Enormous Manned Robot Method-2 Takes First Steps
Could this be the robot of the future?
The Method-2 Robot by South Korean firm, Hankook Mirae Technology, took its first steps in the real world. The robot weighing in at 1.5-ton and soaring 13 feet high can be remote controlled from a distance, as well as, driven with a human ‘pilot’ sitting inside.
Courtesy of Hankook Mirae Technology
Its arms weigh about 300 pounds each, which are controlled by the pilots’ own limb movements by mimicking motions. The robot has been noticed for its striking resemblance to the fantasy robots seen in the 2009 film, Avatar, but there is still a lot of work to be done before it’s ready to be released into the real world.
'Our robot is the world's first manned bipedal robot and is built to work in extreme hazardous areas where humans cannot go (unprotected),' said company chairman Yang Jin-Ho.
Courtesy of Hankook Mirae Technology
The video below shows the robot taking a stroll through the company’s headquarters, walking up and down while operators control its movements. The enormous robot was created by Vitaly Bulgarov who also worked on the film, Transformers and co-designed Boston Dynamics’ bipedal robots. The final version is expected to be ready by the end of the year with an accompanying price tag of £6.7 million.
hankook mirae technology by vitaly bulgarov from designboom on Vimeo.
Its first expedition will be between North and South Korea, also known as, the demilitarised zone (DMZ).
What was once thought as merely a fantasy is soon to be a living reality. What are your thoughts? Tweet us @designcurial!
