Japanese engineers are building a new giant 60 foot mech suit; this time it’s an actual robot

There’s no denying that the Japanese love their robotics, and honestly, who could blame them? Robots are awesome! Earlier this week, the Japanese animation studio Sunrise has just announced that it will partner with engineers to create a 60 foot (18 meter) moveable Gundam robot just in time for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

For those unfamiliar, Gundams are a type of piloted mech, or giant bipedal robot suit, originating from the anime series “Mobile Suit Gundam” that first aired in 1979. The series has being going strong for the last 35 years in some iteration or another. 

This isn’t Japan’s first attempt at building a real-life Gundam. Back in 2009, a 60-foot Gundam statue was erected at the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza in honor of the anime’s 30th anniversary, yet this first model was ─ ironically to the show’s premise ─ immobile. But now, Japanese engineers are attempting to top that effort with a full-scale animatronic robot slated for completion by 2019, just in time for the series’ 40th anniversary. 

To spice things up a further, Sunrise wants the public to participate in brainstorming the Gundam’s move set by accept idea submissions. “We are looking for the most advanced techniques and inspired thinking, without regard to field of expertise or nationality,” the company states on the project’s Japanese website.

Via Phys.org