Japan accepted the giant robot challenge on the condition that it would be hand-to-hand combat.
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When U.S. MegaBots challenged Suidobashi Heavy Industries to the giant robot duel it captured the imagination of nerds, adrenaline junkies and robot enthusiasts everywhere. The human-operated bot was one of the event’s top attractions.
We are MegaBots, Inc. And all patriotic Americans have a chance to help out our fellow countrymen in this noble endeavor thanks to a new Kickstarter project aimed at funding the toughest, baddest red-white-and-blue robot on the planet. If you have money to burn, a $2,500 pledge lets you blow things up with the Mk.II’s guns and a $5,000 pledge lets you train like a robot Rocky.
Concept art that imagines a future MegaBots sports league, with a live audience, battling robots, camera-toting drone and more.
(Photo: MegaBots Inc.) Co-founders and co-pilots Gui Cavalcanti and Matt Oehrlein.
Suidobashi Heavy Industry has yet to respond to MegaBots’ Kickstarter campaign. “It’s…super American”, quipped Suidobashi CEO and founder Kogaro Kurata in his response video. The Japanese who are known for their sophisticated and cutting edge technology accepted the challenge, but the Americans are making a lot of changes.
The Kickstarter showcases the company’s donor prize packages, ranging from listing donor names on the website ($5), to a MegaBots Team USA shirt ($50), to a tour of the company’s headquarters, complete with “an unveiling party the likes of which only San Francisco can provide” ($250) to the ultimate treasure trove, joining the pit crew on the day of reckoning itself ($5,000). At $750,000, the company will add new weapons to the robot. Check out these photos of Megabots’ fighting machine. “MythBusters” host Grant Imahara is a robot builder and will help design the Mk.II. Other sponsors on the roster are engineers and scientists from NASA, Autodesk, and Team IHMC Robotics. Oh, and beat that robot from Japan.
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You can visit the Kickstarter page here, and watch the Kickstarter video below.
