It been a long time coming, but the giant robot battle between Boston-based Megabots' Mark III and Japan's Kuratas takes place this August. Now, China has decided it wants to join in on the fighting. Its Monkey King machine could enter the sport and may become the Mark III's second opponent.
Megabots is still deciding whether to allow the Monkey King, which comes from Beijing's Gunmetal, to compete. It was unveiled over the weekend at the capital city's national stadium, and as you can see in the promo video, it can fight on all fours or stand on hind legs when using its staff.
Over 8000 backers raised almost $555,000 to help Magabots' Mark II take on Suidobashi Heavy Industry's Kuratas. That amount was some way short of the $1.5 million goal, but the bigger problem was that tests showed the machine's operator was likely to be seriously injured during the battle, leading to the construction of a Mark III robot with "a safer cockpit, improved controls, and modular arms."
The Mark III weighs 12 tons and is powered by a 430-horspower V8 engine. With Suidobashi Heavy Industry insisting on the fight being a hand-to-hand match, the Megabots team needed to make some changes to its original design. The 16-foot tall robot's new Heavy Lifting Arms can pick up a total of 2500 pounds.
China's entry is seen as good news for all involved. It could result in more nations entering their own robot gladiators, and help achieve the ultimate goal: the creation of a robot fighting league