Imagine Roaming The Streets Inside This Gigantic Mechanized Robot

Cruising around town in a giant mechanized robot suit is something every kid (and most adults) dream about - Now thanks to the efforts of Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata and Roboticist Watara Yoshizaki, their wishes have come true.

Unveiled on July 29th at Tokyo's biannual Wonder Fest, the Kuratas Robot is 13 feet tall and weighs 9,900 pounds. It's state-of-the art software system called V-Sido, allows it to be operated in one of three ways - By a driver physically sitting inside the sophisticated cockpit, remotely with a smart-phone or with the help of a master-slave system, whereby the giant mimics the moves made by a much smaller hand-held model manipulated from the outside.

Kuratas that derives its energy from diesel fuel can be driven around town in a low stealth mode or stretched out tall - Intimidating everyone around. However, with a top speed of 10km/hr the lumbering giant is not for people trying to get places in a hurry.

And of course, no robot is complete without some kind of weaponry arsenal - With a launcher that fires water balloons on demand and two Gatling guns capable of firing up to 6,000 BB pellets per minute, the Kuratas does not disappoint. What's even cooler is that once the target has been locked in, the guns can be triggered with a mere smile or giggle!

Though Mr. Kogoro Kurata insists that Kuratas is just a work of art and not available to consumers, the Suidobashi Heavy industry website where the robot was built, appears to be taking orders and even encouraging potential buyers to customize their Kuratas robot. However, with a base price of $1.35million USD for a toy deemed unsafe for the road by its creator, we are probably not likely to see this lumbering giant invading our cities anytime soon - But even seeing one of these walking around would be pretty cool wouldn't it?

Resources: gizmag.com,ubergizmo.com.