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Castrol-1 ~ "Free kick" machine can kick ball 206 km/h

 Engine oil company BP Castrol based in Tokyo unveiled the world's first engine-driven "free kick" machine called Castrol-1. Moriyama-san has the story on his blog NODE and Game Watch.  

 You can watch the newest videos from the press conference - where Castrol-1 showed off his kicking skills at 206 km/h - on the Game Watch site (just click the photos), but here's a slow-motion video taken a few days before at the work-shop where the machine had been under development.

 And at real time,

 So why this? Castrol BP is one of the sponsors of the FIFA World Cup 2010 and it wanted to show the world it's emphasis on "best performance" and the joy and excitement of challenging new ideas.

 The machine was developed by artist Kogoro Kurata who has a lot of experience with steel. The kicker is made by steel and carbon fiber-reinforced  plastic. The mechanism is almost the same as a normal automobile engine using differential gears. Rotating speed can be adjusted. The kick is initiated by "changing the foot from the right to the left on the break pedal" says the article. I'm not sure how this really works but it's a safety measure so that the kicker doesn't move with, say, just one push of a button. Also the artist Kurata-san says that it is soccer after all and you want to be using your feet.

 There are 2 cameras each facing the front and the ball. The machine weighing 2 tons moves around on electric motors and not the engine.  Last but not least, the engine uses "Castrol EDGE" oil.

Happy New Year 2010

 Thank you for reading GetRobo! We plan to provide more robot news from Japan in 2010, so please visit us often.

Giant Rhinoceros Beetle Robot - KABUTOM RX-03

 Hitoshi Takahashi spent 11 years building this giant beetle robot just by himself as a hobby. Rhinoceros beetle in Japanese is "Kabutomushi" -thus the robot's name. It's 11 meters long and weighs 15 tons (estimate). It walks and can take up as many as 5 to 7 people. See photos of it being transported here.

 Appeared on TV below.

Bye-bye Gundam

 Dismantlement of the real-size Gundam. Summer 2009 comes to an end.......

Gundam Wedding

 I was back in Japan for 4 weeks. And no, I didn't get married while I was there. But if circumstances had allowed I would've -- under the full-scale Gundam. You've probably already seen many photos of the 18 meter tall robot in Odaiba Tokyo but it was REALLY BEAUTIFUL.

 

 And some lucky couples ARE getting married there according to this ad by the wedding services company  called Take and Give Needs, Co. (what a name!)  They have everything planned for you although it doesn't say how much it would cost.

 It did cost 34 year old screenwriter Tatsuhiro Minobe 2.6 million yen (27,000 dollars) for the one and only opportunity to go up to the robot's shoulder for a photo shoot. He won the rights to do that on Yahoo Japan Auction, which was part of a charity program.

 More photos taken in Odaiba.....