From the archive
Yaskawa Bushido Project: an industrial robot replicates a master swordsman
First the robots came for our jobs. Then they came for our chess tournaments. Now, they’re coming for our martial arts too. Meet MOTOMAN-MH24, a robot who, depending on where you stand on the spectrum of robotics, is either a piece of metallic awesomeness, or an absolute nightmare.
More of a robotic arm than a full robot, Motoman was given a samurai sword and the opportunity to analyze and “learn” the three-dimensional sword techniques of master swordsman Isao Machii, a modern day samurai and the holder of 5 Guinness World Records pertaining to cutting things.
according to Yaskawa Electric, in 1972 the company created the very first Motoman electric industrial robot. Since then they’ve shipped over 300,000.To commemorate their 100-year anniversary, Yaskawa Electric, a Japanese electronics company, pitted Motoman and Machii together in a tournament of sword-wielding speed and technique. Referred to as the Yaskawa Bushido Project, the initiative was designed as a campaign to illustrate the possibilities of the company’s human-assisting robots.
Watch the video below to see how Motoman-Mh24 does against Machii.
