Kuratas Battle Mech Robot

Posted by : Unknown Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Kuratas the wearable battle robot
Electronics company Suidobashi Heavy Industry ushers in a new era of mechanised combat with a multi-tonne robot that can be controlled from a phone.

A Japanese electronics company has revealed a $1.2 million gun-wielding robot that can be controlled from your smartphone.
The KR01 Kuratas Battle Mech, or Kuratas for short, was unveiled by Suidobashi Heavy Industry in Tokyo yesterday at the Wonder Festival.

The diesel-powered machine stands at four metres and weighs a humble 4.5 tonnes, moving around on four wheels at a top speed of 10 km/h.

Pilot Anna salutes after demonstrating the Kuratas at the Wonder Festival. Photo: AFP

It sports a Gatling gun capable of firing 100 rounds a second (ballbearings, not bullets), which is activated via facial tracking technology when the pilot smiles. Suidobashi call this "the smile shot" - trigger-happy indeed.
Perhaps the most exciting feature of this behemoth is the fact that the "pilot" can control it from the safety of their smartphone. An app, known as the MasterSlave control system, will allow smartphones and tablets full control of the device when connected to a 3G network.
The beast can also be controlled from inside the cockpit, where augmented reality-style controls are overlaid on a display of the outside world. Motion sensor technology allows the pilot to move the torso, arms and hands via 30 hydraulic joints. Kuratas can also grab and pick up things with its claw-like fingers.

The Amplified Mobility Platform suit used in James Cameron's Avatar

The exterior of the Kuratas, which features "shot-proof" armour, is reminiscent of Japanese anime that features giant robots or "mecha", such as Gundam and video games such as MechWarrior. Comparisons were also quick to emerge between it and the Mitsubishi MK-6 Amplified Mobility Platform (aka AMP suit) in James Cameron's epic Avatar, not to mention Robocop.
Kuratas can play nice as well as naughty, and can be programmed to perform such duties as firefighting and cleaning. It comes in 16 different colours, and will be made to order, including a $90 optional cupholder in the cockpit.
Suidobashi Heavy Industry have been working on the robot since 2010, and created a similar prototype earlier this year that was controlled partially with Microsoft's Kinect sensor.

How to ride it?