TOKYO: Ryo Yoshida has monster-sized dreams for his driveable, “Gundam”-like robot, even though its huge size makes it hard to park and the US$3mil (RM14.34mil) price tag will crush most wallets.
An imposing 4.5 metres (14.7 feet) high and weighing 3.5 tonnes (3,500kg), “Archax” can be moved and operated by a pilot who clambers up to the high-tech cockpit.
“I want to make people’s dreams come true, the dream people once had as a child, which is to get on board a robot and control it just like science fiction movies,” said Yoshida, CEO of the start-up Tsubame Industries.
“This is a product to help people taste a bit of that world,” the 25-year-old told AFP at the Japan Mobility Show where his monster was a star of the show.
“This will be a new sport that still does not exist in the world now. If I can do it, I think I could bring more excitement to the world,” he said.
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He also envisages more practical roles, such as cleaning rubble after disasters and working at construction sites.
Yoshida said his company’s objective is not only creating a robot but also developing a system to integrate a human pilot and a machine.
“This is an idea in which the pilot would not only get on board a robot but also feel as if he became the robot himself, as if he became gigantic,” he said.
-AFP
-TheStar