Oh no. Somebody taught a robot how to swordfight. We’re doomed

By Drew Prindle April 13, 2015

Sword-fighting robot

We had a good run, people, but I’m afraid our reign as the dominant species on the planet will soon be drawing to a close. A group of scientists from Japan has succeeded in creating a robot that knows how to sword fight against humans. It’s only a matter of time now before they stage a revolt and overthrow us. Prepare to welcome your new robot overlords.

Designed by the meddling geniuses at Namiki Laboratory, the nameless robot is equipped with a high-speed stereo vision system and special software that allows it to see and interpret human movement. When a fleshy opponent moves in to attack, the robot instantaneously detects and analyzes his motion, and predicts the most likely trajectories of his sword based on that movement. The system then plans a defensive motion to block the attack, and moves its arm to intercept.

It’s still in the developmental stages, but preliminary test results suggest that the robot’s fencing algorithm is extremely effective. Just check out the short video up above. Compared to the sword fighting bots we’ve seen before, this one is considerably faster. And as if that wasn’t terrifying enough, it’s also mounted on on wheels. The bot doesn’t appear to be terribly mobile in the video, but after the next upgrade it’ll probably be able to chase you down and cut out your gizzard at a moment’s notice. Running won’t even be an option.

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Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…

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