American robotics company, MegaBots, has challenged Japan's Suidobashi Heavy Industries' robot to a duel between two giants. The Japanese Suidobashi has readily accepted the challenge. MegaBots' challenge is a bid for the company to promote its latest development, the MegaBot Mark II.
The new robot will be America's first fully functional giant robot, the company claims. It has huge weaponry on its body. Paintballs will come out of its guns at 100 mph. The American robot is fifteen feet tall, Mashable reports. It rolls out on a tank, and weighs 12,000 pounds. Megabot Mark II also reportedly costs $175,000.
"Their tech is currently more advanced, but we have about a year to catch up. I think it'll even out." Gui Cavalcanti, one of MegaBots' founders, says of how MegaBot Mark II matches up with the Japanese robot.
Suidobashi's founder and CEO, Kogoro Kurata, claims that their robot is three times faster than the American MegaBot, which Cavalcanti acknowledged. Kurata mocked the American design, telling the MegaBots team to make it "cooler".
The Suidobashi mech stands thirteen feet tall. At 9,000 pounds, it is much lighter than its American opponent. It has also turned out to be a lot more expensive at $1,000,000.
Japan is known to have robots as an important part of its culture. Many of the country's comic books and animated series have centered on mechs. It is widely known around the world that Japan has been developing robots, even releasing humanoid models in the recent years.
The United States, on the other hand, has similarly seen and placed robots in its pop culture. America has also been testing technologies for artificial intelligence in the past few years.
No final details about the battle have been released yet. Cavalcanti said on an interview with Mashable that the Japanese company has allowed them to decide when the duel is going to be. Cavalcanti also mentioned that a neutral battlefield, not confined in just the US and Japan, is ideal for the upcoming duel. MegaBots is currently working to find the perfect venue.
Who is going to end up victorious? Cavalcanti has this to say, "We're gonna win. We've got the bigger, heavier, admittedly, slower robot. We're into this to start this sports league. This is how it's got to happen."
The world will be watching.
