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Title: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: Shockeye on May 24, 2005, 12:31:17 PM Quote from: The Japan Times Robot lets rider walk and fire just like Gundam (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050518f2.html) MAEBASHI, Gunma Pref. (Kyodo) An environment machinery maker has developed a robot that can be ridden and maneuvered like one in the animation series "Mobile Suit Gundam." (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/images/photos2005/nn20050518f2a.jpg) Masaaki Nagumo rides his 3.4-meter-tall Land Walker robot in Shinto, Gunma Prefecture. The single-seat Land Walker robot, standing 3.4 meters high and weighing 1 ton, can walk forward, backward or sideways at 1.5 kph by operating four pedals, and shoots sponge bullets from two air guns installed beside the cockpit, according to Masaaki Nagumo of Sakakibara Kikai Co., based in Shinto, Gunma Prefecture. Nagumo, 32, developed the product over two years almost all by himself as he wanted to develop a robot that could be driven and operated to move like Gundam. He said he thought such state-of-the-art robots as Honda Motor Co.'s ASIMO to be "excellent in technology but they are like Atom (Astro Boy)," referring to the cartoon robot by the late Osamu Tezuka. "I wanted to see a robot on which people ride and operate, like Gundam." The Land Walker, which is made to order, costs 36 million yen. The price will be lowered if enough people place orders, he said. The company's Web site has received more than 1 million hits since it announced the robot in March. Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: HaemishM on May 24, 2005, 12:41:03 PM FRICKIN' AWESOME!
Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: WayAbvPar on May 24, 2005, 12:51:48 PM That would make my commute much more amusing. Does it come with an iPod-ready stereo?
Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: HaemishM on May 24, 2005, 01:00:02 PM Unfortunately, at 1.5 kph, my commute would take the entire fucking day in that thing.
But it would be fun stepping over motherfuckers at stoplights. Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: MaceVanHoffen on May 24, 2005, 01:11:34 PM Now if they'd offer your choice of mountable weaponry, I'm so there. THAT would make my commute better: culling the herd of idiots drving on San Fran's local freeways.
Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: Furiously on May 24, 2005, 02:07:09 PM Now if they'd offer your choice of mountable weaponry, I'm so there. THAT would make my commute better: culling the herd of idiots drving on San Fran's local freeways. At 1.5 KPH...lemme do the math... 1.5 kilometer/hour = 1.3670166 foot/second 1.5 kilometer/hour = 0.9320568 mile/hour (mph) Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: SurfD on May 25, 2005, 12:48:00 AM isnt the average human walking speed something kile 3, 3.5 kph?
Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: Samwise on May 25, 2005, 12:50:47 AM Human walking speed is around 3 mph (5 kph).
Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: SurfD on May 25, 2005, 12:57:36 AM lol, yeah, I meant to say MPH, but I still think mainly in KPH (Go go Metric system!)
Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: Mesozoic on May 25, 2005, 07:28:24 AM So, wait. This is an example of a non-crazy Japanese invention?
Title: Re: Not all Japanese inventions are completely crazy. Post by: |3o3dha on May 25, 2005, 08:34:14 AM So, wait. This is an example of a non-crazy Japanese invention? an example of a not completely crazy Japanese invention. The devil's in details. |