American Robot Challenges Japanese Robot To A Duel. The US provoked Japan to battle robots-giants

A U.S. company has built a giant robot with paintball cannons piloted by two people that seems to come right out of science fiction - and they want it to fight a Japanese-made counterpart in an epic duel. The video challenge made on Wednesday by U.S.-based MegaBots to Japan-based Suidobashi Heavy Industry would add to the trans-Pacific rivalry heating up after the USA Women's National Soccer team beat Germany that same night to face Japan in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday. MegaBots co-founder Gui Cavalcanti also invoked Fourth of July patriotism by wearing an American flag as a cape in the video challenge to Suidobashi. Customary to the protocol of a duel, MegaBots threw down the robot gauntlet, so the Japanese can choose the battlefield with its Kuratas mech. “You have a giant robot, we have a giant robot,” Cavalcanti said the video. ”You know what needs to happen. We challenge you to a duel. Both of our robots will need modifications to become combat ready. You name the battlefield. In one year – we fight!” The estimated costs of building the Mark II and the Kuratas are each around $1.4 million, but the fact that both Japanese and American companies are building giant mechs shows the rapid pace of robotics innovation. Suidobashi has not yet responded to the challenge as of Thursday, Cavalcanti tells U.S. News. Suidobashi also told the Japanese office of tech blog Engadget that the Kuratas mech “was made four years ago,” so the company is still considering whether their robot champion is ready for battle against the newer Mark II. If the challenge is accepted, America’s champion in this epic duel will be the MegaBot Mark II, a 15-foot-tall mech is equipped with guns that can fire paint cannonballs faster than 120 miles per hour. Defending Japan’s honor would be the Kuratas, a 13-foot-tall mech with room for one pilot armed with BB gatling guns that can be activated using an iPhone. When the robots fight and the dust clears, there can be only one. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/07/02/us-challenges-japan-to-giant-robot-battle-ahead-of-world-cup-final