Skip to main content

Gundam Robots

 

  LIFE-SIZED GUNDAM ROBOT TAKES ITS FIRST STEP IN JAPAN

 

Gundam fans around the world were in for a surprise after a factory in Japan created a 60 feet tall, life-size version of the hit anime character. Anime fans of the iconic Gundam were overwhelmed with this news. Some fans could not believe that the Gundam could move just like they had watched in the animated version. Some asked when will Japan weaponize the mecha, “How long until they weaponize it?”

 

This Gundam in Yokohama is Japan's second full-scale RX-78. The first stood at Tokyo's Odaiba district before being replaced by the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam. 

 


INSPIRATION:

The Gundam robot has been inspired from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Series developed by animator, Yoshuyuki Tomino(The Father of Gundam and now The Director of this project) and is a very popular anime and manga series in Japan. Gundam robot—the popular fictional robot appears in some 50 TV Series and Movies since 1979, not to mention a slew of video games and manga.

 

LAUNCH:

On October 1, 2020, Gundam Factory Yokohama will debut this 60-foot tall humanoid robot Gundam. A video that was released, toured the place where the construction of the robot is taking place. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks like construction on the robot is still on schedule.

 

FEATURES:

l  Height: 60 feet

l  Weight: 24 tons(approx.)

l  Material: Mixture of steel and carbon fibre-reinforced plastic, aluminium.

l  Pieces: More than 200

l  Size of limbs: 6.5 feet each weighing about 440 pounds

 

DETAILS:

The plan is for the robot to have a steel frame and carbon resin exterior and be powered by electric actuators, achieving “Gundam-like movement” with its 24 degrees of freedom, including the ability to walk. The robot will rely on Asratec’s V-Sido operating system, which will be used to generate motion.

The University of Tokyo’s JSK Lab, one of the partners in the project has developed a Gundam simulator that researchers can use to explore different behaviours for the robot.

Apparently, the robot is coupled to a mobile support system (“Gundam Carrier”) that can move the robot in and out of the docking infrastructure, and perhaps provide power and support while the robot takes a step or two backwards and forwards, but it’s really not at all clear at this point how it’s all supposed to work. And it looks that when the robot does move, it’ll be remote controlled.

The robot is being developed using the open-source Robot Operating System(ROS) and Gazebo simulation software, and the team is releasing a full-scale virtual copy of the robot that aspiring programmers can play with to develop their own actions and poses. This includes accurate representations of the motors, gears and sensors used on the actual machine, so, in theory, a fan-made set of actions could be uploaded to the real robot at some point in future.

PROGRESS:

The humanoid was supposed to be completed and become the centrepiece of Gundam factory, south of Tokyo, on 1st October, but it got late due to the virus pandemic. Also,

l  Till now the robot can lift up its leg and rotates its massive torso.

l  It can move its hands and show a peace sign.

l  Once finished, the robot will feature an incredible 24 degrees of freedom, meaning this thing will be able to walk.

Well, whether or not this colossal 60-foot-tall Japanese robot was making a political statement or simply stretching its legs isn't exactly clear, but witnessing the Gundam Factory Yokohama's ultra-cool creation taking a knee to test out its articulation will surely be a sight to behold.

As the Gundam goes through the test runs before making it's first public performance, it would be a great sight for the Gundam fans to see there fantasy robot walk and move in real life.

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unhackable Internet

  W hy it matters?   The internet is increasingly vulnerable to hacking; a quantum one would be unhackable. Quantum Computing    A quantum internet could be used to send unhackable messages, improve the accuracy of GPS, and enable cloud-based quantum computing. For more than twenty years, dreams of creating such a the quantum network have remained out of reach in large part because of the difficulty to send quantum signals across large distances without loss.   Now, Harvard and MIT researchers have found a way to correct for signal loss with a prototype quantum node that can catch, store and entangle bits of quantum information. The research is the missing link towards a practical quantum internet and a major step forward in the development of long-distance quantum networks.   The U.S Department of Energy (DoE) explains how a quantum link will make it happen through two quantum phenomenon: the first is quantum entanglement, where two-particle ...
2 comments
Read more

Impact of Social Media on Business

Watch out for that bird! Imagine you are skydiving, you are visiting one of the most beautiful countries in the world and you want to share that experience with your loved ones and friends. Why not send a postcard? Oh wait, you’re already back from the trip by the time that postcard has reached, or it got lost in the mail. If only there was an alternative. This isn’t 1990. You have a platter of platforms to share your adventure. Webster’s dictionary defines social media as-“ forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos).”In simple words, social media, are various public platforms where people can share their views, stories, etc. with the help of various mediums. Starting with websites such as MySpace, Orkut, and Facebook, etc. it is now estimated that there are about 200 social media websites in ...
1 comment
Read more

Pegasus Spyware: Flying Through The Air

 Hundreds of millions of people can't imagine life without their smartphones. Almost every aspect of their daily lives, from the most mundane to the most intimate, is within easy reach and hearing distance of their smartphones. Only few people realize that their phones may be used as surveillance devices, with someone hundreds of miles away secretly extracting their messages, photographs, and location while also activating their microphone and recording them in real time. Such capabilities are present in Pegasus, a spyware produced by NSO Group, an Israeli maker of mass surveillance weapons. What is Pegasus? Pegasus is a hacking software – or spyware – that is developed, marketed and licensed to governments around the world by the Israeli company NSO Group. It has the capability to infect billions of phones using either iOS or Android operating systems. The spyware is named after Pegasus, the white winged horse from Greek mythology. It is named so because it "flies through the...
Post a Comment
Read more