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Homemade Mecha Walks in Japan

Posted by timothy on from the first-alaska-now-this dept.

EtherAlchemist writes "Sakakibara Kikai has pictures and even a movie of their Land Walker robot (Babelfish translation here) which appears to work. Powered by a 250cc gas engine and armed with several guns (including 2 that fire Nerf-like balls) it stands at a little over 3 meters. What makes this one interesting is that it is actually armed and it is piloted instead of being an exo-skeleton. Makes me wonder if the creators of shows like Robotech or comics/RPGs like Battletech have any kind of licensening rights on appearance. I'd like to see a Warhammer..."

2 of 349 comments (clear)

  1. Reason why it shuffles and doesn't walk by taneem · · Score: 5, Informative

    It takes too much power to drive actuators to raise the feet off the ground. A lot more energy efficient to use the wheels. Of course, it's a lot more complicated to build a walking mech too, and what they've built thus far is remarkable already. Still, they take a hit in terms of agility - this mecha ain't going nowhere fast. Now it needs a jetpack...

  2. Do the Shuffle by MDMurphy · · Score: 5, Informative

    While it has legs, it's really a stretch to call this walking.
    Now this is a walker: http://www.plustech.fi/Walking1.html
    Video: http://www.plustech.fi/WalkingVideo.html

    Yes, it has more than 2 legs, but at least they come off the ground and wouldn't be stopped dead in it's tracks by a speed bump.

    The walker reference probably came from it's gait, it looks like an old man in slippers while pushing a walker in front of him.