Japan vs. United States Giant Robot Battle: Mech Duel Officially Set for August 2017
Two years ago, American engineers from Megabots issued a challenge to Japan's Suidobashi Heavy Industries to put their respective mechs in a publicized event — a challenge that was instantly accepted. This year, after getting logistics and venue issues presumably sorted out, the fight is on — MegaBots Mk. III vs. Kuratas, coming this August!
In 2015, the MegaBots Mk. II was built by American mech enthusiasts, in what could be a challenge to the Kuratas mech built by Suidobashi Heavy Industries. Soon enough, MegaBots issued a fight-to-the-end challenge to Suidobashi's Kuratas, and the two groups resolved to settle right then to see who's got the better mech.
While the MegaBots Mk. II was more of a concept demonstration, actual combat presents its own challenges. The team turned to Kickstarter to raise about $500,000 to get the Mk. II ready for battle, according to Ars Technica. The result was the monstrous 15-foot MegaBots Mk. III, with all-new weapons systems, shock-mounted steel armor, the best hydraulic actuators and a custom track base that the team claims "will end up making us 2x faster than KURATAS!"
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Meanwhile, across the globe, work on the new Kuratas model silently continues. In 2015, the 13-foot-tall mech already came with advanced piloting aids and twin guns, and production was refined to a point that customers could buy their own mech for $1.35 million. What will the new Kuratas look like at this point then?
The match, which was expected to go down last year, was delayed by venue problems, according to MegaBots. That is why the new venue is currently kept a closely guarded secret for now, to avoid problems in August.
More information is expected to come out about the match in the months leading to the event, through MegaBots' Facebook and YouTube pages. The match will be streamed in Suidobashi's YouTube channel as well.
Watch as Megabots challenges Suidobashi to a robot duel in the promo video below.
