A duel between massive, armed mecha from the U.S. and Japan is about to happen.
The brazen challenge by the American robotics company MegaBots Inc. to a giant robot duel has been answered enthusiastically by the Japanese company Suidobashi Heavy Industry, pitting their two flagship mecha, the MegaBot Mk.II and the Kuratas, against each other in an epic one-on-one battle.
The American Megabot Mk.II is larger than its Japanese counterpart, standing at 15-feet tall and weighing 6 tons. It rolls on a couple of tank-like tracks and can fire giant paint balls at speeds up to 100 mph.
MegaBots co-founder Gui Cavalcanti describes the concept behind the design of the company's battle mecha, in an interview with Engadget.
"We're bringing video games and science fiction to life in the form of internally piloted giant fighting robots," he said.
The Japanese Kuratas, on the other hand, is a more streamlined mecha standing at 12-feet high and weighing 4 tons. Moving on wheels instead of tracks, the machine is equipped with a number of sophisticated visual tracking technology and motion-mapped hand controls. Whereas the American robot's pilot sits in a cage, the Japanese mecha has an entirely enclosed cockpit with cameras on the head, according to Forbes.
Kogoro Kurata, founder and CEO of Suidobashi Heavy Industry, enthusiastically accepts the challenge laid out by the American company, reports The Daily Beast.
Yeah, I'll fight. Absolutely," he said, adding "We can't let another country win this. Giant robots are Japanese culture."
The Japanese company has upped the ante of the battle however, suggesting that the battle be fought as a physical melee rather than a long range fight, according to The Verge. Thus, the stakes have gotten higher, and the American company now has their work cut out for them.
One can only hope that the battle between the two behemoths will be as epic as the buildup to it.
