A 60-Foot-Tall Walking Gundam Robot Is Being Constructed in Japan

Feb 11, 2020 by apost team

If you’re a Transformers, Pacific Rim, or Reel Steel kind of movie fan, then some engineers in Japan have a real surprise in store for you. No, it’s not another robot movie or video game development. In the near future, you’re going to be able to experience some real robot action up close and personal. Are you ready to meet a full-sized Gundam robot that’s mobile?

Engineers in Japan are in the process of creating the most advanced 60-foot tall Gundam ever, and it’s going to be displayed for an entire year at the port of Yokohama. Yes, full-scale recreations have been created and displayed before. Designer Masaki Kawahara has three already under his own belt. However, unlike its predecessors, this gigantic metal beast will be using 24 degrees of motion to actually walk and move, reports The Daily Times.

Both Japanese culture and the world of animation were marked by Yoshiyuki Tomino's Gundam series, which began 40 years ago. Since then, nearly 50 movies and television series have been made. It’s also become a launching pad for other giant robot movie, series, and video storylines, including the likes of Pacific Rim, Voltron, MegaBots, and Halo.

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Despite the many offshoots, Gundam remains in the top fifteen of the highest-grossing media franchises ever. Fans just can’t get enough of the samurai-like giants. In fact, Bandai Namco’s miniature figurines had 2015 sales surpassing half a billion. It’s just that popular. It’s no wonder that Gundam news goes viral so quickly, right?

Designers for Gundam Factory Yokohama are aiming to bring the iconic RX-78-2 robot to life in a way never before seen. The attraction will begin in October 2020 at the port of Yokohama. It’s estimated to weigh over 25 tons, which is astounding considering the first industrial robot weighed two tons back in 1959.

Giving such a massive hunk of metal movement, much less the ability to walk, will certainly be an engineering accomplishment for the record books. Actuator, motor, and other materials currently available will be at the top end of their capacity given the projected overall weight and individual weights of various components. For example, the robot’s hands alone will stand at over six feet tall. Each will have functioning digits and be attached to articulating shoulders, elbows, and wrists. For all the connected motors to function properly, each hand’s total weight must be less than 440 lbs.

Get a look at the engineers at work in this video. You can also see what Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino thinks about designer Kawahara‘s work so far. Tomino is brutally honest. He says the project feels boring and uninteresting to him. He even says it all feels like a wrong step backward in that they (the designers) are basically replicating the original.

For fans, though, this homage to the original isn’t so much of a drawback. In fact, it’s one of the project’s biggest attraction points; it’s bringing the original full-scale model fans have loved for decades to life. Instead of merely imagining how it would move in reality, they can experience it, The Daily Times continues.

Aspiring programmers can even play with it since engineers are using open source Robot Operating System (ROS) and Gazebo simulation software for the development. They’ve released a virtual copy of their work that includes all the robot’s sensors, motors, and gears, and you can use it to develop your own action sequences and poses. Many fans are hopeful that this is an open door for the possibility of fan-made sets being uploaded to the attraction robot once it’s completed.

In addition to the robot itself, the attraction site is set to have an interactive robotics lab, shops, conference facilities, exhibition center, and even a restaurant serving up robot-themed menu items. While some may be disappointed that the robot isn’t a fighter jumping and leaping to save the day from evil, such as seen with the world's first international giant robot fight, most of us are just in awe of anything as tall as a four-story building walking around.

What do you think about a full-sized mobile Gundam? Will you go see it? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section, and don’t forget to pass this news along to other giant robot fans.