Real Steel may just become actual reality if this company from Oakland, CA has anything to do with it. MegaBots, Inc. is dedicated to the sport of giant robot combat. They want to see 15-foot-tall human-piloted robots firing three-pound paint balls at each other at 120 miles per hour become an actual sporting event in arenas all over the world with live audiences cheering for their favorite machine.
And they aren't the only ones who want to see these robots straight out of science fiction duke it out against each other. Their soon-to-end Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to upgrade their current design to include hand-to-hand combat capabilities has already managed to raise more than its initial set goal of $500,000.
The MegaBots team wants to get their robot battle-ready for when it faces its nemesis from the land of mech warriors -- Japan.
Although the MegaBot's robot, the Mk.II is an impressive 12,000 pounds and equipped with some cool-looking heavy duty guns, they were not the first to create a giant robot of this scale.
Sudabashi in Japan beat them to the punch with the Kuratas, a 9000-pound beast with an advanced targeting system and a heads up display for its pilots.
Megabots issued a challenge to the Japanese giant robot maker via YouTube and it was accepted – on the one condition that melee combat also be integrated into the fight in addition to the heavy duty paintball fire power.
The battle royale is set to take place sometime in 2016. Ample time for both Team USA and Team Japan to upgrade, enhance, and test out their robots before they face off in the world's first ever international giant robot battle.
The MegaBots, Inc. team is being supported in their endeavors by the creators of RoboWars and BattleBots, Grant Imahara of Mythbusters fame, X-Prize, and Autodesk.
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