Robo-One
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Naoki Maru's Real King Kizer gets closer to Real Steel with motion sensing (video)
Naoki Maru's Real King Kizer, the boxing robot to end all boxing robots, has been around for a hot minute, but the latest upgrade is bound to make even Wolverine Hugh Jackman take notice. The Real Steel-like setup was created when an Xtion Pro Live sensor (hint: it's like Kinect) was thrown into the equation. The 3-foot, 2-inch boxer was then allowed to reproduce the motions of Maru's kid, and unlike prior iterations, this one doesn't require a physical harness to transmit commands. Enough talk -- head on past the break to see the thing in action (but don't expect any commercialization details).
Homemade robot has boring name, but likes to party
Is all that bottle-poppin' and drink-serving getting in the way of you releasing your inner party animal this New Year's Eve? Fear not, dear readers, for our friends from Japan have built yet another humanoid service robot, only this time it was constructed using "off the shelf parts." While we're skeptical that the 'Shack has everything needed to build one of these for your stateside soiree, the THKR-4 (as he is not-so-affectionately known) was created to perform all of your mundane party tasks like opening the fridge, pouring drinks, and greeting guests. The robot won't be entertaining guests with a dance routine or kissing you at midnight, but it can give you a back-rub to keep you relaxed when that inevitable 'party foul' ruins your leather couch. Check out the video after the break to see the 'bot do its Mr. Belvedere thing.
Video: Takeshi Maeda's OmniZero.9 robot transforms, carries creator, blows minds
Remember the cartoon Turbo Teen where a kid could turn himself into that most desirable of '80s cars, a red Firebird? That was pretty terrible, but we promise the video below of a robot turning itself into a red car is rather more compelling. It's OmniZero.9, the latest creation from Takeshi Maeda who earlier brought us the OmniZero.4. The ninth iteration is a humanoid looking bot with wheeled shoulders and knees that allows it to motor along the ground. Its head also flips back to create a seat just big enough for its creator, who jumps on for a short ride around the demonstration stage. The bot competed at ROBO-ONE in a few different categories and was captured on video doing its stuff solo and also shamelessly knocking an under-sized competitor out of the ring. Go ahead, click on through. You won't want to miss this.
Video: Robo-One-style greatest "hits" compilation makes us wince continuously
It's been just about six months now since we've seen a solid video of two incredibly sophisticated robots beating the ever-living daylights out of one another, and quite frankly, that's about 5.5 months too long. The unashamed fanatics of unbridled robot violence at Impress have assembled a killer compilation video showing some of the greatest slams, smashes, hits and fan chops from the Japanese robo fighting circuit, and it's waiting for your attention in the read link below. Warning: copious amounts of blood, PCB, gears and actuators are seen flying in all directions.
Video: Robo-One carnage shot at 300fps
Japan's Impress Watch had the good fortune to attend this year's Robo-one tournament with a Casio EX-F1 in hand. The result is vise-to-vise combat captured at 300 frames per second. See a perfectly executed German suplex performed after the break. Makes us almost feel sorry for the little guy... almost.
Robo-One Grand Championship sees battles, carols
Sure, this may be the twelfth time that the Robo-One Grand Championship has taken place, but each year it seems to get even zanier. This go 'round, Tokyo was home to 25 finalists built by amateurs lusting for a little piece of the limelight, and the whole lot apparently put on quite the show. Hundreds of onlookers watched as "Arichyon," decked out in Christmas lights, belted out carols, only to get pelted by a penguin-headed bot who wasn't exactly feelin' the holiday cheer. If you missed out on this year's event, you've got over 360 days to prep for the next one -- just make sure your creation speaks, er, sings softly and carries a big stick, okay?[Via I4U News, image courtesy of ITN]
OmniZero.4 bot performs amazing feats of strength, rope jumping
At a recent ROBO-ONE 11 event, which sees hapless robots performing various demeaning tasks to the delight of the onlookers and honor of their builders, OmniZero.4 from Takeshi Maeda took the top prize, with a demonstration score of 453. Of course, it doesn't really take a whole lot to delight the judges -- OmniZero.4 managed to climb some steps, perform a somersault, jump some rope and crack a couple of eggs without making a fool of himself, hardly worthy of a machine whose descendants will one day rule the earth. At least it makes for some decent entertainment, so peep the video after the break, and then get to working on your own very ninja-bot to whip up on next year's domesticated competition.[Via Robots Dreams]
Jin Sato describes his robotic MIBO pet on camera
Long before the NXT kits hit the mainstream, humanoid guru and robot designer Jin Sato was crafting a mechanical pet of his very own from original LEGO Mindstorm pieces -- not to mention the motors, motherboards, and gear trains to get MIBO movin'. Sure, Sato's rendition isn't nearly as smooth and sexy as Sony's AIBO, but we all know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Going on six years (that's human years, by the way) now, MIBO and his five motors are still making out alright, and although a bit of expected arthritis takes its toll every now and then, it still manages to keep its owner company. So if you're interested in seeing just how MIBO was given life, or if hearing the voice of a renowned robotic genius simply makes you weep, click on through for a world-class lesson in fun.[Via Robots]
Human-sized Gundam assembled by Maru family
You'll have to forgive us for indulging ourselves in a moment of fanboyish wonderment here, but about the only thing we can think of that's better than Bandai's life-sized Gundam replica is that very replica being built from the ground up by Robo-One 10 Championship winners, the Maru family. There isn't any exact parallel here, but we'd vaguely liken this to watching Miyamoto-san assemble a Wii -- except still somehow better, perhaps due to the looks on those childrens' faces that manages to warm even our cold, metallic heart-pump devices. Trust us, your inner-child / fanboy will be sated.[Via Robots Dreams]
Robo-One Robot Battle Ball -- heck yes
Sure, that crazy idea of soccer bots besting the human World Cup champs by 2050 will be plenty fun 44 years from now, but how about a bit of entertainment in the here and now? Robo-One has just the thing with their new Robot Battle Ball competition, which mixes the tried and true dynamics of soccer, but throws out all the lame rules like "no hands" and "no head-butting." The result is a rather entertaining game, and though the contestants are currently remote-controlled, we're sure these little bots will figure out the necessary maliciousness on their own before long. So peep the read link, watch the related video of Robot Battle Ball action and get ready for the next big thing in sports. At least until NFL starts back up again. Oh wait, nevermind.
Gadget vs Dynamizer in robot grudgematch
In celebration of Children's Day (which is also the day we celebrate Cinco de Mayo), our pals running the Robo-One competition announced a prizefight for what they've apparently dubbed Robo-One GP 2006 (Season 1) to take place in Bucheon Robo Park. The fighters: Japan's infamous Dynamizer on this side; Korea's Gadget on the other. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see the fight (seems like they neglected to set up a Pay-Per-View feed), but surprisingly even despite the Dynamizer was hooked into a rig that mimicked its master's movements during the bout, the hand-controlled Gadget remained victorious. A severe blow was surely never dealt to Japan's national sense of pride. We understand the 13 year old boy controlling the Dynamizer was heard shouting "I'll get you next time, Gadget -- in space."
"ROBO-ONE in the Space" promises low-orbit robot battles
Besides the promised army of nanobots that will fulfill our every want and need, there hasn't been too much about the "future" to get really jazzed up about -- until, that is, we found out about a little event happening on October 10, 2010 called "ROBO-ONE in the Space" (actual title, not a machine translation). From the same enthusiastic folks who bring us the fascinating terrestrial robot battles and posedowns in Tokyo every year, ROBO-ONE in the Space is an ambitious project that was announced at this year's competition, in which the organizers plan to launch a 125,000-cubic centimeter "piggyback satellite" into polar orbit in conjunction with a larger payload-- all for the purpose of robot grudge matches in zero gravity. Although the 10/10/10 date of the premier competition is purely tentative (pending certain non-trivial steps as international approval for the launch and use of certain radio frequencies), the rules already seem to be set in stone: to simulate the sumo-style ring (or sphere, as it were) of play, the four bots sent up as cargo will each be attached to 5-meter long tethers, which will signal that the competitor has been tossed when they become fully taut .Since our brief write-up can in no way do this topic justice, you should definitely check out this animated "artist's conception" of what the battles will look like; we don't use the phrase lightly, but it really is the greatest thing ever.[Via Pink Tentacle]
