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Your Own Mecha

BJH writes "A Japanese company by the unfortunate name of tmsuk has just announced the world's largest robot capable of carrying a person - the 3.5m tall, 5 ton T52 Enryu HyperRescueRobot. Their product site is in Japanese, but here's a few fun facts: it's 10m wide with its arms fully outstretched, is powered by an onboard water-cooled three cylinder direct injection diesel engine, has a maximum speed of 3Km/h, and carries seven 680,000-pixel CCD cameras with a separate monitor for each camera. If no whiny 14-year-olds are available to pilot it, it can be remotely controlled (with a dummy plug in the cockpit, presumably)."

9 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. Bring on the Aliens by ntsucks · · Score: 5, Funny

    Get Signorey Weaver and bring on the Alien mother.

    --
    Those who can do. Those who can't sue.
  2. Sounds good, but... by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Funny
    does it run Rinux?

    C'mon, this joke's got legs!

    Looks like the perfect thing to babysit kids with or fight mother aliens.

    Scratch that, the kids'll break it.

  3. Old idea. by Samuel+Duncan · · Score: 5, Informative
    Already after WW II in the late 1940ies there were the first mech projects floating around. We had basically everything you need: Diesel engines, decent valves from submarine technology for the hydraulic system, the usual control stuff, sufficiently small electric motors etc. You don't need many electric amplifiers for the electric system because the main system would have to be hydraulic anyway. So vaccuum tubes would do.
    However the projects were stomped due to several reasons:
    1. Weight: these mechs would much too heavy for decent use (200 metric tons)
    2. Stability: without high speed regulation these mech would just fall on the back when lifting something heavy or fire an anti tank grenade.
    3. Reliability: the hydraulic system was every prone to produce leaks and it wasn't even remotely bullet proof. A single foot soldier could take it out with an old WW I gun.
    --
    Over 90 years and counting !
  4. Re:what is this for? by BJH · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's intended for use in areas hit by natural disaster - earthquakes, for example. The name 'Enryu' could be translated as 'Helpful Dragon' (the 'en' is part of the Japanese word for 'rescue' or 'aid').

  5. babelfish trans w/ random line breaks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    NEWS
    Releasing new model rescue robot "T-52 support dragon" with fire fighting coming out first system (Inc.) the Kitakyushu city National Fire Prevention and Control Administra,
    (Germany) fire fighting laboratory, the Kyoto university and others and development

    Corporation (high main Yoichi Chief Executive Officer: below head office Kitakyushu city) 2004 January 11th (day), the Kitakyushu city National Fire Prevention and Control Administra and
    the independent administrative corporate body fire fighting laboratory, Assistant Professors Kyoto university Yokokouzi the new model rescue robot "T-52 support dragon which was developed
    (...)" at the Kitakyushu city fire fighting coming out first system which is held at the Kitakyushu city Moji Ku it released.

    The "T-52 support dragon" in order to be able to execute the necessary job of real power at such as disaster actual place, total height approximately 3.45 m, at weight
    approximately 5 t and worldwide biggest size, adopting hydraulic drive system for drive of the upper body and the like which possesses 2 arms.
    The person boarding to the robot, either one of operation and the remote manipulation which utilizes the radio and the mobile communication device etc.
    it can select according to circumstance.

    The "T-52 support dragon" was developed for utilization development of the rescue robot it was formed by the member of "prevention of disasters robot development conference".
    did the design production of the robot, the Kitakyushu city National Fire Prevention and Control Administra police/policing anti section emergency rescue section, adopted,
    the opinion of the specialist of the fire fighting disaster relief robot engineering of
    Assistant Professors Kyoto university Yokokouzi who does the research of the independent administrative corporate body fire fighting laboratory and the remote manipulation type robot etc.
    which do the research of the rescue robot from stage of the design. Design went Takashi Satoshi Takahashi of the robot creator (the Kyoto university venture representation).

    In addition, the Kyushu Institute of Technology which is the local university institution which does the research of the robot,
    Fukuoka prefecture and Kitakyushu city of the Fukuoka prefecture industrial engineering center and the local self-governing community etc., also
    foundation Fukuoka prefecture industrial technology promotion foundation participated.

    Released as for the "T-52 support dragon" with the experimental model, to work actually, furthermore development improvement is needed with the latest fire fighting coming out first system.
    Adjusting to intended purpose such as durability heat resistance, and improvement of work ability the schedule which keeps continuing development.

  6. T52 Enryu HyperRescueRobot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...948 models later and it's Judgment Day!

    (Giant grippers crushing one of the few remaining
    human rebels):
    Please...stop..."rescuing"...me! Aaaaarrggghh!!!

  7. Hardly "fast-paced mechanized fighting action" by Fortunato_NC · · Score: 5, Funny
    3km/h! Even the useless walkers from Star Wars were faster than that. Imagine if these things were destoying Tokyo:

    Random Japanese Person 1: Aaaaaagh! The evil robots are coming!
    Random Japanese Person 2: It certainly does seem as if this is the end. They are only six kilometers from here!

    Time Passes

    Random Japanese Person 1: This is boring. Perhaps we should go to them.
    Random Japanese Person 2: My grandma could outrun these fucking evil robots. What a bunch of losers.

    More Time Passes

    Random Japanese Person 1: Do you realize we could have watched "Amelie" by now?
    Random Japanese Person 2: Yes, perhaps the evil robots are not ready for prime-time yet.

    Still More Time Passes

    Random Japanese Person 1: Well, I'm tired of waiting. I'm going to hop a bullet train for Kyoto and catch a baseball game.
    Random Japanese Person 2: I'm in. Those robots are still over a kilometer from here, and it looks like some kid just took one out with a "Red Ryder" BB gun.

    --
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  8. Skid steering? by jacobcaz · · Score: 5, Insightful
    It looks like it's a skid-steer vehicle in the picture. That's lame, I want two-legged locomotion!

    I've driven a lot of Bobcat and Case Loaders and this thing doesn't look 1) as stable and 2) as useful as a skid-steer front loader. It looks like the center of gravity is way to high!

    Of course, it has pinchers, so bonus points for looking cool.

  9. Finding pilots by Faust7 · · Score: 5, Funny

    If no whiny 14-year-olds are available to pilot it,

    Sure there are. Finding some that can pilot and are clinically insane, however, may take time.