Vaudeville from concept to reality

Suidobashi Heavy Industry (an impressive name for what is in reality a small group of dedicated giant robot afficionados), is in the process of building the first 3.8 meter (12 ft 5 inch) tall, 4,500 kg (4.9 ton) single-occupant mecha.  The ambitious group is made up of Kogoro Kurata (production), Wataru Yoshizaki (control circuitry), and Yusuke Kitani.  They’ve opted for V-SIDO software to handle the mecha’s master-slave controls (developed by Asura Engineering), and plan to have the mecha, named KURATAS (aka Vaudeville on the official website), fully operational by the end of this year.

As you can see in the photos KURATAS is supported by four legs, each ending in a wheel.  The software will combine a smartphone, master-slave handle bars (for the arms), and a Microsoft Kinect sensor, allowing the pilot to rotate the cockpit (presumably with his head movement).  Furthermore, the group claims it will sell the savage beast with optional water gun, camo paint job, and so on to suit your personal needs.  You can see more photos and watch some crazy work-in-progress videos, including its giant hand crushing a box, after the break.

Other notable examples:

• Beetle (3.3 meters) by GE, 1961
• GE Walking Truck (3.3 meters) by GE, 1969
• i-foot (2.3 meters) by Toyota, 2004
• Land Walker (3.4 meters) by Sakakibara Kikai, 2005
• Enryu T-52 (3.5 meters) by TMSUK, 2006
• Enryu T-53 (2.8 meters) by TMSUK, 2007
• HUBO FX-1 (2 meters) by KAIST Hubo Lab, 2007
• Core (2 meters) by fuRo & CIT, 2010
• Kid’s Walker (1.6 meters) by Sakakibara Kikai, 2010
• 4 meter tall humanoid by Hajime Research Institute, 2012

One thing’s for sure; the fact its arms are too short for practical use won’t prevent KURATAS from impressing crowds where ever it goes.  You can follow the project’s development at its official blog, Facebook page and Twitter.

[source: Suidobashi Heavy Industry (EN)] & [Ikaziso @ YouTube]

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Image credit:
Suidobashi Heavy Industry