02/10/2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - Tokyo-based start-up Tsubame Industries developed a 4.5-meter-tall (14.8-feet), four-wheeled robot resembling "Mobile Suit Gundam" from the immensely popular Japanese animation series. It was available for $3 million.
Named ARCHAX after the avian dinosaur archaeopteryx, the robot had cockpit monitors that received images from cameras connected to the exterior, allowing the pilot to control its arms and hands using joysticks from inside its torso.
The 3.5-ton robot, which was unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show earlier this month, had two modes: the upright 'robot mode' and a 'vehicle mode' in which it could travel at speeds of up to 10 km (6 miles) per hour.
Ryo Yoshida, the 25-year-old former chief executive of Tsubame Industries, who had since become interested in manufacturing, had said, "Japan is very good at animation, games, robots, and automobiles, so I thought it would be great if I could create a product that compressed all these elements into one. I wanted to create something that said, 'This is Japan'."
Yoshida had planned to build and sell five of these machines for affluent robot enthusiasts, with hopes that the robot could eventually find applications in disaster relief or the space industry.
He had developed his passion for manufacturing at an early age, having learned to weld at his grandfather's ironworks. He later went on to establish a company that produced myoelectric prosthetic hands. He had expressed his eagerness to continue Japan's legacy in competitive manufacturing, saying, "I hope to learn from previous generations and carry on the tradition."