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Metal Gear vs. Gundam: US inventors challenge Japanese rivals to robot duel

Metal Gear vs. Gundam: US inventors challenge Japanese rivals to robot duel

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For all the horrible possible outcomes of killer robots on the battlefield, we are, apparently, quite happy to get behind non-killer robots duking it out in stadiums. Earlier this week, US company and giant robot maker MegaBots Inc. challenged its Japanese rivals Suidobashi Heavy Industry to a duel via YouTube. "Suidobashi. You have a giant robot, we have a giant robot," announces one of MegaBots' cape-wearing patriots in the video. "You know what needs to happen."

MegaBots has already tried to crowdfund its robot tournament

The challenge appears to be the latest marketing stunt from MegaBots, which previously tried to raise $1.8 million on Kickstarter to create the "sport of the future," otherwise known as giant robot fighting tournaments. Unfortunately, the campaign only attracted $65,000 in funding, but MegaBots' dream lives on. Earlier this year, the company unveiled its Mark II robot: 15 feet tall, with tank treads for mobility, and giant paintball guns for arms.

By comparison, Suidobashi's own robot has been up and running since 2012. Named Kuratas after its creator (designer and blacksmith Kogoro Kurata), the wheeled bot is 13 feet tall, weighs 4 tons, and comes equipped with multiple weapon systems — including a smile-activated BB Gatling gun. We couldn't say whether Kuratas or MegaBots' Mark II would win in a fight, but it's worth remembering this isn't Pacific Rim: these are basically humanoid trucks with paintball guns. Still, if calling them giant fighting robots gets us closer to seeing them in an actual arena, then who are we to complain.