While we may not have the flying cars we were promised by the sci-fi stories of yesteryear, the otherwise mostly terrible 2017 is ushering in the first ever giant robot duel. A team of American engineers from MegaBots Inc. is throwing down against the ‘bot builders of Japan’s Suidobashi Heavy Industry in a mechanized melee for the ages. The best part? You don’t need to have access to the Shatterdome to see it as it will be streamed on Twitch on Tuesday, October 17 at 7PM PT. We’re giving you the skinny on what you need to know, plus much more on today’s episode of Muskwatch.
While the event is airing on Twitch, it won’t actually be livestreamed. Taking place inside a derelict Japanese steel mill, the battle spanned several days as the two teams of engineers put their massive mechs to the test. MegaBots’ Eagle Prime, which stands a staggering 16 feet tall, and Suidobashi’s 13-foot-tall Kuratas walloped each other in a series of rounds that were fought on a knockout basis, which, according to The Verge means that victory is earned by toppling your opponent or disabling it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=ePINYZK4p5Y
There were no major restrictions placed on each bot’s weaponry, but they were designed to damage metal rather than slice through it. Considering their colossal scale, these giant robots are fairly slow-moving and aren’t as agile as what you might be expecting from movies like Pacific Rim or anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion, but it’s still an incredible first step towards making our dreams of seeing giant robot battles of cinema yore come to life. Here’s hoping that it’ll wind up being more Battlebots and less Robot Jox.
Image: Giphy
But today’s episode isn’t solely dedicated to this historical robotic rumble; we’re also diving into the latest developments in Hyperloop One, Elon Musk’s sassiest answers during his recent rocket-focused Reddit AMA, and much more.
Muskwatch airs on Nerdist.com and YouTube every Tuesday, but you can hack the planet and watch it two full days earlier on Sunday if you’re an Alpha subscriber. Find out how you can get 30 days free (and be 48 hours smarter than your dumb friends) right here.
What do you think of this week’s top stories? What else would you like to see us discuss on Muskwatch? Let us know in the comments below!
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