The gigantic mecha stands at a towering 60 feet and weighs in at a whopping 55,000 pounds.

Since the 1974 release of kaiju film classic Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, it’s been no secret that Japan loves enormous robots. The genre took a major step forward in 1979 with the release of the wildly popular Mobile Suit Gundam anime series, which introduced the concept of mecha – gigantic, humanoid military robots piloted by a human.

As we’ve been reporting for months, the madmen at Gundam Factory Yokohama in Japan have been conducting simple movement tests and putting the finishing touches on a full-sized, 60-foot-tall robot based on the RX-78F00 Gundam. The gigantic mecha stands at a towering 60 feet and weighs in at a whopping 55,000 pounds.

And now, in stunning new video released from the Gundam hangar at Yokohama’s Yamashita Pier, the larger-than-life mecha can be seen conducting its last test to ensure that it operates at its full range of motion.

The stunning full-range motion show that this marvel of Japanese engineering may have hit some snags this year due to the pandemic, but this hasn’t stopped the Yokohama Gundam team from plowing forward to ensure that this towering full-sized Gundam is ready for its debut on October 1, 2020.

In the latest progress video, the robot can be seen going through its full range of motions, including walking, kneeling, moving its head and its arms, and pointing its finger. Weighing upwards of 25 tons, the robot will have 24 degrees of freedom allowing it to walk wherever it pleases.

Some of Japan’s top engineering, technology, and design talent have been collaborating since 2014 through the Gundam Global Challenge project to transform this futuristic concept into a reality, giving the East Asian country its first truly operational mecha.

Continued at https://themindunleashed.com/2020/09/watch-japans-gundam-robot-come-to-life-in-first-full-motion-tests.html