If anyone is proud to be American, it's the co-founders of MegaBots Inc.
"We wanted to be the Stephen Colbert of giant fighting robot sports," Brinkley Warren, one of the co-founders, as well as the company's producer and business developer, told Tech Times via e-mail.
The juxtaposed images of futuristic fighting robots and comedic god Stephen Colbert, though slightly incongruous for those unfamiliar with the company, aren't too far off, especially for a company that designs and produces humanoid, cannon-sized paintball-blasting battlebots for the sheer entertainment value. MegaBots has made its name (and a viral video, to boot), as well as its (quite literal) battle robot designs on a goofy but thoroughly authentic sense of patriotic pride.
This healthy sense of hubris has lead to MegaBots' newly launched Kickstarter campaign, an all-out effort to raise a minimum of $500,000 to revamp its current battlebot model (known as the Mark 2, or Mk. II). It has also launched an all-in-good-fun vendetta to defeat its sole nemesis Suidobashi Heavy Industries, a company headquartered in Japan, in a bot battle to defeat all bot battles – not to mention the first of its kind.
So perhaps to say that MegaBots has one Colbert-related endgame is incorrect. Instead of having a singular vision, it's more like a three-pronged goal: to defeat Suidobashi's 13-foot battle bot, the Gatling gun-wielding Kuratas; to be, as mentioned, "the Stephen Colbert of fighting robots;" and to create and vitalize a new worldwide sensation.
"Our long-term vision of MegaBots is to create the most compelling live action sports league in human history," said Warren. "We're blending the technology of F1 with the fights of UFC, to create a new sport with millions of fans in stadiums around the world cheering on their favorite pilots and robots in epic robot battles. The MegaBot League will allow countries from around the world to field their own team and compete for the ultimate in human-piloted robot glory."
The Kickstarter page also highlights its unveiled advising crew, which includes X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis as a state-of-the-art robotics expert; BattleBots founders Greg Munson and Terry Roski on weaponry, tactical measures, and strategizing; and former Mythbuster Grant Imahara on robot design. Other sponsors on the roster are engineers and scientists from NASA, Autodesk, and Team IHMC Robotics.
But back to Colbertian comparisons: despite Warren's hope that MegaBots Inc. will forge "the world's first match in a brand new sport [much like] if you could go back and watch the very first boxing match in history," there's a stringent educational imperative to its mission.
"Sports unite humanity behind the ideals of fun, sportsmanship, camaraderie, competition, excellence, grace, and glory," said Warren. "I hope MegaBots will add innovation and STEM education to these ideals ... [t]hey are perfect role-models that will help kids understand that being smart and learning how to make things is not only cool – it's a way to become a hero. MegaBots is like a gateway drug for the next generation of creative engineers."
And like Colbert – and in true MegaBots style – Warren had some fighting words to relay to Suidobashi:
"Suidobashi -- we just unleashed an American super weapon called crowdfunding, and the American people are getting behind Team USA and showing how much our culture loves giant robots. Can Japan rise to the occasion and match our country's pride for giant robots? I dare you and the Japanese fans to try to beat our crowdfunding results -- let's see which country's culture loves giant robots the most. Let's see which country isn't afraid to put their money where their passion is."
You can visit the Kickstarter page here, and watch the Kickstarter video below.
Photo: MegaBots Inc.
