Japanese Engineers Create Real Life Transformer

Japanese Engineers Create Real Life Transformer

Any kid that grew up in the 80's should be ecstatic over this news. Finally, someone has created a car that can transform into a robot. A working car, and a working (kind of) robot. Brought to us by Asratec, it's name is J-deite and it's a 4 meter tall thing of beauty.

OK, it's not the fastest in either mode, but this is a massive leap forward toward making my childhood dreams come true. It's not especially speedy at the transformation, either. It takes roughly a minute for J-deite to transform from car to robot or vice-versa. Not bad, but not quite the 3-second switch from the cartoon. In car mode, J-deite can reach top speeds of about 60km/h, which isn't too shabby.

Things slow down a bit in humanoid robot mode, but not as much as I'd have expected. Using the rear wheels it can roll along at about 30kh/h or walk at a painfully slow crawl of 100 meters per hour. 

As with any technology, robotics moves forward in a series of small leaps. Soon we may expect to see personal transformers at dealerships like Victory Ford in Bonner Springs, KS. According to their website, Asratec plans to upscale J-deite to a version 5 meters tall and much faster both in movement speed and transformation. Their intended plans for both models? Attractions in amusement parks. 

There's a part of me that loves the idea of this, but let's not get too hasty. I consumed a lot of media from the 80's, and with a combination of self-driving car technology and the advanced robotics of these transforming robots, I can see a problem forming. Let's just hope that Short Circuit and Transformers (just the Autobots) were more on the nose than Terminator and Maximum Overdrive.

Written By: Todd Hendrickson
Source:jdeite, autobodynews.com