[ti:Japanese Engineer Builds Huge Robot of His Dreams]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.20]Japanese engineer Masaaki Nagumo
[00:03.80]had always dreamed of operating a robot from "Mobile Suit Gundam."
[00:10.14]That is the name of a popular Japanese animation television series.
[00:17.12]It was Nagumo's favorite show when he was a child.
[00:22.52]The series features huge, human-controlled machines in battle.
[00:29.32]Now Nagumo has made the show come to life.
[00:34.60]He has built a large robot inspired by the machines.
[00:40.24]The robot is called LW-Mononofu.
[00:45.04]The farming machinery company Sakakibara Kikai developed it.
[00:50.32]The robot is 8.5 meters tall, has two legs and weighs more than seven metric tons.
[00:59.90]It has a seating area with monitors,
[01:03.76]and devices for the pilot to be able control the robot's arms and legs.
[01:11.40]The 44-year-old Nagumo spoke to the Reuters news agency
[01:16.56]about the popularity of the "Mobile Suit Gundam" series.
[01:21.88]It inspired movies, manga, video games and more.
[01:28.04]And so, he suggested the robot could be popular as well.
[01:34.32]"I think this can be turned into a business opportunity," Nagumo said.
[01:41.20]Sakakibara Kikai develops robots and entertainment machines
[01:46.72]in addition to its main agriculture equipment business.
[01:51.84]For a rate of about $930 an hour, people can rent the machines
[01:58.70]for children's birthday parties and other events, Nagumo said.
[02:04.40]The company has created robots of all sizes.
[02:09.72]There is the almost 3.5-meter-tall Landwalker,
[02:14.84]the smaller Kid's Walker Cyclops, and the MechBoxer boxing machine.
[02:22.20]But the Mononofu stands above them all.
[02:26.56]It also does more complex movements.
[02:30.52]It can move its fingers and turn its upper body,
[02:34.92]and walk forward and backward.
[02:38.44]However, it moves very slowly – at a speed of less than one kilometer per hour.
[02:46.84]Although it may be slow, the Mononofu is very powerful.
[02:52.64]The bazooka-like air gun on its right arm
[02:56.36]shoots balls of soft material at 140 kilometers per hour.
[03:03.32]"As an anime-inspired robot that one can ride,
[03:07.84]I think this is the biggest in the world," Nagumo said.
[03:13.48]But Mononofu might be a bit too large.
[03:17.68]It is unable to leave the factory without being taken apart
[03:22.64]because it was built taller than the entrance.
[03:26.68]I'm Pete Musto.
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