OK, so here in 2018, we have Roomba vacuum cleaners and a plethora of other useful robots in our homes. But how about a 21st-century update of the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots — only with real robots in place of the inanimate high-impact polystyrene plastic figurines? If you have been dreaming of a real life, desktop metallic Conor McGregor, you may be interested in a new fighting robot created by robotics designers in Taiwan. Carrying the name Super Anthony, the smartphone-controlled “beetleweight fighting robot” stands a whopping 15-inches high, weighs 4.6 pounds, and boasts an assortment of martial arts moves.
“Compared with other fighting robots of the same weight level, it has an unparalleled 45 kg per servo force punch,” designer Hu Che-Wei told Digital Trends. “It just won the silver medal for robot demonstration and bronze medal for kung-fu in RoboGames 2018, which is the largest robot competition in the U.S. With Super Anthony, you will be self-motivated to learn programming, engineering, and problem-solving skills. We hope this master fighter can accompany and inspire more people to be involved with robotics.”
Super Anthony is highly customizable, offering users to ability to design “their own killer moves to guarantee victories” in fights against other robots. It includes image recognition, GPS, and voice control capabilities, which can be controlled using a connected app. However, you can also use him straight out of the box; no programming required.
“Fighting robots are many people’s childhood dream,” Che-Wei continued. “[But] most people didn’t think about carrying it out as they grew up. It’s a pity! We want to show that it’s not difficult to do robot battles at home. Super Anthony already comes with various built-in moves and attacks. He can be controlled with a wireless controller — which will come with the package — or your phone via Bluetooth.”
As ever, we offer our usual warnings about the risks of pledging crowdfunding campaigns, which have no guarantee of delivering as promised. If you have your heart set on picking up a Super Anthony, though, you can pledge your support over on the project’s Kickstarter page. A Super Anthony robot, joystick, and accessories pack will set you back $1,299. Shipping is set to take place in November. That is just in time for Thanksgiving so you can settle any family beefs with a good, old-fashioned robot duel!
