Suidobashi Heavy Industry's Kuratas

On the decline of Japanese industry, Kurata says, "Japanese people are good with technology, but I hear people say that they don't know what to make... You can't really make much new without some kind of catalyst."

Kurata's first mech was a life-size steel replica of the Scope Dog armor from the Votoms anime series. "I made Kuratas wondering 'what would it be like if this thing actually moved?'" said Kurata.

Kuratas's 6,000 round-per-minute BB gatling gun can be set to fire when the pilot smiles. Other weapons like a water bottle cannon and the "pilebunker" are also up for sale.

Some lucky visitors were allowed to take a seat in Kuratas's cockpit.

During Kuratas's development "size and weight were problems." Kurata improvised solutions with a forklift before caving in and buying an overhead crane on Yahoo Auctions.

Right now, the four-legged mech relies on wheels to get around, clocking a top speed of 6 miles per hour. Kurata would like to experiment with walking, but is constrained by his current space and equipment.

A space is cleared of Suidobashi logos to make room for the team's sponsors.

Instead of starting with design diagrams, Kurata began with scale models. Afterward, he created a full-sized version from steel, refining it through trial and error.

Yoshizaki's software, called V-Sido, powers the robot. Kurata found out about the student's work through blog comments.

"Steel is my specialty, so that wasn't a problem, but I didn't know very much at all about electricity. Hydraulics were the same — when I needed to know something I looked it up."

The total price of a Kuratas starts at $1.35 million, but goes up depending on your options. "From the beginning, our business model was to target oil barons," says Kurata.

A lucky audience member gets to sit in the Kuratas's cockpit. The robot can also be controlled externally with a master-slave function.

Kuratas relies on 30 hydraulic actuators to move its hulking body. A valve and actuator upgrade means Kuratas can move more than twice as quickly as it could in July.

When Kurata isn't building giant mechs, he makes a living blacksmithing. "I make things for ads, things that move... steel is the basis of pretty much all of my work."

• 

  On the decline of Japanese industry, Kurata says, "Japanese people are good with technology, but I hear people say that they don't know what to make... You can't really make much new without some kind of catalyst."

• 

  Kurata's first mech was a life-size steel replica of the Scope Dog armor from the Votoms anime series. "I made Kuratas wondering 'what would it be like if this thing actually moved?'" said Kurata.

• 

  Kuratas's 6,000 round-per-minute BB gatling gun can be set to fire when the pilot smiles. Other weapons like a water bottle cannon and the "pilebunker" are also up for sale.

• 

  Some lucky visitors were allowed to take a seat in Kuratas's cockpit.

• 

  During Kuratas's development "size and weight were problems." Kurata improvised solutions with a forklift before caving in and buying an overhead crane on Yahoo Auctions.

• 

  Right now, the four-legged mech relies on wheels to get around, clocking a top speed of 6 miles per hour. Kurata would like to experiment with walking, but is constrained by his current space and equipment.

• 

  A space is cleared of Suidobashi logos to make room for the team's sponsors.

• 

  Instead of starting with design diagrams, Kurata began with scale models. Afterward, he created a full-sized version from steel, refining it through trial and error.

• 

  Yoshizaki's software, called V-Sido, powers the robot. Kurata found out about the student's work through blog comments.

• 

  "Steel is my specialty, so that wasn't a problem, but I didn't know very much at all about electricity. Hydraulics were the same — when I needed to know something I looked it up."

• 

  The total price of a Kuratas starts at $1.35 million, but goes up depending on your options. "From the beginning, our business model was to target oil barons," says Kurata.

• 

  A lucky audience member gets to sit in the Kuratas's cockpit. The robot can also be controlled externally with a master-slave function.

• 

  Kuratas relies on 30 hydraulic actuators to move its hulking body. A valve and actuator upgrade means Kuratas can move more than twice as quickly as it could in July.

• 

  When Kurata isn't building giant mechs, he makes a living blacksmithing. "I make things for ads, things that move... steel is the basis of pretty much all of my work."