Giant mobile robots constitute a benchmark of achievement in East Asia, a “to-do” item on the list of every up-and-coming technological powerhouse. Thanks to Seoul-based robotics firm Korea Future Technology, South Korea finally joined the giant robot arms race, taking its place along long-time rival Japan with a 4-meter tall, 1.5-ton functioning bipedal robot.
Korea Future Technology recruited the help of concept artist Vitaly Bulgarov to build a real-life functioning mech called METHOD-1. This is not a promotional stunt or some sort of gimmick but a proof of concept in its earliest stages.
Obvious aesthetic influences aside, METHOD-1 wasn’t built to pay homage to Mech Warrior, Robotech, Mobile Suit Gundam, or any other multitude of giant robot fiction. METHOD-1 wasn’t even constructed for a specific task, but rather, for a specific goal: to explore the number potential real-life scenarios that could benefit from its technology.
KFT remains hushed over its choice in motors, actuators, and sensors—let alone the robot’s full breadth of features. As far as we can tell, it might not even be anything more than a fancy art exhibit, but if the promotional video above is to be trusted, METHOD-1 seems capable of not just walking, but moving its arms in-sync with the operator’s arm movements. And that’s a huge step up from 2015’s KURATA, a fancy-looking, but semi-useless 4-ton mech battle suit from Japan that cost for $1,000,000 and moved at 10 km/h (6.2 mph).
Source: RT.com
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