I am stunned, a game I used to love playing is about to become reality. I spent many hours playing Mechwarrior either in solo storymode or attempting to smash up my friends mechs over the internet. I always figured that this games reality is not too much of a stretch on the imagination bar. Giant mech suits are not far away from some of the vehicles being used by the world’s military today.
Back in 2014, something amazing happened. Megabots was born, three guys from Oakland California who grew up together playing video games, watching movies and reading comic books featuring giant robots decided their dreams had to become reality. They now command deep engineering expertise in the advancing field of hydraulic robotics and hope this will enable others. Thus empowering an entire generation of creators to give the stuff of science fiction to the world!
After unveiling their MK II giant robot in Maker Faire 2015, the Megabots team challenged the only other known maker of human-piloted giant robots; Suidobashi Heavy Industries. The challenge was aimed at Suidobashi’s Kuratas robot and it is to be a duel to the death.
Of course, in true comic style Suidobashi CEO Kogoro Kurata’s response was “Bring it on!”
Giant robot start-up Megabots have managed to raise over $2.4 million in seed funding to bring this magnificent giant robot spectacle to life, and to go one step further, they aim to make it into an actual league sport too.
To bring the dream of a UFC style robot fighting league alive the Megabots team partnered with the law firm ‘Latham Watkins’ to help setup and roll the league out internationally. One of Latham Watkins partners; Christopher D Brearton represents the International Olympic committee and has helped with organisations such as NBA, MLB, NFL amongst others.
Megabots Inc. will be taking a modified version of the MkII robot that they unveiled last year. The original MkII MegaBot is a 4.5 meter (15-foot) tall, 5500 kg (12,000lb) robot capable of hurling 3lb projectiles at speeds of over 130 MPH.
Meanwhile, the Kuratas is a 4 meter (13-foot), 4500 kg (10,000 lb) machine, with 6,000 round-per-minute BB gatling guns that activate when the pilot smiles (I kid you not), a water bottle slash fireworks launcher, and an empowered humanoid hand named the “iron crow.”
Kuratas Loadout
Height: 4.0M
Weight: 4500 kg
Armament: Hydraulic LOHAS rocket array + twin airsoft M134 minigun array
Pilot: 1 (Control interface + V-SIDO fire control system)
Megabots Loadout
Name: MK II Megabot
Height: 4.5M
Weight: 5500 kg
Armament: large bore pneumatic cannon or rocket pods on either arm
Pilots: 2
The two machined monsters will be squaring off at a yet to be disclosed date, time and place. Megabots will be setting the event up at Suidobashi’s insistence. Let Battle commence!