The Gundam Giant Robot: Yours For A Mere $725 Million
Written by admin on January 13th, 2008 in Gadgets.
If you have money to burn, you might be interested in purchasing this project, which is sure to excite and whelm all who behold it size and/or shadow (as Mel Brooks used to say). The larger-than-life Gundam robot is expected to stand 60 feet tall and the unbelievable price tag doesn’t even include the cost of labor or the necessary infrastructure!
You can forget about flying this technological wonder or even taking it for a ride. The most you can hope for is a simple promenade with your new 43-ton robot. And even that could present problems, as a simple walk is sure to result in the destruction of the ground surface beneath its enormous and very heavy feet. (Look on the bright side. It’s one way to excavate, one can suppose.)
The cost breakdown has been estimated by the Science Portal website run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency. The Gundam’s computer system, which is an IBM Blue Gene supercomputer, comprises only a fraction of the total cost ($1.5 million). The robot’s movements would be driven by 30 giant 400KW motors; 12 in the legs, 2 in the torso, 14 in the arms and 2 in the neck. The motors would cost $7.8 million. Other costs include: a cockpit for $450,000, sensors for $910,000 and gas turbine engines which are a steal at $364,000,000!
According to the folks at Pinktentacle:
“But perhaps the greatest challenge of all would be to find the funding for an enormous walking machine with no apparent practical or military application.”
Simply a robot for the love of robots.
Read: [New Launches]
Tags: consumer technology, Ogg Vorbis, amps, gadgets
