Payload Logo

China now has its own giant robot and it just challenged a US team to a fight

By Siyi Chen
Published

People are serious about giant robot fighting.

In 2015, MegaBots, a US-based robotics company which makes gladiator robots, challenged Japanese robot Kuratas to a duel. The fight is scheduled for August 2017. And just recently, a team from China created a Chinese gladiator robot called the Monkey King. They hope to enter in the upcoming robot brawl between the US and Japan.

The Chinese team is led by Shiqian Sun, an artist who has made many sculptures of robots, including a 9-meter-tall (30 feet) Transformer, commissioned by Paramount Movies, according to Sun’s Weibo.

He also posted a video on Weibo showing makers from MegaBots climbing up the Monkey King, “for the purpose of learning from each other.” Sun said he has been inside the MegaBots’ robots too. He said he’s impressed by the MegaBots’ team’s passion for giant robots.

It’s not confirmed if the Monkey King will enter the match in August 2017. And the location of the US-Japan duel still remains a secret.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.