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“Death Battle with Robot Kong,” an illustration by Takashi Minamimura, features a cutaway diagram of Robot Kong, also known as “Mechani-Kong” in the US version of the cartoon and in the 1967 spin-off film “King Kong Escapes.” Built to defeat King Kong, the 50-meter tall remote-control robot is powered by a 200,000-kilowatt nuclear reactor and can shoot laser beams from its eyes and poison gas from its nose.

The accompanying text describes Dr. Who’s sinister plans to capture King Kong, place a mind-control helmet on his head, and use him to hijack ships and rob banks. He estimates King Kong can carry about 100 million yen in cash in his giant paws.

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Appearing in the same issue of Shōnen Magazine is a schematic illustration by Takayoshi Mizuki entitled “Secret Pyramid Base,” which shows Dr. Who’s secret base inside one of the Giza pyramids in Egypt.

The pyramid is equipped with advanced military hardware, including 3D radar, jet launchers, recoilless guns, flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and military tanks that burrow underground. Dr. Who monitors all the action from a wall of TV screens in his room at the center of the pyramid. The base is powered by a nuclear reactor in the basement and surrounded by giant ant-lion sand traps.

Situated nearby is a giant nuclear-powered Sphinx Tank. King Kong battles a variation of this weaponized Sphinx in an episode of “The King Kong Show.” (Watch “The Jinx of the Sphinx.”)

The diabolical Dr. Who and Mechani-Kong also appear in the 1967 film “King Kong Escapes,” which was an adaptation of some of the cartoon episodes.

In the film, King Kong is captured and hypnotized by Dr. Who, but he eventually snaps out of it and escapes to Tokyo. Dr. Who sends Mechani-Kong after him, and the two end up in a battle to the death atop Tokyo Tower.

+ King Kong Escapes – US trailer

[Images via: 昭和の雑誌広告・懐かしモノ]

+ IFO x Rinpa

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The Gomora suit — the first in Tsuburaya’s new line of “Dekaiju” giant animatronic monster costumes — stands 3 meters (10 ft) tall and measures 6 meters (20 ft) long from nose to tail. In addition to moving its head, mouth and arms, the glowing-eyed monster can shriek and spit vapor. The studio plans to unleash the new and improved Gomora at promotional events for the upcoming movie “Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend.”

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According to this NTV news report, the life-sized humanoid robot was developed as a realistic training aid for medical workers. In addition to sporting a suit of human-like skin, the robot sweats, convulses, moans, cries tears, and exhibits symptoms not unlike a real human patient infected with the H1N1 virus. If the robot does not receive the proper treatment, the symptoms gradually worsen until it stops breathing.

The news report fails to mention who created the robot, but it looks like it might be a distant cousin of the emergency care simulator developed by IMI.

In Hakodate, the battle rages on between alien squid from the planet Ikaaru and giant robots shaped like the city’s landmarks. In their latest offensive, the dastardly squid invaders have muscled their way into the trailer for “It’s on Me” (Watashi Dasuwa), a new film shot on location in Hakodate.

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The film, which debuts today at the Tokyo International Film Festival, is a low-key drama about a woman who returns to her hometown to spread the wealth she accumulated in Tokyo.

Although the story itself has nothing to do with aliens (and unfortunately no extraterrestrials actually appear in the film), it happens to be set in Hakodate, which is home to an unconventional tourism campaign involving giant robots that defend the city against alien cephalopods seeking revenge on a population that eats too much squid. This tourism campaign has now wrapped its tentacles around the film.

+ Video: Alien squid dances next to a streetcar advertising the film

The new and improved trailer, which was recently posted on the film’s YouTube channel, is nearly identical to the original version, except for the appearance of alien invaders. Only in Hakodate.

[Via: Nippon Cinema]

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In this video, HRP-4C sings a rendition of Hitoto Yo’s “Hanamizuki.”

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Engineers from Activelink, a Kyoto-based subsidiary of Panasonic, are hoping to turn science fiction into reality with a powerful robotic exoskeleton suit that gives its operator superhuman strength.

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The so-called “Power Loader” suit — which takes its name from the fictional hydraulic exoskeleton suit appearing in the sci-fi classic “Aliens” (1986) — is built on an aluminum-alloy frame and weighs 230 kilograms (500 lbs). Described as a “dual-arm power amplification robot,” the exoskeleton suit is currently equipped with 18 electromagnetic motors that enable the wearer to lift 100 kilograms (220 lbs) with little effort. In addition, the Power Loader’s simple, intuitive control system employs direct force feedback, allowing the operator to directly feel the movement of the robot while controlling it.

Power Loader exoskeleton suit in “Aliens”

Not unlike the film version of the suit, which was used for carrying cargo around on spaceships and colonies, the Power Loader is being created to help humans with heavy lifting, particularly in construction and disaster relief operations.

The Power Loader is still in the development phase, but Activelink plans to have a marketable version of the suit by the year 2015.

[Source: Mainichi]

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Equipped with a series of motors and pneumatic actuators, the mechanical tumor pulsates gently when the CPU load is low. When the CPU load is high, the tumor’s air compressor is activated, causing the lump of flesh to inflate.

The size of the tumor fluctuates according to the CPU utilization rate, giving the user a very tangible reading of the computer’s stress level.

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Other biologically inspired interactive devices by Mio I-zawa include “external heart,” a squishy latex heart on wheels that beats and rolls around in sync with the user’s pulse…

…and “elastic cell,” a system of 46 soft pulsating cells that react to human touch in a complex, lifelike way.

[Link: Mio I-zawa]

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The vehicles appearing in this video are:

- A rather ordinary-looking BMW E66 whose trunk is decked with Buddhist sutras written in 30,000 Swarovski crystals (the owner, a Buddhist priest, also owns the next vehicle).

- A Toyota Celsior UCF20 with gullwings, scissor doors and a split hood, which took 12 years to build and cost 10 million yen ($110,000). The interior includes 24 monitors, including several mounted in the headrests behind the passengers’ heads (you can watch them with the eyes in the back of your head, according to the priest).

- Batman van, a rolling tribute to the superhero that cost 25 million yen ($280,000), took 13 years to complete, and earned the owner a divorce.

- Rocket launcher van, a 1981 Daihatsu Hijet outfitted with a cheap launcher for an 8-meter (26-ft) water rocket (the owner is an eggplant farmer).

- Replica of the “Pointer,” the famous battle vehicle used by the Earth Defense Force in the Ultra Seven TV series that aired on Japanese TV in the late 1960s.

- Fan-flapping Hitachi ASTACO machine, which the Tokyo Fire Department Hyper Rescue Team uses to clear debris from disaster sites.

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The rides featured in this video are:

- Host George Tokoro’s Subaru R1 disguised as a Ferrari.

- A 1994 Cadillac limo lowrider with plush pink interior and 11-color paint job that took a year to complete and cost 10 million yen ($110,000).

- “Tank” dragster powered by a 25,000-horsepower US military jet engine that spews a powerful, camera-melting flame. The dragster, which can reach speeds of 400 kph (250 mph), took 4 years to build and cost 40 million yen ($450,000).

- T-REX super three-wheeler with a 1352cc Kawasaki ZZR1400 engine that can reach speeds of 230 kph (140 mph).

[Via: Watashi to Tokyo]

Taizo (built by AIST, General Robotix and Ibaraki Prefectural Health Plaza)

Dressed in a velvety space suit and sporting a goofy grin, the 70-centimeter (28-in) tall robot, named “Taizo” (a play on the word “taisou,” which means “calisthenics”), has a friendly appearance designed to motivate elderly people to engage in more physical exercise.

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With 26 joints in its body, the 7-kilogram (15-lb) mechanical exercise instructor can smoothly demonstrate around 30 different moves for others to imitate. Although Taizo does most of its exercises while sitting in a special chair, it can also stand up to perform some activities.

Taizo can operate for about two hours on a single charge, and it has very basic language skills — enough to understand simple spoken commands and lead a group in exercise.

The developers plan to start selling (and renting) the robots next year for around 800,000 yen (approx. $8,000) each.

[Sources: Sankei, Robot Watch, AIST]

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Named “Lucky Dragon,” the 15-meter (49-ft) long aluminum cruise boat is outfitted with a 7-meter (23-ft) tall mechanical dragon that moves its neck and wings, spits fire and water, and flashes glowing red eyes. The boat is scheduled to entertain onlookers with periodic fire-breathing performances in the local waterways (?kawa river and D?tonbori canal) until October 12.

Lucky Dragon spits fire at Suminoe shipyard, September 5

The vessel is named after the infamous Lucky Dragon No.5 (Daigo Fukury? Maru), a Japanese fishing boat that was exposed to fallout from a US nuclear weapons test on Bikini Atoll in 1954. Yanobe, a native ?sakan, hopes Lucky Dragon will encourage people to think about peace while sparking the local economy.

[Source: Mainichi]