Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sat in the cockpit of a giant robot, and boy, does he look like a pilot of a BattleMech from MechWarrior or one of those suits in the movie Avatar who's come to life.
Fortunately for business competitors of the retailer, the machine isn't equipped with the usual weapons of those from the fictional universe of BattleTech or the ones invading Pandora, nor is it a super package-delivering powerhouse that can best the most efficient systems in use today or drones.
It's called the Method-2, which is the successor of Method-1, of course, and it's created for something more than shipping items.
The Giant Robot Method-2
The Method-2 was developed in a lab by Hankook Mirae Technology, measuring at a height of 13.1 feet and weighing 3,000 pounds.
If it seems like it's something out of a movie, that's because the engineers behind it collaborated with Vitaly Bulgarov, a Hollywood robot designer who worked on films such as Transformers, RoboCop, Terminator, and Ghost in the Shell, to name a few.
As for what its purpose is, he had this to say back in December 2016:
"To answer one of the most common questions what is this for I'll just say for now that from a mechanical/software/hardware/electric engineering stand point it was quite an ambitious project that required developing and enhancing a lot of technologies along the way. That growth opens up many real world applications where everything we have been learning so far on this robot can be applied to solve real world problems," he posted on Facebook.
Singing a similar tune to that is the chairman of Hankook Mirae Technology Yang Jin-Ho.
"Our robot is the world's first manned bipedal robot and is built to work in extreme hazardous areas where humans cannot go (unprotected)," he said.
Bezos And Method-2 At MARS 2017
Bezos rode on the Method-2 at MARS 2017, Amazon's annual event that stands for machine-learning automation, robotics, and space exploration.
I just got to pilot an awesome (and huge) robot thanks to Hankook Mirae Technology. Nice! #MARS2017 pic.twitter.com/MvN6ghEYFi
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) March 20, 2017
@JeffBezos "Why do I feel so much like #sigourneyweaver ?" @amazon #MARS2017 #openpodbaydoors pic.twitter.com/HRRzmQtZbh — Caleb Harper (@calebgrowsfood) March 20, 2017
It's also worth mentioning that Bezos recently unveiled the BE-4, the fourth-generation rocket engine that's designed for the New Glenn rocket. Just like the case with the Method-2, he also took things to Twitter.
Wrapping Up
Long story short, Bezos may have something great in mind for the Method-2, and he seemed to have been happy about getting to sit in the cockpit — notice the big smile.
With everything cleared up, what do you think of the photo of Bezos on board the giant robot that is the Method-2? Feel free to hit us up in our comments section below and let us know.
