Last week, we learned that Robot Wars could potentially be a new sport, just as baseball or football. Specifically, we saw the U.S. challenge Japan to a battle in the arena.
Robot Wars are seriously competitive. Neither side will take this encounter lightly as Japan has accepted the United State’s challenge to battle it out in the robot ring. The point — as with any epic battle — is to leave only the best fighter standing. Here’s a recap, and the hilarious challenge videos that you can not afford to miss:
MegaBots: The Challenger
This company lives up to its name by creating technologically advanced, piloted mega-robots. These robots, similar to what you see in science fiction movies and video games, duke it out in an epic arena that can only house the best of fighter robots. Their robots get up to 15-feet tall and shoot cannon-sized paintballs at speeds upwards of 120 miles per hour.
This company looks forward to battling out its creations in Robot Wars arena battles, and has currently been working on full-scale walking Bots. They’ve successfully created an upper body prototype and a missile turret adversary, and are now, in a partnership with Autodesk, working on a new version of a MegaBot. They’re hoping to have this version ready by the Maker Faire Bay Area 2015, a giant “Show and Tell” showcasing creative and resourceful inventions. The company’s goal is to bring technology into the sports industry, hoping that people will one day be rooting for a robot like they do their favorite baseball team.
Suidobashi Heavy Industry: The Opponent
This company claims that their goal is to create human-ride robots. They currently mass-produce and sell a prototype named KURATAS, by Kogoro Kurata. You can even customize your own Bot. The company CEO reminds us that “Giant robots are Japanese culture,” and they appear to be more than ready for this Robot Wars challenge.
The Japanese company’s response to U.S. challenge video is just as comical, and it’ll be interesting to see who’s Bot is bigger and better in the competition. “The next billion dollar sports league could be giant robots that fight to the death,” says Business Insider.
It seems that a variety of people would be interested in attending Robot Wars as sports matches, so we might more rapidly approaching MegaBot’s ideal “sports world.” Unfortunately, neither company as announced any specifics for this epic battle yet, but we can assure you that you will be first to know when the time comes!
I know I’m super excited to see what happens in this arena. I will host Robot Wars Parties just like football fans host Super Bowl Parties. It’s all fun and games until someone’s robot gets SMASHED!
In the mood for some peaceful robot action? Meet MUSIO:
