Q&A with MegaBots co-founders Gui Cavalcanti and Matt Oehrlein

Last week, giant robot maker MegaBots, Inc. challenged the Japanese based Suidobashi Heavy Industry to a piloted robot duel. Suidobashi has replied to the MegaBots challenge – they have agreed to the challenge; this match will be the first piloted giant robot battle in history. The MegaBots' piloted robot Mk. II will more than likely be piloted by company co-founders Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti, but the decision isn't final.

Suidobashi has set one condition for the battle, melee combat (MegaBots declined to comment on their own terms).

In light of the developments of the challenge I reached out to MegaBots to hear about where they came from, what their plans for the challenge are and the future of their company. Both co-founders of MegaBots, got back to me and opened themselves up for a good ol' Q&A session.

If you're looking for a reply to Suidobashi's statement, "We can't let another country win this, giant robots are Japanese culture. So yeah, I'll fight. But my reaction? Come on guys, make it cooler. Just building something huge and sticking guns on it is… super American" you won't find an answer here. The MegaBots crew were a bit too busy to answer all of my questions.

Some of the answers might be a bit dry, but we will chalk that up to them being busy building robots.

Background information:

Pictured: Gui Cavalcanti (left) and Matt Oehrlein (right)

GameZone (GZ): How did you [Gui Cavalcanti] and Matt Oehrlein meet?

MegaBots (MB): We met because we were both running makerspaces in different parts of the country. Matt was running i3 Detroit in Detroit, and Gui was running Artisan’s Asylum in Boston.

GZ: What made the two of you resolve to want create the piloted robot future?

MB: We grew up with giant robots in video games, movies, and other pop culture. People want to see this happen for so many reasons.

GZ: What were your inspirations?

MB: The Battletech universe, Mechwarrior, Robot Jox.

GZ: How much time goes into building just one of the piloted robots?

MB: If I had to guess, maybe 3500 man-hours for design and fabrication.

The Challenge:

Pictured: MegaBot's Mk. II (left), Suidobashi's Kuratas (right)

GZ: Why did you do it?

MB: It’s a way for us to get fighting robots in front of people faster. Why spend the time building two robots when we can just challenge one that’s already built to a fight? That way we see how excited people are about the concept of giant fighting robots, and if it’s a really positive reaction, we can think about how to scale up, build more robots, invite others to fight, etc.

GZ: So, Suidobashi accepted the challenge and set a condition of melee combat, what are you guys thinking? Robo-Katanas?

MB: We’re still working through this. We’re not sure if the melee combat means giant fists, or giant concrete saws at this point.

GZ: Your unit is already faster than the Kuratas, so it could afford heavier armor…

MB: Okay.

GZ: In terms of weapon & software upgrades, the Kuratas has a targeting system and a pair of Gatling guns (with a mode that has the guns firing when the pilot smiles – slightly intimidating) – What upgrades will you be giving to your unit's weapon system?

MB: We’re still trying to figure out the rules of the fight. We’re not sure if melee combat means robots with giant punching fists, blades, saws, or jackhammers, but it sounds like we’ll be adding melee weapons to our robot in some fashion.

GZ: What safety features will the Mk. II have during the battle?

MB: The Mk. II comes with bucket seat and a 5-point harness for each pilot. It’ll have fire extinguishers built in, and has an escape hatch on the top of the torso. We’ll be adding more safety features prior to the fight.

The future:

GZ: How do you guys feel that you have basically set way for the Robot Gladiator Arenas of the future?

MB: This is exactly what we have been pushing so hard for, so we’re really happy with the huge media splash we’ve made at this point.

GZ: Initially, you took your concept to Kickstarter looking to get funded – ultimately that didn’t work out, but it did catch the eye of Autodesk who helped fund a prototype (Mark 2). Are you hoping that this battle will raise awareness of your creation and will allow you and your partner to develop more?

MB: We hope that this event is wildly successful, and paves the way for a full-blown giant robot combat sports league in the future.

GZ: When you guys move on to building more piloted robots, are you going to sell them on Amazon (it would put you in direct competition with Suidobashi)? If so: What would be the asking price & disclaimer (ex: public safety not guaranteed).

MB: We don’t have plans to put them on Amazon in the same way that you can’t buy formula one cars or monster trucks on Amazon. We anticipate that each MegaBot will have it’s own team and pit crew. They’re not intended to be consumer products.

GZ: Do you have a message to anyone interested in building the piloted robots of the future?

MB: Get an engineering degree and build cool stuff that interests you.