Giant Mech Robots From Japan

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Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday July 31, 2012 @02:57AM from the i-for-one-welcome-our-new-robot-overlords dept.

New submitter Hanike writes "According to The Verge, Japanese hi-tech company Suidobashi Heavy Industry is developing a 13-foot, diesel-powered, real Mecha robot called Kuratas! 'The two-man team — artist Kogoro Kurata and robotics researcher Wataru Yoshizaki — isn't stopping there, either. Suidobashi wants to mass produce, starting at the low price of $1.35 million. So, what do you get for the money? Kuratas has over 30 hydraulic joints that allow it to freely move its arms, legs, and torso. It can fire water bottle rockets and fireworks, and its 6,000 round-per-minute BB Gatling guns are controlled with the pilot's smile; part of Yoshizaki's V-Shido (read like bushido, as in "way of the samurai") control system. In order to get around, the four-legged mech uses ordinary wheels, but the Suidobashi team wants to get it walking in order to navigate uneven terrain.'"

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Smiling? by Sigvatr · 2012-07-31 02:59 · Score: 5, Funny

How are you supposed to stop smiling when you are mowing down your enemies?
1. Re:Smiling? by Jeng · 2012-07-31 03:01 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Don't worry, you'll frown once you run out of ammo.
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
2. Re:Smiling? by Trepidity · 2012-07-31 03:08 · Score: 1
  
  You only need to stop smiling if you want to stop it from shooting, i.e. are no longer pleased with that activity...
  
  --
  10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
3. Re:Smiling? by Moheeheeko · 2012-07-31 03:21 · Score: 2
  
  Trowa Barton usually did.
4. Re:Smiling? by Antipater · 2012-07-31 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  Well, at some point you have to stop smiling to scream "Get away from her, you bitch!"
  
  --
  Everything is better with chainsaws.
5. Re:Smiling? by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · 2012-07-31 03:50 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  When you're smiling
  When you're smiling
  Your enemies get mowed down
  When you're laughing
  Oh, when you're laughing
  Bullets riddle the entire town
6. Re:Smiling? by jgtg32a · 2012-07-31 06:01 · Score: 1
  
  This isn't funny it is insightful, I'm smiling just thinking about it.
runs on wheels. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 03:04 · Score: 1

'nuff said. Should have kept trying.
Schnooky schnooky! by voodoo+cheesecake · 2012-07-31 03:05 · Score: 1

I can't wait for the gauss cannons and jump jets!
1. Re:Schnooky schnooky! by theshowmecanuck · 2012-07-31 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  This is clearly scout mech sized. We'll have to wait till the mid sized 50 tonne models are released before we can use the LRM's. In the meantime they will have time to get this one off of wheels and running at 140 kph. Can't wait till fussion powered models arrive.
  
  --
  -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
2. Re:Schnooky schnooky! by mhajicek · 2012-07-31 05:31 · Score: 1
  
  Should be easy enough to retrofit with your choice of home made or modified weapons systems.
3. Re:Schnooky schnooky! by WCLPeter · 2012-07-31 14:53 · Score: 1
  
  One LRM-20 salvo to the rear-right torso armor should be enough to detonate its ammo and it's all over.
  That's only if you luck out and get a high enough roll on the missile hit table to get all 20 missiles to hit and get all four rolls to hit the same spot. My personal favourite tactic is to take an Archer, park him in a corner, use a few scout mechs for scouting ahead in cover as spotters, and then pop off long range shots hoping to get enough 5 point clusters that one of them hits the head.
  Head hits always cause stun damage to the pilot and gives a chance they'll pass out, at the very least it'll increase the to hit modifiers on that mech for the rest of the game - at least they did when I played years and years ago.
  I don't play much anymore, the game simply takes way too long to play - I'd go to friends houses early Friday night and play until late Sunday and still not finish an actual game. The only time we'd really finish a game in a reasonable amount of time was lance on lance, but even then it can take the better part of a day and a half to finish a game.
Truckasaurus? by CosaNostra+Pizza+Inc · 2012-07-31 03:10 · Score: 4, Funny

to be mass-produced for monster truck rallies here in the states. XP
Series T1 by jshipp · 2012-07-31 03:11 · Score: 2

Replace the water guns with real guns and you have your first SkyNet robot. http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Series_T1
1. Re:Series T1 by kryliss · 2012-07-31 03:58 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks jshipp for causing me to spend the last 45 minutes looking at all the terminator info.. Now my mind is totally screwed up and I don't know what year I'm in. :)
  
  --
  --- If the bible proves the existence of God, then Superman comics prove the existence of Superman.
2. Re:Series T1 by somersault · 2012-07-31 04:16 · Score: 1
  
  Don't forget Ed 209 :D
  
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  which is totally what she said
Re:Interesting note about the robot by Sarten-X · 2012-07-31 03:11 · Score: 1

Obvious astroturfer only managed to make me terrified of ever working with the beast...

--
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
Interesting note... by ZiakII · 2012-07-31 03:15 · Score: 4, Funny

The robot can only be controlled by a small person such as a 12 year old girl with orange hair.
1. Re:Interesting note... by fritsd · 2012-07-31 10:32 · Score: 1
  
  A battle robot controlled by Pippi Longstockings... oh dear.....
  
  --
  To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
2. Re:Interesting note... by Michael+Woodhams · 2012-07-31 12:15 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Teenage pilots are required because, as has been well established, mecha are powered by angst. Any organization which operates mecha also has a secret division of agents who mess with the pilot's lives to ensure they remain sufficiently angsty.
  
  --
  Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
Re:Interesting note about the robot by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 03:16 · Score: 1

Windows OS
Oh good JESUS what were they thinking?!
I can't wait for GIANT MECHS to go on a rampage down the town because they got a virus.
Like Gundam? by PPH · 2012-07-31 03:23 · Score: 1

Will this program be secretly run by the Agriculture Ministry as well?

--
Have gnu, will travel.
1. Re:Like Gundam? by martin-boundary · 2012-07-31 03:28 · Score: 1
  
  Will this program be secretly run by the Agriculture Ministry as well?
  
  Of course! It's designed for mowing down the scoff-lawns!
2. Re:Like Gundam? by denmarkw00t · 2012-07-31 04:02 · Score: 1
  
  I doubt it would have any trouble plowing through most foes.
3. Re:Like Gundam? by Chris+Mattern · 2012-07-31 06:31 · Score: 1
  
  Gundam? Honestly, it looked more like a Dougram to me.
Aesthetic by CAIMLAS · 2012-07-31 03:26 · Score: 1

Interesting, but most of the construction looks non-functional and aesthetic - like the hands, for instance. It does not look sturdy enough to serve as a riot suppression device, nevermind anything serious.
Bubba with a mig welder, an old Asian cab-over-engine mini-bus type van, a junked Caterpillar frontend loader, and the frame from a US truck could probably make something similarly aesthetic which is actually able to perform work. Betcha it'd be more fun to pilot, too.
It'd certainly be fun to pilot, but what large machinery isn't? For a million dollars, you could build something quite comparable on your own.
Hell, for a bit more than a couple months of training and knowing the right people, you can get paid to operate heavy machinery which has much more capability.

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~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
1. Re:Aesthetic by gagol · 2012-07-31 03:45 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  This is a multimillionnaire toy not intended for combat or work. It's job is to be cool and unique. If I were that rich, I would buy one just for the fun of it!
  
  --
  Tomorrow is another day...
2. Re:Aesthetic by voodoo+cheesecake · 2012-07-31 03:51 · Score: 1
  
  The rest of us will just wait for a centerfold shot!
3. Re:Aesthetic by Moheeheeko · 2012-07-31 04:06 · Score: 2
  
  Oh god now im waiting for Playboy's "Girls of Giant Robots" issue..
4. Re:Aesthetic by TheDarkMaster · 2012-07-31 04:20 · Score: 1
  
  And too slow, if the video actually shows a production unit rather than a dummy/prototype.
  
  Come on, we have the technology to make mechas capable of running and jumping with a human pilot, when they will join the pieces into one thing? The only thing that still complicated is the source of energy needed!
  
  --
  Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
5. Re:Aesthetic by freeze128 · 2012-07-31 05:06 · Score: 1
  
  This seems like something Richard Garriott would buy. Maybe he would add it to his Halloween setup.
this gets my vote by spidercoz · 2012-07-31 03:27 · Score: 4, Insightful

Best Thing This Week

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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
Gatling guns? Then it's Heavyarms! by sandytaru · 2012-07-31 03:28 · Score: 2

Now, they need to make one with a giant scythe and bat wings so we can have Deathscythe, and one with angel wings for Wing Zero. /nerd

--
Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
1. Re:Gatling guns? Then it's Heavyarms! by Windwraith · 2012-07-31 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  Although the design kinda reminds me of VOTOMS. Oh well, I am sure some Super Robot Wars game has something comparable. Kinda reminds me of a quad Angriff. (sans Raven parts). Or something from Armored Core.
  Anyway this being Japan I am sure it has plenty of upgrades and final attacks. I'll wait for the Shin Kuratakaiser that will surely come eventually.
2. Re:Gatling guns? Then it's Heavyarms! by Lando · 2012-08-02 00:46 · Score: 1
  
  Now, they need to make one with a giant scythe and bat wings so we can have Deathscythe, and one with angel wings for Wing Zero. /geek
  FTFY
  A nerd would be interested in the drive train, targeting system, etc, i.e. what can I do with this. Geeks are interested in how cool it looks. It was a shock when I realized I was a nerd and didn't qualify to be a geek.
  
  --
  /* TODO: Spawn child process, interest child in technology, have child write a new sig */
Metal Gear! by arkane1234 · 2012-07-31 03:30 · Score: 1

Oh great, now someone's gonna have to put on their octocamo and fight their way into the bases until the Big Boss battle...

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-- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
GDS Operating system "DRIVE" TA Shell by Hartree · 2012-07-31 03:31 · Score: 1

Was the software for it written by Gowa Digital Systems?
Can't believe nobody has said it. by thePowerOfGrayskull · 2012-07-31 03:31 · Score: 2

I, for one, welcome our...
1. Re:Can't believe nobody has said it. by riT-k0MA · 2012-07-31 20:37 · Score: 1
  
  RTFA, it's already remote-control capable- via iPhone and a special remote-control model that looks like an action-figure.
2. Re:Can't believe nobody has said it. by MobyDisk · 2012-08-01 08:30 · Score: 1
  
  "Siri, mow down the infidels"
On to Tokyo? by Chemisor · 2012-07-31 03:32 · Score: 1

So, when can we see some awesome footage of these mass produced robotic overlords trashing Tokyo? It's traditional.
Slightly cheaper model... by tlhIngan · 2012-07-31 03:38 · Score: 1

If you're in Canada, this was featured a year or so ago on Daily Planet on the Discovery Channel:
Daily Planet - Embedded with Mark Miller - Land Walker. Though it just burns me that they seem to not say "mech" at all.
I think this one was slightly cheaper...
Re:What are you people talking about? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 03:48 · Score: 1

i don't know what you are complaining about, this giant robot will solve all those problems that you think are more important.
Won't the revolution be easier if we all had Giant Mech Robots? i don't know how you plan to successfully lead your little rebellion against the govt now, when we can't match the firepower of their tanks and jets. These Giant Mech's will turn the tide and give us equal footing so we can stand toe-to-toe with the military to enact our coup. to take back our drugs and healthcare.
yeah sorry, i know. don't feed the trolls.
videos lacking.... by hugebrownbag · 2012-07-31 04:00 · Score: 1

the videos sucked. i wanted to see it in real action
I've seen the training footage.... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 04:11 · Score: 1

This company is actually a subsideary of Infinite Stratos Corporation, LLC. based in Tokyo, Japan.
They use high-school aged kids because their reflexes are faster, but it gets the job done.
There was some competition between the test pilots, but things have evened out and settled down
(you know how emotional kids can get). Several countries already have their own models (as was
noted in the training videos) - exacly which countries is a closely guared secret, though.
Re:Interesting note about the robot by Razgorov+Prikazka · 2012-07-31 04:18 · Score: 5, Funny

BSoD ==> used to mean: Blue Screen of Death
BSoD ==> now means: Bloody Shoot out Drone

But of course it will only go "bzzrrk" when there is a virus in the MS OS. The rest of the time it will be more like this:
Operator: Kill pedestrian *points at a little grandmom with a walking-aid*
MS OS: This operation might harm you or other people, are you sure? [yes] [no]
Operator: *clicks yes*
MS OS: are you really sure? [yes] [no]
Operator: *clicks yes and grunts*
MS OS: To complete this operation you need administrator privileges, do you want to continue? [yes] [no]
Operator: *clicks yes and grunts and moans*
MS OS: Enter administrator password here [ ]
Operator:*type type type type type type*
MS OS: loading bullets, 1 second remaining
MS OS: loading bullets, 30 seconds remaining
MS OS: loading bullets, 2 hours remaining
MS OS: loading bullets, 7 minutes remaining
MS OS: loading bullets, 1 second remaining
Little grandmom: *already safe at home making tea*

--
rm -rf --no-preserve-root / ...and let /dev/null sort them out...
Land of the smiles by ACE209 · 2012-07-31 04:27 · Score: 1

..., and its 6,000 round-per-minute BB Gatling guns are controlled with the pilot's smile
This gives the term "land of the smiles" a totally different meaning.

--
"we are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further."
The future is here! by MaWeiTao · 2012-07-31 04:37 · Score: 2

This brings a tear of joy to my eye... Finally, some overt examples of future technology. All that's left to fulfill my childhood vision of the future is flying cars, supersonic transports, torus-style space stations, and proper spacecraft (FTL optional but strongly encouraged).
1. Re:The future is here! by gl4ss · 2012-07-31 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  it's more of an example of a movie animaton made in a certain shape for no good reason at all.
  if you want a thing that runs on wheels, is controlled with a playstation controller and has a real gun you could call up the swedish(though I'm pretty sure they would only sell to very few countries in the world..).
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
2. Re:The future is here! by MaWeiTao · 2012-07-31 08:27 · Score: 1
  
  Watching the videos deflated all of my excitement. Much of it was so cheesy that I initially thought it was the work of a special effects studio. As it stands it's not much more than a moving sculpture.
  I can't help but think that someone could produce that actually works by cannibalizing a few small construction vehicles. But at the end of the day the thing is going to be so heavy and slow as to be pointless. It's a nice fantasy, but I think the future is more likely to be powered armor, a la Starship Troopers, than anything depicted in Gundam. Modern day weaponry already nullifies any advantage something like a Gundam unit could have possibly had. But a compact one-man shell with blast resistance might actually be an asset.
I want two of them by BetaDays · 2012-07-31 04:50 · Score: 1

I want two of them. Placed on either side of my drive way will do. It would show people I mean business.

--
Paul: Father... father, the sleeper has awakened! - Dune
Re:A mech with wheels... by jgtg32a · 2012-07-31 06:08 · Score: 2

Someone has obviously never seen Ghost in the Shell.
What is it for? by erice · 2012-07-31 06:23 · Score: 1

They say it they will be selling them for $1.35M each. But not many anime geeks can afford $1.35M toys. Is there some practical industrial application that the developers have in mind but don't seem to want to publicize at this point?
1. Re:What is it for? by ImprovOmega · 2012-07-31 10:52 · Score: 1
  
  Well, we all know that the Franchise Wars are coming...Taco Bell should stock up just to be safe.
Tetsujin 28 for real? by scharkalvin · 2012-07-31 06:42 · Score: 1

Is this like Tetsujin 28 or Gigantor?
Does I come with options by byteherder · 2012-07-31 06:45 · Score: 1

I'll take mine with a Minigun and Hydra 70 rocket launcher.

Wait until my neighbor's dog sees me coming.
Remember to Smile by PDX · 2012-07-31 07:13 · Score: 1

The point is to pummel to death an infestation of rodents with lethal amounts of BBs.
Re:Interesting note about the robot by vux984 · 2012-07-31 07:41 · Score: 2

I guess the OSX version would be:
Operator: Kill pedestrian *points at a little grandmom with a walking-aid*
OSX: ---- no response
Operator: clicks the little lock next to the triggers to unlock it
OSX: please enter an admistrator password
Operator: type type type type type
OSX: loading bullets, barbershop pole
OSX: loading bullets, barbershop pole
OSX: loading bullets, barbershop pole
OSX: loading bullets, barbershop pole
OSX: loading bullets, barbershop pole
Operator: any day now
OSX: loading bullets, pinwheel
Operator: uhoh
OSX: loading bullets, pinwheel
OSX: The operation could not be completed.
Operator: No shit. Why not?
OSX: An unexpected error occurred.
Operator: thanks for nothing.
Little grandmom: *already safe at home making tea*
Masamune Shirow by Kevin+Fishburne · 2012-07-31 07:51 · Score: 1

It's a tachikoma from Ghost in the Shell. Sadly it doesn't come in blue.

--
Buy your next Linux PC at eightvirtues.com
Re:Interesting note about the robot by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-31 08:00 · Score: 2, Funny

operator@ubuntu ~/ $ echo "granny @ heading 36.3 azimuth -14.5" > target operator@ubuntu ~/ $ open_fire target bash: open_fire: command not found operator@ubuntu ~/ $ sudo apt-get install open_fire E: Unable to locate package open_fire operator@ubuntu ~/ $ wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/open_fire/open_fire-0.4.6.tar.gz 2012-07-31 15:56:43 (450 KB/s) - `open_fire-0.4.6.tar.gz' saved [14437] operator@ubuntu ~/ $ tar -xvf open_fire-0.4.6.tar.gz operator@ubuntu ~/ $ cd open_fire-0.4.6/ operator@ubuntu ~/ $ ./configure operator@ubuntu ~/ $ make operator@ubuntu ~/ $ sudo make install operator@ubuntu ~/ $ open_fire target
* punches holes in pavement *
Already written about in an old SF story by almechist · 2012-07-31 08:32 · Score: 2

to be mass-produced for monster truck rallies here in the states.

As usual science fiction is way ahead of reality, ten years to be precise. What you describe was the exact plot of Allen Steele's short story "Mudzilla's Last Stand", initially published in January of '93! From an article about Steele:

His writing shows a passion for the sometimes lurid tone and language of the lowest forms of popular culture, as in "Mudzilla's Last Stand," which details how future announcers will promote the battle of Mecha-men robots as a working class entertainment on the same order as Monster Truck Rallies.

I remember reading the story in Asimov's when it first appeared. Aside from being prophetic, it was a pretty good read. The plot is that a Japanese company builds a real battle mech much like the one in the TFA. The robot was intended to be genuine military hardware, but there were no takers because it turns out giant man-like metal monster robots are somewhat impracticable on real battlefields. Eventually the only prototype gets sold to, you guessed it, a promoter of monster truck rallies. You can guess what happens next... Or read the story.
Re:Interesting note about the robot by riT-k0MA · 2012-07-31 20:11 · Score: 1

I mis-read that as UrbanMech. My monitor is now covered in coffee.