Japanese man's childhood dreams give birth to giant robot
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Robot artist Kogoro Kurata demonstrates the 4m-tall robot "Kuratas" produced by Suidobashi Heavy Industry, at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo on Nov 28, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata, inventor of the giant "Kuratas" robot, climbs out of its cockpit at an exhibition in Tokyo on Nov 28, 2012. -- PHOTO: Reuters
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Robot artist Kogoro Kurata demonstrates the 4m-tall robot "Kuratas" produced by Suidobashi Heavy Industry, at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo on Nov 28, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Robot artist Kogoro Kurata demonstrates the 4m-tall robot "Kuratas" produced by Suidobashi Heavy Industry, at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo on Nov 28, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata, inventor of the giant "Kuratas" robot, climbs out of its cockpit at an exhibition in Tokyo on Nov 28, 2012. -- PHOTO: Reuters
Robot artist Kogoro Kurata demonstrates the 4m-tall robot "Kuratas" produced by Suidobashi Heavy Industry, at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo on Nov 28, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO (REUTERS) - Like many Japanese, Mr Kogoro Kurata grew up watching futuristic robots in movies and animation, wishing that he could bring them to life and pilot one himself.
Unlike most other Japanese, he has actually done it.
His 4-tonne, 4-metre tall Kuratas robot is a grey behemoth with a built-in pilot's seat and hand-held controller that allows an operator to flex its massive arms, move it up and down and drive it at a speed of up to 10 kph.
"The robots we saw in our generation were always big and always had people riding them, and I don't think they have much meaning in the real world," said Mr Kurata, a 39-year-old artist.
