Autobots, roll out!

As if you needed convincing that the world loves robots, China’s given us 6 tons of more evidence. That’s the weight of the colossal 38 foot tall (11.5 m) statue of Optimus Prime that was recently constucted outside the Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest‘ Stadium in Beijing. Created as part of the ‘Green Dream Park’, the giant robot is made from recycled materials: the carcasses of old cars. It, along with other artwork on display in the park, is designed to promote China’s commitment to environmentalism and a ‘green lifestyle’. Probably a fail on that count, but it does convince me of China’s love for the ‘robot lifestyle’. Check out Prime’s mighty likeness in the news clip from CNTV below.

Strangely enough, this isn’t China’s only giant robot statue of a Transformer made out of recycled cars. Student artist Bi Heng constructed Kwansformer, a 30 foot (9 m) bot made from an old Jiefang CA10 truck. For those lacking an ‘A’ in Chinese history, it’s one of the first autos the nation ever built. Kwansformer is also in the shape of a famous general (Guan Yu) and is carrying an enormous ‘green dragon crescent blade’ (see the photo below). This robot statue promoted Chinese success through out history and in modern times.

Apparently when China has something to celebrate the trendy thing to do is build a giant Transformer. …That’s awesome. Not only are they cool to look at, they hint at the growing importance robot’s have in that society (and the global culture as a whole). These bots are symbols of wealth, success, and promise. I bet that makes the robot’s feel good about themselves.

Speaking of feeling good about yourself, we need to build more of these in the States. There’s a giant robot statue gap! All we’ve got is Bumblebee.

I love how it seems to dwarf the stadium in the back.

Artist Bi Heng poses with another giant Transformer statue (called Kwansformer).

[image credits: News.CN, Xinhuanet]
[video credit: CNTV]
[source: CNTV, Xinhuanet]

Hey, you can't bring a sword to a wrestling match!

Listen Japan, I keep trying to tell you: if you don’t want robots overthrowing your civilization you need to stop breeding them for gladiatorial combat. The 16th Robo-One Championship was held recently in Toyama City, Japan. Started in 2002, this biannual event has a great demonstration competition but its the combat that really gets the fans cheering. Bots wrestle, push, and flip to knock their opponents off balance or out of the ring. Why do we force these mechanical minions into melee matches? Because it’s awesome. Check out the slew of videos after the break. Thanks to Wired Magazine for collecting them in one place.

Much like Kondo Battle, or RoboGames, Robo-One Championship is as much about having fun as it is about winning. As such, many of the competitors don’t really stand a chance in the ring, they’re there to demonstrate new techniques in engineering, or to just show off some really cool designs. This 16th Robo-One event had several noteworthy bots including a Transformer, a Gundam, a xylophone player, and a robot that could shoot a bow and arrow. While these robots won’t change the world, they do demonstrate the creativity and enthusiasm that robotics provides at all levels of amateur and professional skill.

The meter tall, 25 kg, transformer robot was built by Takeshi Maeda and is named Omni Zero 9. It can autonomously climb stairs, roll up a ramp, and even let you ride if you’re brave enough. I really can’t believe what I’m seeing at 1:14. That’s weird and awesome. Omni Zero 9 isn’t a slouch in the ring either, check out how it dominates the competition in the second video.

For those of you who like your robots with a little more flair, I present to you Automo Wakka, the robot built to look like a Gundam (from the anime). While I’m not so impressed with the way it walks across rocks, it can certainly handle a sword and obviously had some enthusiastic operators. Do the hands look like they might be the Melissa Model from Kondo? Automo Wakka did pretty well in the wrestling matches. It out shoved the flipping robot in the second video.

As always, Robo-One had displays of non-combative talent. The bow and arrow bot could fire a suction cup onto a plate of glass with a minimum of help. And while I didn’t recognize the tune, I was impressed with the xylophone robot‘s ability to play and sing at the same time. Let’s hope that the future of robotics is more closely related to these performances that the competitions in the ring. Let it go on record that I have never forced a robot to fight another robot. As lame as that statement may make me now, hopefully it will keep me safe when the robots come to power. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Panes of glass beware, robotically fired suctions cups are coming!

I didn't catch the tune, but it was still a good performance.

Solar power? Robots? It's the perfect toy!

There have been quite a few gizmo-oriented feeds out there going crazy over the 6 in 1, but I’m not sure it merits such excessive praise. I mean, it does make a cool boat, a neat spinning airplane, a car, and a puppy that’s on a kawaii overload. But it’s other two forms (a stationary airplane and a windmill) are so redundant I want to rename it a 4 in 1. It doesn’t have customizable paint jobs, nor a remote control, and you can’t make multiple kits battle or interact. It’s just a neat solar powered robot toy from a kit.

But that’s sort of a remarkable phrase in of itself. We have these two giants concepts that people are really hungry for: solar power and robotics, ideas that are supposedly going to revolutionize our world any day now. Right now you can order this toy and see those grand ideas in action on a smaller, simpler, and more personal scale. Who wouldn’t want to feed a little robot puppy the light from a 50 watt bulb and watch it dance around? It’s cute and it represents technological progress — killer.

Not sure if the kit is fit to adorn your office cubicle, or want to see if your niece will enjoy putting it together? Luckily some enthusiastic robophile made a video that shows all 6 forms of the robot and demonstrates their functions. Check it out below. Is the 6 in 1solar robot kit a revolutionary invention set to change the world? No. Is it in my shopping cart? Oh yes.