Kondo bot battles rage in Japan, vision of humanity's imminent destruction crystallize
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted May 10th 2009 4:16PM
posted May 10th 2009 4:16PM
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FIGHT!!!!!!
Next step: Chobits
This makes America's robot competitions look like cake shit...
You know, this is the reason why robots will eventually rebel against humans. We build them and then make them fight each other?
Really like how the black one gets up after it falls over.
The only reason these robots can do all these tricks and can even get back up in creative ways is because there are tiny humans inside them. Yah.
Yea I love me some ramen too.
Lol, its amazing how many ways they have to get back up again after falling!
woah they are INSANE xD
do people make them? or do they just buy them?
they make em using kits
Seeing this stuff, just further verifies that I was born in the wrong continent.
Well in the first video the spokes person for kondo said that they sell kits which are used like teaching tool for hobbyists like these to go out and develop their own robots. So from what all the people were saying I'm pretty sure that they are all originally made.
you can actually buy premade robots in akihabara, but they only do basic stuff and pretty much suck... custom's the way to go
wow that tall jumping robot with long arms was l33t!!
why the hell on earth is asimo great then????
The surface area of these robots feet is huge, and their center of gravity is much lower. Asimo is still doing pre-programmed walking, but the lessons learned from building Asimo have been applied to these robots, and now a bi-pedal robot that really adapts to changing environments exists. Walking is controlled falling, and it's very, very difficult to get right.
asimo can do much more than fighting and walking well, i love this too, so much cheaper and possibly easier to mod
SHINNNIING FINGAAAAA!
Unlike the recent videos from the robo-cup, I can totally see these things beating up real human soccer players in 2050.
Wow, that is both awesome and terrifying.
I want one!!!
I wonder if accelerometers can be used so they can balance better when they are about to fall.
oh, they have pretty advanced sensors already.
AWESOME! I think I just wet myself now, dammit.
OK.....the takedown at the end of the last video was....AWESOME!
I had just seen that takedown and scrolled down to the comments to gush... absolutely awesome! Whether or not it was supposed to, it really looked like some hardcore martial arts ^__^
these new bots are 10% better than the ones I saw last year , but that is still a 1000 times faster than nature .
I, for one, welcome our Kondo bot overlords.
holy crap that's ridiculously awesome - pure bipedal awesomeness
Gackt's Kondo bot was cooler.
The pin down in the end of the last video is amazing!!!!!!!!
Yeah, that was good. I was impressed! :)
These fighting bot look like loads of fun! :)
they sure have turned up the notch a bit with bipedal robots instead of the american versions of car or tank wars. this is still very nascent in terms of bipedal mechs or eventually mobile suits/gundam wars.
i was waiting for one of those little robots to bust out the Kamehameha wave and dominate all the bystanders. i heard it happened last year but Freeza was able to subdue the blonde girly man.
Hell, yes. Bring this shit ON TO AMERICA!
They did 5 minutes ago, no one cared.
wake me when they form voltron.
none of them punched frontal-style, they were all leaning to the sides and sweeping.. is that the effective way?
I think its for balance and efficiency reasons.
The Romans used to have slaves, Christians , etc... fight for there amusement. And we all know how well that worked for them in the end. Are we in the process of creating the future Spartacus ?
No! I'm Spartacus!
No, I'M Spartacus.
*I* am Spartacus.
What the...
*I*...broke the dam.
Let METAL KOMBAT Begin!!
Ok buys, rtfa! These are remote control, not autonomous, so comparing them to robocup is ridiculous. But the most interesting thing I thought was that when the robots fall, they count in English. Why do they do that?
I am amazed that you found one of the most unimportant things the most interesting =)
Besides, they weren't counting in English. The dud was saying, "Waaaang, Chuuuu, Sreee, Foaaa, Faibu..."
It was Engrish. :D
Actually, if you watched the first video, you would have know that one of the robots was autonomous. I think is the same robot fighting in the 3rd video as well.
Yeah I agree that was interesting.
Because they can't blend?
In Japan, the robots blend the blender.
Thanks - now I'll be hearing the "tap, tap, tap" of their little feet in my nightmares.
Crap, that didn't work,
No, I'M Spartacus.
"...but are you aware that a "Kondo Battle" exists where the bots duke it out to the death (or until they fall over)?"
Yes, old news, blah blah blah. Haven't they been doing this every year since 2006 or something?
I think u embedded the picture link wrong. It takes me to engadget with the link: "http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/10/kondo-bot-battles-rage-in-japan-vision-of-humanitys-imminent-d/www.networkworld.com/community/node/41674"
Nice G.I. Joe ref, Snakeyes.
cute.
last one was the best! :)
Knowing is half the battle for these bots as well.
When they become sentient enough to know that they're fighting- that's when we need to worry.
While at the store/library today, I read in Popular Mechanics that there is a 31 year old in the states, that BUILT a huge "Mecha" (as he calls it) 50 feet tall. And the operator sits in it's chest cavity ala Gundam/Robo Jox
Yeah if you search Engadget you can get more info/pictures (and if I remember correctly, even video or at least a link to his website). It's amazing.
If anyone knows where you can import these kits to the US could you please e-mail me at oshidori@gmail.com or reply to this comment? I am looking for something just like this and I won't be in Japan for another year.
Wow, that black robot with the flashing blue eye was awesome.
I don't think I'm too worried yet, but if it had a red "eye" that tracked side to side and repeated "By your command", then I'd run for my life..
Be very afraid..singularity is near!
While these may look cool, they are -not- doing any dynamic balancing, so this is nothing advanced nor cutting edge. The reason they seem to prefer to punch to the side is that they would simply fall over if they tried to punch forward.
I'll be impressed when there's real biped robots with normal sized feet battling it out. Hmm this probably came out as a pretty bitter comment hehe. I had to! It seems many people here think that these bots are doing real balancing!
Just wait till Apple gets a hold of of one of these and sells it on contracts with overpriced proprietary downloadable moves from Robostore and a shit camera! I want one in the shape of Steve Jobs wearing a Skivvy with a bitten Apple for a head.
Remember Robot Jox? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102800/
This reminds me of a mini-version of that. I used to love that film!
mush get one hey if they make one of these about a hundred times bigger they could make a Mobile Suit gundam, thats pretty dangerous,
but cool,
How about Chobits
(hopefully they make .hack// games)
must have