It’s a safe bet to say most, if not all of our FuturePlay News readers would be familiar, or perhaps be die-hard fans of the Transformers franchise. In this article, we take a look at just how close this piece of fiction is to reality. That’s right, reality!
BIPEDAL ROBOTS
Put simply, a Bipedal Robot is one that has two legs, which in doing so often gives this type of robot a more humanistic look and feel. Bipedal Robots are often the ones used to depict Robot on Robot combat in popular movies and television series, due to their familiarity and human traits. But one robot promotion has taken giant steps in not only producing but also broadcasting these robot fights worldwide…
ROBO-ONE
Like many Machina Sports, the Robo-One promotion comes from Japan.. They held their first event back in 2002, the promotion has seen expansion into South Korea and unofficially part-takes in events held in the USA. The headline events for the promotion take place twice a year and are called ‘ROBO-ONE.’ However, due to the growing popularity and worldwide interest, they have expanded into regional tournaments with slightly different rule sets, conditions, and specifications of the robots being used.
THE BATTLES !
Simply writing about the ROBO-ONE’s battles doesn’t do it justice. It’s best to head over to ROBO-ONE’s Youtube and Social Media channels after you read this article to check them out for yourselves. We have no doubt you’ll be saying to yourself, ‘How have I never heard of this!'”
That said, let’s try our best to describe the action.
Two Bipedal Robots face off on a flat surface, each brandishing their own weapons or traits that the engineers believe will see them through the match, victorious! Each robot is about 40cm / 15 inches in height, and is pitted against the other.
As the action takes place, each robot looks to strike, push, or unbalance their opponent. After a fall, the opponent will give their competitor a chance to regroup and rise from the surface, and if it’s able to do so the battle continues. Overlooking the action are certified judges who at the end of the allocated time will announce the winner by raising either a Red or White Flag.
Should one of the competitors be unable to rise from damage sustained during the action, well, you guess it, the last robot standing is declared the winner.
TYPERION
This past September, the 42nd ROBO-ONE tournament was held at the Kanagawa Centre in Japan. Typerion, a 40cm / 4KG robot, was victorious, beating Hard Lux in the final of the event.
The Nijigasaki Robotics Club who built Typerion for the event are looking forward to future events and taking Typerion to the next level.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As we alluded to in the headline, ROBO-ONE might just be the coolest event that you’ve never heard of, and FuturePlay news will be there to support the promotion in goals to take Bipedal Robot fighting.
