Those who’ve dreamed of having their own Transformer can thank three Japanese companies for bringing that dream closer to reality.
J-deite, a quarter-scale robot that can morph from a humanoid robot into a small sports car, is the product of a collaboration between Brave Robotics, Asratec and Tomy, according to Mashable. The machine is about 5 feet (ft) tall in its humanoid form (weighing 77 pounds) and about 3 ft long when it is in its vehicle form.
The robot can drive up to 6 miles per hour (mph) as a two-seater car with about 1.5 inches of room clearance, and it can walk at 0.6 mph in its humanoid form. Its V-Sido proprietary software system, designed by Wataru Yoshizaki, allows it to work for about one hour on a single charge.
J-deite doesn't walk in full stride as a real giant robot would, and instead waddles in an awkward fashion, Daily Mail reported. The addition of V-Sido is intended to give anyone the ability to control the robot.
A demonstration video shows that J-deite can move its head, lift its arms and transform into its car form, and it can do all of this in just a few seconds.
J-deite is the second Transformer robot to be created by Brave Robotics developer Kenji Ishida, who introduced a desktop-sized robot in 2012 that didn't appear as one would expect a Transformer would, Mashable reported.
The machine's creators plan to build an 8.2-ft half-scale model of the robot and finish it by 2016, Daily Mail reported. The final version of the machine, which is aimed at being 16.4 ft tall, is scheduled to be completed by 2020.
The team only aims at building a prototype of J-deite, and is not intending to make a version of the robot available to the public. While Transformer fans may be disappointed that they wouldn't be able to get their hands on the machine, they will definitely want to see what this robot looks like in its final form.
