
CEO Ryo Yoshida poses for a photograph with ARCHAX, a giant human-piloted robot developed by his start-up Tsubame Industries Co., in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan September 27, 2023.
11:57 JST, October 2, 2023
YOKOHAMA, Japan, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Tokyo-based start-up Tsubame Industries has developed a 4.5-metre-tall (14.8-feet), four-wheeled robot that looks like “Mobile Suit Gundam” from the wildly popular Japanese animation series, and it can be yours for $3 million.
Called ARCHAX after the avian dinosaur archaeopteryx, the robot has cockpit monitors that receive images from cameras hooked up to the exterior so that the pilot can manoeuvre the arms and hands with joysticks from inside its torso.
The 3.5-ton robot, which will be unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show later this month, has two modes: the upright ‘robot mode’ and a ‘vehicle mode’ in which it can travel up to 10 km (6 miles) per hour.
“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 Ryo Yoshida, the 25-year-old chief executive of Tsubame Industries.
“I wanted to create something that says, ‘This is Japan’.”
Yoshida plans to build and sell five of the machines for the well-heeled robot fan, but hopes the robot could one day be used for disaster relief or in the space industry.
Yoshida became interested in manufacturing at an early age, learning how to weld at his grandfather’s ironworks and then going on to found a company that produces myoelectric prosthetic hands. He said he is eager to keep Japan’s competitive edge in manufacturing alive.
“I hope to learn from previous generations and carry on the tradition,” he said.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
UPDATE2: Four Japanese Self-Defense Forces members injured in explosion at U.S. Kadena Air Base in Japan’s Okinawa
-
Shooter Kills At Least Nine in Attack on Austrian School, Mayor Says
-
Liberal Lee Jae-Myung Projected to Win South Korea Election Overshadowed by Martial Law Crisis
-
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Rises on Weaker Yen, Easing Worries about Trade Tensions
-
House Republicans Pass Trump’s Big Bill of Tax Breaks and Program Cuts after All-Night Session
JN ACCESS RANKING
-
Visitors to Japan Hit Single-Month Record High in April
-
Aichi Rice Production Under Siege from Warming Climate; Record Heat Stunts Crop Growth, Causes Greater Pest Activity
-
Japanese Researchers Develop ‘Transparent Paper’ as Alternative to Plastics; New Material Is Biodegradable, Can Be Produced with Low Carbon Emissions
-
Japan’s Core Inflation Hits More than 2-year High, Could Force Year-End BOJ Hike
-
Trump: Nippon Steel Will Part Own U.S. Steel, U.S. to Be in Control; Share Distribution, Other Details Remain Unclear