make that wager?

[Ceewan]

I cannot imagine this having any actual military or even security applications. It is just a big toy. No way in hell it could it could stack up to your modern APC let alone a tank or even your average IED. A crowd or mob would simply turn it over and it would look like a turtle on its' back trying to right itself. Sorry to burst any bubbles but as cool as they look on tv, robots are just too delicate to be practical in most applications, especially military. Predator drones and unmanned aircraft are another story.


All that said I would love to have one.

[TravelingWind]

....I hope they're just big toys...Can't wait to get the Gundam model and stroll around town

[gyoza, ramen & a beer]

Just one question: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA PARK THIS THING???

Of course, the flip-side of that question is what the hell the cops would/could possibly do with it even if they were somehow able to tow it away...so maybe you could just tear up the parking tickets

(and yeah, I live in a big city).

Still, Mr. Kurata's invention is a (4 meter) monument to human ingenuity.

[kraidazen]

now, japan only has to upgrade the robot to near gundam-like capability and it will be set

[Kumi3]

Originally Posted by kraidazen

upgrade the robot to near gundam-like capability

Bouncing along the street, doing that 'horsey' dance - "Op, op, op, op..." Oh, wait... That's the other one...


This robot appears in a documentary. Unfortunately, I don't remember the title. I remember Stephen Hawking did a series on technology, but there was another short series doing the rounds recently, primarily about robots and AI. It may have been Canadian produced.

[EzikialRage]

These things don't have any real world military application. That said I think it would want one,especially if they made a transforming one.

[caneta]

Cool!