Japanese engineer builds giant robot to realise ‘Gundam’ dream

Sakakibara Kikai's engineer Go Sakakibara poses with the bipedal robot Mononofu during its demonstration at its factory in Shinto Village, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, April 12, 2018. Picture taken on April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

SHINTO, Japan: Japanese engineer Masaaki Nagumo had always dreamed of suiting up as a robot from “Mobile Suit Gundam”, his favourite animation series growing up. Now he has made it a reality by creating a giant humanoid inspired by the science fiction franchise.

Developed at Sakakibara Kikai, a maker of farming machinery, LW-Mononofu is an 8.5metre (28-feet) tall, two-legged robot weighing in at more than 7 tonnes. It contains a cockpit with monitors and levers for the pilot to control the robot's arms and legs.