This titan of a robot is called Method-2, and it has now taken it's first steps at the control of a human pilot. Prior tests have not taken the robot for a real human-piloted walk-about.

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This world first giant robot was created by Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, Seoul. These latest test were done early on December 27th in S.Korea. The intended use for the robot is described as being "built to work in extreme hazardous areas where humans cannot go (unprotected)," according to the chairman Yang Jin-Ho.

A human pilot operates the robot, just like the military robots in the famous movie Avatar. The robot is made of aluminum and carbon fiber, stands more than twice the height of a human, at 4m or 13ft and 1.5 tons, with each arm weighing over 280 lbs!

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It has a total of 46 high-torque motors. The robot is such a juggernaut that the ground trembles under each step.

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This project has had billions of S.Koran won currency invested into it. Yang Jin-Ho has invested US$200 million himself, who dreamed of building his own robot as a child. He says he wanted to "bring to life what only seemed possible in movies and cartoons".

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Vitaly Bulgarov, the master designer on the project, is shown above. Method-1/2 is a sci-fi nerd's dream, and he built it from his dreams. He had already designed for Hollywood movies like Terminator 4, Ghost in the Shell, Robocop and Transformers 4.

Hankook Mirae Technology first saw his designs, and they "flew over to the USA straight away, and asked him to be our chief designer. His work and the man himself gave us no chance for a second thought. He just had to be on our team."

Here is some initial concept art they came up with. It looks pretty wicked:

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But building one of these isn't as easy as it looks in the anime of sci-fi. They always look much cooler than what you see in university projects because of the actual range of motion and clearance needed to make it anthropomorphic with proper movement like a human. Mass reduction and form needs to happen to shrink things into a workable space like a human can stretch and grow muscles to move with such flexibility. We are talking metal here. It also can't be so light that it's weak and fragile.

Building

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Engineers had their work cut out for them, as this development was never done before. The robot has some intended purposes, but it's still unclear as to the full potential applications for the robot. They are looking at it also as a test-bed for creators to build better types and sizes of robots in the future.

Attention

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The media is not the only one whose attention has been grabbed by this robotic Titan. Yang has already received interest from several industries, including manufacturing, construction, entertainment and even defensive weaponry to be deployed along the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone with North Korea.

Work ahead

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Much work remains to be done, because the robot can only operate while being tethered to a power cable. And despite the successful training walk accomplished with a human operator, the robot is still a bit wobbly on its feet making it far from a finished product ready for widespread use. The balancing and power systems need to be developed more.

It's expected to take the next couple of years before it will be able to move more freely as Yang has said: "The robot is one year old so it is taking baby steps."

The date of completion and readiness for sale is estimated at the end of 2017 with a price tag of US$8.3 million.

Here is a video of the previous Method-1 model being tested. It's pretty awesome!

Avatar 1.5 (still not sequel)_ 'METHOD-1' manned robot tested in South Korea

More Robots!

This isn't the first big robot with a human opreator inside. In 2012, Japanese company Kuratas created a robot:

HOW TO RIDE KURATAS - Suidobashi heavy industry

That puppy is much more affordable, at a mere US$1 million...

There are a lot of stereotypes about the Asians developing technology and robotics, and anime has propelled that imagery. But now, we see that they really are at the forefront of this advanced technological development. Japan and South Korea, leading the way in robotics just like every prejudicially suspected! Ha!

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Thank you for your time and attention! I appreciate the knowledge reaching more people. Take care. Peace.

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References:

• Avatar-style S. Korean manned robot takes first baby steps
• 4-meter tall manned robot learns to walk and move hands (VIDEO)
• Interview: Vitaly Bulgarov, designer of that giant Korean robot suit

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@krnel
2016-12-27, 2:45pm