Tokyo Company Offers Giant Robot for $2.7 Million
For anyone who's ever wanted to pilot their own giant robot, a company in Japan is offering the opportunity of your dreams.
Well, if you have $2.7 million, that is.
Tokyo-based Tsubame Industries has created a 3.5-metric-ton, 4.5-meter-tall robot that looks like something from Mobile Suit Gundam.
Called Archax, the robot has four legs with wheels that can spread out to transform it into a "vehicle mode" that lets it travel at up to 10 kilometers per hour.
The pilot sits inside the chest, and looks at screens connected to cameras on the outside of the robot. Its arms and hands are controlled with joysticks.
In September, Tsubame began accepting pre-order sales for Archax robots. However, only five will be made available — at a cost of 400 million yen each, or about $2.7 million.
Deliveries won't be quick, either — it's expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete any order. And unfortunately for those in other countries hoping to live out their giant robot dreams, Archax is only available in Japan.
"Japan is very good at animation, games, robots and automobiles, so I thought it would be great if I could create a product that compressed all these elements into one," said Tsubame's 25-year-old CEO, Ryo Yoshida, speaking to Reuters.
"I wanted to create something that says, 'This is Japan.'"
Yoshida hopes Archax could one day be used to help after disasters — or in space.
His 2-year-old company says its philosophy is "transforming the world of science fiction into science reality."
Those without the $2.7 million to buy one of the robots can see Archax at the Japan Mobility Show — formerly the Tokyo Motor Show — in Tokyo starting October 26.
This isn't the first giant robot to be offered for sale in Japan, however. In 2013, Suidobashi Heavy Industries put its Kuratas robot on Amazon, at a sale price of about $1 million.
