When I was a kid, I fantasized about having my very own robot that could transform into a car. Of course, back then Go-Bots and Transformers came about, showing through animation what I fantasized could be real. In more modern times we've been able to see such marvels in CGI (minus any real value to such movies). Now, two Japanese companies are promising that we will all be able to experience a transforming robot/car in real life.
Brave Robotics and Asratec Corp have teamed up to create a cute little transforming robot called J-deite Quarter. It's a weird name, but Japan is known for weird names (like the Acura/Honda Integra) so that's not a huge deal. It is important to understand that the robot is called "Quarter" because it really is just a quarter-scale prototype. In other words, the final product will be four times as large.
That Basically means the final (production?) product will be the size of a real car, which will make the robot pretty tall and intimidating. In fact, the companies say the little robot is 1.3 meters-tall, or about 4.3 feet-tall, so the full-size version supposedly would be over 17 feet-tall! The goal for making such a thing is the year 2020, so mark that year as the time when our robot overlords finally come into being.
In all seriousness, people are wondering why the robot has been built, and what is the point of the upcoming life-size version. Are they going to be for military operations? Comic book conventions? Dangerous outdoor rescue operations? For now nobody is saying, but it still seems like a cool idea I would gladly drop money on if I was too burdened with large sums of cash.
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