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IN PHOTO: Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata, inventor of the giant "Kuratas" robot, climbs out of its cockpit at an exhibition in Tokyo November 28, 2012. The four-meter-high, limited edition, made-to-order robot is controlled through a pilot in its cockpit, or via a smartphone. The four-tonne (4,000 kg) "Kuratas" can be customised in 16 different colours, and is armed with a futuristic weapons system, including a multi-rocket launcher that fires plastic rockets filled with compressed water. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Megabots Inc., a robotics company based in the U.S., challenged Suidobashi Heavy Industry of Japan, the first to make a human-piloted robot in the world, into a robot duel. The Megabots representative robot Mark II will be pitted against Suidobashi’s Kuratas.

In a Youtube video published on June 30, Megabots Inc. founders Gui Cavalcanti and Matt Oehrlein challenged the Japanese company. Wearing t-shirts with their company logo and the American flag as capes, they walked through their headquarters all the while giving a brief history of their company and the gist of the contest.

They showed the birthplace of Mark II, which was born “forged from the fires of American innovation and determination.” Being proud Americans, they added they included big guns in the robot, while various video clips of the weapon being tested were shown.

Mark II, which can accommodate two pilots, is approximately four feet tall weighing about 5,400 kg. It can fire 1kg cannon-sized paintballs at a speed of about 160 kilometres per hours.

Oehrlein threw the gauntlet by saying “Suidobashi you have a giant robot, we have a giant robot. You know it needs to happen. We challenge you to a duel.” He consented that both robots need to undergo modification before the battle so the duel will take place a year later. They also let Suidobashi choose the battlefield.

Kuratas is a four-legged, four metre high made-to-order robot, which was first introduced to the public back in 2012. It weighs approximately 4,500 kg with a touch screen operational display. It can be piloted by one person inside the cockpit using a control device running on V-Sido, a next generation robot operating system. Other methods of control are established through a 3G network using a mobile phone or through the robot’s master-slave function where Kuratas mimic the hand movement of its miniature, which is manipulated by hand.

The robot runs on diesel engine with a top speed of 10 kilometres per hour. The most prominent weapon in its arsenal is a BB twin Gatling gun, which can fire up to 6,000 BB bullets per minute. It has an automatic alignment feature that locks on a target even as it moves. With the feature properly engaged, the gun will automatically fire when the pilot smiles.

On July 5, five days after Megabots issued their challenge, Suidobashi published a Youtube video in acceptance of the challenge. In the beginning of the video, Suidobashi CEO/Founder/Creator Kogoro Kurata parodied the Megabots founders by putting on a cape: that of Japan’s flag.

He said the challenge was unexpected but at the same time interesting. His reactions, however, was along the lines of “come on guys, make it cooler.” He added how the act of building something big with guns is “super American.”

On a serious note, he said how he cannot let America win the battle since he considered giants robots as part of the Japanese culture. However, if the fight is to happen, he wanted it to be a hand-to-hand combat so he can punch the opponent and tear their robots to scrap.

On an e-mail to Fox News, Megabots co-founder Brinkley Warren said they are ready to accept the hand-to-hand fight with the Japanese robot. He added how it is “clear that the people of the world are hungry for giant human-piloted robots as the future of sports.”

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