This is so cool but I guess it's too late to add it to my Christmas list. The "LandWalker" from agricultural machinery maker Sakakibara Kikai. The guns shoot spongeballs. The company says it produced the robot as a toy and declined to sell one to a security agency who expressed interest. It can be yours for 36 million yen. ($300,000+) Links http://www.sakakibara-kikai.co.jp/products/other/LW.htm Walking http://www.sakakibara-kikai.co.jp/products/other/images/robo_s.wmv Shooting http://www.sakakibara-kikai.co.jp/products/other/images/shot.wmv
Exactly what I was thinking...for $300k I'd expect SOME form of locomotion other than a slow, unimpressive foot shuffle where it doesn't appear either foot gets more than 1mm off the ground. Land walker? More like "flat, unobtrusive, dry, dirt free surface walker" imo. Cripes it looks like they slapped some nerf guns and $500 worth of old hydraulics together. Sorry, just doesn't seem to be a valid price vs. performance issue for me...I'd rather stick paintball guns on a bentley azure if I wanted to waste $300k on an open cockpit "war machine"
Reminds me of the prototype 'bot in Robocop... "You have 30 seconds to comply." Image Unavailable, Please Login
If they could actually get it to walk at a decent pace it'd be very good for riot suppression. Could you imagine being a rioter facing off against the normal rows and rows of cops in their riot gear and then two of these things come walking up behind them in support! "Huh. Ummm... I think I just remembered something I need to do. I gotta go." Outfit them to fire teargas and bean-bag shells. It's a thought.
