Big in Japan: giant Gundam robot makes its first moves in Yokohama

[MCobian]

Because in Japan anime and manga are very popular, it's no wonder that one of the Gundam anime characters is made in life size.
I am a Gundam fan from 20 years ago, knowing this news is certainly very happy, even if there is no COVID19 pandemic maybe
I will go to Japan to see it first hand. But for some people who are not anime fans, they would think that making a life size Gundam
is just a waste of money without any benefit. Moreover, in the current economic crisis due to the COVID19 pandemic, there are many
negative opinions regarding the making of this Gundam life size.

[goaldigger]

Because in Japan anime and manga are very popular, it's no wonder that one of the Gundam anime characters is made in life size.
I am a Gundam fan from 20 years ago, knowing this news is certainly very happy, even if there is no COVID19 pandemic maybe
I will go to Japan to see it first hand. But for some people who are not anime fans, they would think that making a life size Gundam
is just a waste of money without any benefit. Moreover, in the current economic crisis due to the COVID19 pandemic, there are many
negative opinions regarding the making of this Gundam life size.

This is the proof that they are more advance when it comes to technology and making such a huge Gundam Robot is so amazing. I do also love anime movies and Gundam is my childhood hero before the marvels. This project started way before the pandemic so there's already a budget for this and I don't know why they are questioning Japan when in fact this country is not that corrupt, I would be more happy to see this in real life as well.

[Wexnident]

It's not simply a vanity project I'll tell you that. Japan is definitely one of the leading countries when it comes to inventing and tech-y stuff, and with the vast amount of culture that they have that's basically related to the development of tech, you'd always expect them to pull something off like this every once in a while. Though it is more for design or just tourist attraction, developments did come from small things like that after all. Hell, at least, it's developing towards amusement and culture, instead of for war weapons or anything of the sort.

Interesting. But I wonder if it is seen as god or something, considering the part about "priest purification of its soon-to-be-installed head"
I assume they build this to showcase the limited things their robot can do, or does it have very useful/good purposes?

Nah, it's probably just part of their culture or something. Every country has their own, like how new houses in our country is being blessed by priests before being used by the owner and their family. Nothing really odd for it. As for the gundam itself, probably showcasing mostly for the part, but you never know how it could be useful for some weird and odd purpose.

[JollyGood]

Calling it a good investment is definitely appropriate in my opinion because in the long run this robot and other Gundam creations will be making financial returns for their creators either as tourist attractions or the technology behind the creation. Also like you said it also showcases the skills of both robotics and engineering advances that the Japanese have excelled at for decades.

This is just Japan doing Japanese things. This isn’t just for show, this is them subtly flaunting their prowess in robotics and engineering that they had been at the top of after WW2. Imagine building a huge robot straight out of an anime show and it ‘functions’ though not as fully as its anime counterpart. What more if they added lots of functionality to it? But then again this is mainly just for tourist attraction. It’ll still generate money over time so it’s still a good investment, I’d say.

[Lorence.xD]

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And development of skyscrapers has also improved in the last 50-100 years isn't it? So base on your arguments about skyscrapers then there should be room for development and improvement as well. And we are talking about Japan here, not just any technological country. Japan has been in the forefront of robotics an they have shown that they can developed a robot, of course the creators have factor that 'square cube law' of yours and obviously will not test on a terrain that is not stable.

It doesn't matter whether Japan is the forefront in robotics, that was decades ago. They are now stagnant when it comes to new tech, the new forefront are the Mega cities in China. You all talk as if Japan is the only one who can do this, there are other countries interested in robotics. And my whole point about this statue by comparing it to a skyscraper is by the fact that they are both considered structure and that all things follow the same physics. I am saying that no matter how many decades of improvement in robotics, there is no way that it will function like in the anime, Square Cube Law makes it in a way that when the Gundam walks, the weight will collapse the legs, if it follows a bipedal biomechanic movement for walking then that will mean the foot will be under pressure of the total weight of the Gundam. Regarding stable terrain, the only terrain that it can walk on if it does not collapse is the roads of Japan. Roads are not meant for this type of structure stepping on, it might look stable outside but there are underlying factors why it will collapse on the road. It will leave a big pothole.

The only benefit I can see from this is marketing increases for Gundam franchise, tourism in Japan and Prestige for the creator.

Maybe if the gravity was out of question it can function but that is an expensive endeavor.

By the way that Square Cube Law you are quoting is not mine. It was first observed by Galileo. Try to search it atleast. I am not making up this Law.

[Deddyhoku]

Completely useless projects in our crisis covid days

[wxa7115]

I guess good news like that is good for the morale of the many. I know some people are still working from home due to this pandemic, and they may be lonely or bored and just have no idea what to do, I guess. At least something is being done, and I hope the positivity continues for them.

I have seen the video With the Gundam’s moving its hand and kneeling. It’s pretty awesome and overwhelming for sure. I hope I can see it in real person once this pandemic ends.

This could increase economic activity as well.

It is definitely something to look forward to, the pandemic has taken a hit on everyone not only economically but also on their state of mind and we need to remind everyone that the world is still moving forward despite these difficult times and what better way to do it than with a giant robot which speaks of the brighter future we have in store?

Now that being said the first time I saw the video of the Gundam moving I thought how long it will take for governments to try to get those people to make that robot a weapon?

[JollyGood]

That is part of where they will recoup their investment. The other thing is others will be after their technology so the Japanese engineers will be able to sell on their know-how as well. Either way they will get lots of income from the Gundam.

does it have very useful/good purposes?

I believe it will serve as the company mascot and tourists center for people around the world and the enthusiast of the Gundom anime.

[hulla]

Completely useless projects in our crisis covid days

It good to understand the depth of the crisis caused by the COVID 19 and during this season no company in the world will spend billions of dollars on a project that is completely useless not to talk of the years spent before the project was successfully created. Understand that you know the content of novel just by looking at it. It too early to know the genuine reason for the creation of the giant Gundam but we will understand sooner or later.

[JollyGood]

The launch party was successful (keeping COVID-19 social distancing restrictions aside), there was an audience there...

Surely it will attract more tourist with this exceptional and awesome work of art that Japan has done. This will surely push through lots of Gundam fanatics to get into their country to personally witness this giant Gundam robot that is not just a statues, because this time it is a moving one. Such awesome project which is really worth for the investment they have done. Japan have push through the limitations and breaking another boundary with this project they have done. Most likely you were like in the scene of Gundam series when you were right in front of this giant Gundam robot for sure. I am pretty much sure this is not yet perfect but at least this was a breakthrough and looking forward for a lot more coming from Japan because of this.

[erikoy]

what could they wanted in this structure and how could it bring good to them?

Well in my opinion this could be tourist spot, since Japan had known with these started from drawings to making a video story and now with a real structure then I can say that they want get this structure as trademark for them. I could agree that this structure will be the remembrance of Japan great artist, creations and the likes which they are really good at. I can say Japan people are very imaginative compared to other people around the world.

[pealr12]

One of favorite anime since i was a kid which is gundam wing. I dreamed for it before to see a real giant robot which is already a reality. I want too see that after this pandemic, and for sure a lot of gundam wing fans will also be there.

[RealMalatesta]

I guess it is both a useless project but also not something they are doing for fun neither. They probably have an aim for this in the end, no idea what that goal is but they probably know it, not like they are going to use these in a war setting or something, they would be both useless because there is no more hand to hand battle or whatever, but also if you can shoot them with an automatic rifle you will eventually hit a circuit that will stop it as well, very fragile.

I feel like this can't be for anything bad, nor anything good, it could only be for show and that's about it. However whatever they are thinking while building this, which could be public and I just don't know, it will not be something important neither, you could have used that money to feed starving people and make a better world easier.

[crwth]

Completely useless projects in our crisis covid days

I am pretty sure that it’s been planned well before COVID. Why would they stop their project if it was already budgeted for the year? You should know that they are also taking precautions with the pandemic and not opening their factory.

It is definitely something to look forward to, the pandemic has taken a hit on everyone not only economically but also on their state of mind and we need to remind everyone that the world is still moving forward despite these difficult times and what better way to do it than with a giant robot which speaks of the brighter future we have in store?

As long as we are allowed to go to Japan and be cleared with COVID to visit it, why not? I know I would want to visit it. Soon maybe lol.

Now that being said the first time I saw the video of the Gundam moving I thought how long it will take for governments to try to get those people to make that robot a weapon?

if they can do that, then I'm frightened of what they can do if it becomes that reality. I think it will take a longer time, but it's feasible for that application.

[el kaka22]

Do people really want to go to Japan and see this? I mean if you are already in Japan for a business or even vacation reason you could maybe see this as an extra thing, but how many people would go to Japan just for this? I doubt that number could be huge, it would be very minuscule and considering they have spent billions on this, I doubt that it would recoup the investment.

Obviously you could sell your know how and that is another subject but that is not the reason why anyone would build something for once, that has to be repeat and have to be something you constantly do, if you do it just once how could you have such a huge know how, you did it and it is over, but if you do it multiple times you would know it better and what could happen at the same time as well.

[bakasabo]

Completely useless projects in our crisis covid days

If you would have spent few minutes reading and article and at least opening a https://gundam-factory.net/en/ from there, you would have understood that this is not useless.

This Gundam robot is a part of decoration. If you are saying that it is useless, then all the decoration in Disneyland or Universal Studio theme parks are also useless.

For your knowledge - this Gundam robot will be a decoration part of Gundam dock, that consist of The GUNDAM-LAB is an entertainment complex featuring shops, cafes, communication spaces, and educational exhibitions where you can learn more about how the moving Gundam works!, tower dock - A spectacular viewing space where you can see the moving Gundam up-close from a height of 15 to 18 meters. and other facilities.

[amishmanish]

Watch the giant take a knee in this 4x speed video.. Utility-wise, it is just an attraction for the millions of franchise fans and will surely bring them a lot of cheer. Technology wise, i suppose this is little more than a giant non-standard crane like structure. It must have a lot of high pressure hydraulics for those moving parts. Keeping it stable within its movement envelope would have been the basic design criteria.

Whether this can be a step towards actual development of giant humanoid robots is of course questionable. That kind of a thing would require a far more modular structure. For example, every individual part will have to be self-propelled and powered instead of being a connected system. Like planes flying in formation.

[JollyGood]

There always should be room for improvement regardless of it being skyscrapers or robotics or anything else such as televisions, computers, mobile phones or anything else. There will always be advances, once a product or technological advance has been made it will be improved upon.

There is no perfect model for giant robots in real life, especially a bipedal one, the first step that this robot will take will collapse the legs because it is like a walking skyscraper, and skyscrapers are built in a way that as it goes higher they make it more smaller than the previous floor. A quadripedal robot will be possible but I do not think that in terms of this one, a real Gundam will not work. We also should consider the terrain, if the ground is too soft then the terrain will collapse and most terrains do not support walking robots. Square Cube Law will destroy this Gundam if it start parading.

The only good thing I can see about this project is the Japanese ingenuity when it comes to robotics and the massive increase in tourism when this exhibit finally opens after the pandemic.

And development of skyscrapers has also improved in the last 50-100 years isn't it? So base on your arguments about skyscrapers then there should be room for development and improvement as well. And we are talking about Japan here, not just any technological country. Japan has been in the forefront of robotics an they have shown that they can developed a robot, of course the creators have factor that 'square cube law' of yours and obviously will not test on a terrain that is not stable.

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

It's awe-inspiring that Japan is making the first step of making their country futuristic and using advanced technology. I didn't expect that life-size giant Gundam robot will surprisingly move in their theme park. No one knows what will happen in the future after we defeat the COVID-19 pandemic that we might see more giant robots, in the end, and walks in the city.

[Reid]

The launch party was successful (keeping COVID-19 social distancing restrictions aside), there was an audience there...

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Damn, that was really something. I cannot even find the right word to describe it.

For some days, I hope they can also create a mask for Gundam to wear.
Just a reminder to everyone to keep wearing their mask everytime they will go outside their home.
Some teens are irritated wearing a mask, that act may affect those idolizing this figure.