Giant Kuratas robot comes to life in Japan

[prophetomega]

TOKYO - Like many Japanese, Kogoro Kurata grew up watching futuristic robots in movies and animation, wishing that he could bring them to life and pilot one himself. Unlike most other Japanese, he has actually done it.

His 4-tonne, 4-metre (13 feet) tall Kuratas robot is a grey behemoth with a built-in pilot’s seat and hand-held controller that allows an operator to flex its massive arms, move it up and down and drive it at a speed of up to 10 kph (6 mph).

“The robots we saw in our generation were always big and always had people riding them, and I don’t think they have much meaning in the real world,” said Kurata, a 39-year-old artist.

“But it really was my dream to ride in one of them, and I also think it’s one kind of Japanese culture. I kept thinking that it’s something that Japanese had to do.”

His prototype robot comes equipped with an operating system that also allows remote control from an iPhone as well as optional “guns” that shoot plastic bottles or BB pellets and are powered by a lock-and-load system fired by the pilot’s smile.

The robot, which took two years to pull together from concept to construction, also comes with a range of customized options from paint scheme to cup holders.

It isn’t cheap. The sticker price for the most basic model alone is around 110 million yen ($1.3 million).

Kurata said while he has received thousands of inquiries about buying a robot, he’s also received a large number of cancellations and declined to specify how many people have actually bought one.

But that’s not so important.

“By my building this, I hope that it’ll sort of be the trailblazer for people who can do more than myself to make different things,” he said.

“They might be able to make a society that uses robots in a way I can’t even imagine. I expect more from the implications of building it than from the robot itself.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2iZ0WuNvHr8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TztFUjrI2CE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Vwn5V3MmI0Q

Source:http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/28/giant-kuratas-robot-comes-to-life-in-japan

 

[Summer-Time-Fun]

I'd hate to be an enemy of Japan 5 years from now.
They're going to have army's of robots. That thing looks tough, pretty cool!

 

[zoolanimal]

humm! looks like i'd be scared if i were japanese . . .

it is only a prototype right so no telling where development will go. however, it runs on wheels so right now it is more oriented to an urban environment

want to bet it is intended to quell the insurrections and food riots in the japan of the late 21st century - global warming - rising populations - rising waters - drought = civil unrest - want to make that wager?

 

[Ceewan]

I cannot imagine this having any actual military or even security applications. It is just a big toy. No way in hell it could it could stack up to your modern APC let alone a tank or even your average IED. A crowd or mob would simply turn it over and it would look like a turtle on its' back trying to right itself. Sorry to burst any bubbles but as cool as they look on tv, robots are just too delicate to be practical in most applications, especially military. Predator drones and unmanned aircraft are another story.


All that said I would love to have one.

 

[TravelingWind]

....I hope they're just big toys...Can't wait to get the Gundam model and stroll around town

 

[gyoza ramen & a beer]

Just one question: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA PARK THIS THING???

Of course, the flip-side of that question is what the hell the cops would/could possibly do with it even if they were somehow able to tow it away...so maybe you could just tear up the parking tickets

(and yeah, I live in a big city).

Still, Mr. Kurata's invention is a (4 meter) monument to human ingenuity.

 

[kraidazen]

now, japan only has to upgrade the robot to near gundam-like capability and it will be set erfectplan:

 

[Kumi3]

upgrade the robot to near gundam-like capability

Bouncing along the street, doing that 'horsey' dance - "Op, op, op, op..." Oh, wait... That's the other one...


This robot appears in a documentary. Unfortunately, I don't remember the title. I remember Stephen Hawking did a series on technology, but there was another short series doing the rounds recently, primarily about robots and AI. It may have been Canadian produced.

 

[EzikialRage]

These things don't have any real world military application. That said I think it would want one,especially if they made a transforming one.

 

[caneta]

Cool!

 

[Gir633]

If made practical/robust enough there probably would be real world applications for this type of mecha.
Most likely they would be in the Aliens/Patlabor type of roles; powerloaders, construction/excavation, and rescue. Moving, lifting, placing items would be quicker and more intuitive with these than a fork lift or crane. It would probably work quite well for carefully moving debris for search and rescue. And like most excavators the "hands" would probably be detachable, and there would be a multitude of attachments available for different applications.

 

[Belion]

HOLY SHIT!!
NO F*&#ING WAY!!
THis is the REAL DEAL right there...
110 MILLION for a F*&#ING STICKER.. what a RIPOFF!!
but still real humanoid mech or WANZER or whatever I mean HOLY SHIT!!

 

[Ceewan]

If made practical/robust enough there probably would be real world applications for this type of mecha.

Robotics and the industrial age go hand in hand. There are many practical applications for robotics. I have been waiting for some one to reproduce the Powerloader from Aliens 2 or the mech from Avatar but that type of complicated machinery and "digital" tech is just hugely expensive and there are cheaper and more effecient ways to accomplish the same goals.

As far as mover or excavator well...you need to understand something about forklifts and "Load Center of Gravity". This is why forklifts are built the way they are, to disperse and safely counter balance the weight they are lifting. Same concept would go for an excavator or any machine specifically designed to move or lift great quantities of weight. Any "mecha" built for this type of use would need to have a very stable and "heavy" base in the opposite direction of the "lift". It would be a squat and somewhat ugly thing and likely not at all like the toy shown here. TV and manga are welcome to defy physics but we mere Earthlings are bound by some basic laws of science.

One of the most obvious problems with the Kuratas Robot looks to be one of stability and balance. Personally I think they probably should have considered making it a six or even eight wheeled vehicle instead of four, adding wheels out to either side to give it a larger base of weight, stability and maneuverablity. Likely this spider concept, (which works great for spiders by the way), was seen as too costly and bulky.

Still, it is a cool looking toy.

 

[Kumi3]

These things don't have any real world military application.

If made practical/robust enough there probably would be real world applications for this type of mecha.

They're already in use. I do apologise for not being able to recall the title of that documentary series I mentioned previously.

What is being used by the military, and health services, are robotic 'exo-skeletons'. Not as large as Kurata's robot, or Ripley's walking forklift for sure, being not much more than a strap-on suit, but the basic elements are there.

The military are using them for load-bearing, a soldier being actually able to actually run in one. Health services are using them with people who cannot walk.

It's impressive to see, and doesn't take much imagination, and indeed respect to the engineering considerations (a quick nod to Ceewan here), to realise that we're a stones throw away from having the machinery of our Sci-Fi favorites.

All that is required is 1. Application, 2. Engineering and, 3. The Money.

The Engineering we have. Money will come with motivation, I guess. Application is the bottleneck. Helping someone to walk, no hassle, we're there. But will a 15 foot walking artillery piece be a more efficient battle unit than the current one on treads ?

Having some battle-armour that could just walk in and rut out terrorists, without failing to RPG fire, APM's and the like, that's fine. What would be really cool, seeing a small army of these things sweeping across the devastation post an earthquake or tsunami, clearing the rubble and rescuing people.


Although these aren't what I've previously seen, they are similar:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/01/hal-exosuit-takes-a-cybernic-approach-to-disabled-tourism/
http://au.gizmodo.com/5953361/hal-the-do+gooder-exo+suit-with-the-really-evil-name
http://io9.com/5046670/military-exo+suits-are-on-the-way

 

[Ceewan]

Nice post. Exo-Skeleton technology is much more practical than "mech" tech, atm anyway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powered_exoskeleton

We do suffer from the technology and engineering to make these very practical, (or very safe for that matter), at the present. Wiki is a fountain of information, (although not the end all of the same). Please note the rather large section they have on "Limitations and design issues". This does seem to be a progressing technology though.

 

[boywantgal]

kinda like construction robot from appleseed ex machina.

 

[Kumi3]

Exo-Skeleton technology is much more practical than "mech" tech, atm anyway.

I don't actually see much difference between the two. Granted, I'm not a follower of the genre that spawned Battle-Tech, Transformers, et al.

But I feel that at the base level of engineering, it's all pretty much one and the same. Hydraulics appear to be the core means for movement, whether today's exo-skeleton, or Ripley's walking forklift. I'm assuming (without going back to re-read) that Kurata's "robot" operates that way as well.

So what we have is a hydraulic walker.

What's a 'Mech' ? A hydraulic walker with protective 'plates' of an unspecified material that we'll call it "Armour". So our machinery, and our 'Pilot' are now less exposed.


Now, the 'hit back' element. We add not only armament, but the ammunition, and 'feeders' to go with it. That's a lot of weight, and depending on how it's distributed, counter-weighting may also be required.

And we've not taken into account 'kick-back' of certain armament types - ever seen traditional artillery fire ? Even Armour (tanks), with their broad center of gravity, give a good old shake, and they've got shit-loads of dampening mechanisms built into them.

We've probably had to go back to increase our hydraulic capability, to cope with the extra weight. This in turn bulks out our Armour requirement. The damn beast is not getting any smaller.


But it ain't 'alf fun to chat about !

 

[Ceewan]

I don't actually see much difference between the two.

A mech is a vehicle, often, (though not always), created to simulate certain animal characteristics, (including but not exclsive to humanoid), and built for war. Mech is short for mechanized.

A robot combines mechanics and technology so that it can perform functions and tasks in lieu of humans and/or without human interaction.

An exo-skeleton is made to directly enhance human performance by using complex digital and mechanical technology to increase both the muscular and skeletal physical attributes.

So a man would drive a mech, be replaced by a robot, or wear an exo-skeleton.

 

[Kumi3]

Fair enough.

I do understand the terminology. I just meant that, from an engineering standpoint, I see the exo-skeleton as say, the 'basic' model, and the 'Mech' as the 'all features included' model.

 

[Ceewan]

Close enough. Although this borders as off-topic and I should have included it in my last post I would like to add a few more observations:

Mech, as I said, is short for mechanized. It is a military term and usually refers to a tank group with support elements or a mechanized infantry unit. I believe it was first used in WWII but it most certainly became popular later when APCs' became as powerful or the equilavent to light or medium tanks and the speed and reliabilty of armored units became increasing more consistent.

The considerable power and devastion that could be wrought be a fast advancing "mech" unit fueled the imagination of science fiction writers. Thus variations on the futuristic properties and configurations of armored units inspired many a writer and animator and thrilled many a fans.

Yet like battleships and the fortresses before them, tanks, which were originally meant to be, (and still are), mobile artillery units, have become almost obsolete. This is not to say that the military doesn't still have uses for armored units but that shouldered mounted rockets and very accurate missiles that can be fired from miles away have made them very unsafe places to be on the battlefield. Until, or even if, these problems can be overcome the future of mechanized warfare is itself in question, let alone the building of expensive futuristic replacements.

Battle armor and equipment such as exo-skeletons that can improve the basic infantry mans effectiveness, because infantry will always be necessary, will likely have a place in futuristic research and development for armed forces. At the forefront are likely to be aerial, naval, and missile technological research, (though not necessarily in that order).

That is my view on the subject anyway.