tachikoma
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MekaMon is an anime-styled battle bot you pilot with your phone
Between the success of shows like BattleBots and the amount of interest in last month's MegaBots debacle, it's pretty obvious that people really want to watch robots fight. But while watching two mechanical titans grapple can be satisfying, few things have captured the feel of the robot battles in video games and anime. Reach Robotics' $300 MekaMon, which launches today in the Apple Store, might be the closest we've seen to capturing that cyber-future ambience. Its bots can run and climb around the physical world while also using AR to add virtual weaponry for the full Japanese mech experience.
Kinect dives into anime cyberspace, dares you to catch cute robot tanks (video)
If your foremost dream is to jack into a dystopian cyberpunk reality where hackers play with human brains (and you also happen to love Japanese anime), you'd best book your flight to Tokyo right now -- a Shibuya department store has set up a basic cyberspace simulator straight out of Ghost in the Shell. That's the film Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society, to be precise, which just got a stereoscopic 3D re-release in Japan this week, and in its honor creative services company Kayac set about constructing a high-quality Kinect hack. Microsoft's depth camera tracks the lean of your body, while the honeyed virtual reality is projected onto a pair of nearby walls, and it's your objective to slap the Tachikoma tank silly without falling over yourself. Get a peek at what it's like to play with in the video above.
Life-sized Tachikoma loose on the streets of Tokyo (update: video!)
You know, we see a lot of kick-ass vehicles 'round Engadget HQ, so it's easy to grow a little jaded. Who can forget that Batman Tumbler we saw tearing up the asphalt last summer? Or the Halo Warthog -- complete with UN Space Command BDUs? Sure, either of those would make for a fun-filled weekend (or a lifetime of weekends), but what about something a little more suited to urban environs? Next time you're in Tokyo, make sure you look up a gentleman named San Kougei, who put together a joystick-piloted replica Tachikoma (of Ghost In The Shell fame). Who knows? Maybe he'll even let you take it for a spin. We're looking forward to seeing some YouTube video of this bad boy, but in the meantime we present you with one more pic (after the break).Update: Video found... from 2006. Hey, it's new to (most of) you![Via Tokyo Mango]
New Tachikoma spider robot on the loose
Ghost in the Shell fans, unite. Your favorite killer spider is back once more, as Bandai is delivering a newfangled version which stands 9.5-centimeters high and connects to your PC via USB. Apparently, this creature comes bundled with software which enables it to play back voice messages and fire up mini-games when it's not emitting sounds through the built-in speaker or catching your eye with its integrated LEDs. Unfortunately, it looks like this creature won't actually be uncaged until next February, but that'll give you some time to save up the ¥13,440 ($115) that you'll need come launch day.[Via TokyoMango]
Tachikoma, the killer spider tank toy now available
While it's no Spidernaut robot, fans of the anime series Ghost in the Shell will surely appreciate this new robot creation of the Tachikoma. Although Wikipedia tells us that regular Tachikoma "are as large as an average sedan," this miniature version probably could fit in your desk drawer. From what we can tell based on the videos, it only speaks Japanese, except for a high-pitched "bye-bye!" that is accompanied by a really cute wave. Cute for an anime robot, anyway. If you can read Japanese, tell us what the rest of the page says in the comments, m'kay?[Via Robot Gossip]
