Piece by piece, an 18-meter tall, 35-ton full-scale Gundam statue is being assembled in Odaiba, Tokyo to commemorate 30 years of Mobile Suit Gundam. When finished in mid-July, the enormous figure will entertain onlookers by moving its head and shooting light and mist from 50 points on its body. Until then, we have these photos of its magnificent legs and assorted parts.
“Fairy tales and legends” is the theme of this year’s World Sand Sculpture Festival now underway at the Tottori Sand Dunes in Tottori prefecture. On display (until May 31) are 19 massive works crafted by world-class sculptors from ten nations. The artists used around 2,700 tons of sand and took about two weeks to complete their works. Can you identify the fairy tales and legends depicted in these sand sculptures?
The Netherlands (front)
The Netherlands (rear)
Germany
India (front)
India (rear)
Spain
USA (front)
USA (rear)
Czech Republic
Russia (front)
Russia (rear)
Australia (front)
Australia (rear)
Canada
China
Unknown
A pair of giant robotic spiders designed and built by French performance art group La Machine have come to Yokohama to take part in the upcoming Expo Y150, a 5-month festival commemorating the 150th anniversary of the opening of the city’s port.
Although the Expo Y150 festivities are not scheduled to officially begin until the end of April, the enormous steampunk spiders could be seen prowling the Yokohama waterfront this weekend.
Here is some superb video of the spectacle on Friday (April 17) night, when one of the 12-meter (40-ft) tall, 37-ton mechanical spiders was observed in the red brick warehouse area of Yokohama — far from its natural habitat of Nantes, France.
On Saturday (April 18) evening, one of the mechanical spiders performed a water dance at Shinko Pier while the other looked on from its perch atop a nearby shipping container. For the performance, the spider moved its mechanical legs and shot steam and water and from its mouth and rear end while suspended over the water from a large crane. Water cannons, fog machines, lights and live atmospheric music added to the drama.
On Sunday (April 19), both spiders were scheduled to depart Shinko Pier, take a stroll up Nihon-Odori street, and head back to the red brick warehouse area.
La Machine’s giant spiders will be on public display at Expo Y150 from April 28 to September 27.
In conjunction with the upcoming release of Terminator Salvation (T4), an exhibit featuring the cyborgs from the Terminator series is now on display at Miraikan (National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) in Tokyo.
T-600 endoskeleton from Terminator Salvation
Entitled “Terminator Exhibition - Battle or Coexistence? Robots and Our Future,” the exhibit purportedly aims to inspire visitors to think about the relationship between humans and machines. Mostly, though, it offers a unique glimpse at the models and costumes used in the filming of the movies, along with details about the makeup and special effects.
T-800 endoskeleton
In the first Terminator movie, which takes place in Los Angeles in 1984, a T-800 cyborg assassin is sent back in time from the year 2029 by Skynet, an artificially intelligent military computer system that rules the world under an army of cyborgs. Its mission is to erase the existence of John Connor, who in the future becomes the leader of the human resistance forces against the machines. To alter the course of history in Skynet’s favor, the T-800 must terminate Sarah Connor before she gives birth to her son John.
T-800 endoskeleton
The T-800 cyborg — played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first three Terminator movies — consists of a metal endoskeleton under a layer of living human tissue. The robot has excellent learning capabilities, enabling it to understand and adopt human behavior and phrases. It can also mimic voices once it hears them. A slightly improved version of the T-800 — the T-850 — appears in Terminator 2 and Terminator 3.
T-800: Hasta la vista, baby
In Terminator 2, Skynet sends the latest Terminator model — the T-1000 — to Los Angeles in 1994 to eliminate the 10-year-old John Connor. At the same time, the resistance forces send a hacked T-800 from the future to protect John. The T-1000, which is much more advanced than the T-800, has no endoskeleton and consists of a shape-shifting liquid metal. The T-1000 is not displayed in this exhibit.
T-800 // T-X
In Terminator 3, the T-800 (T-850) is again sent from the future to protect John Connor. This time it does battle with the T-X, a super-powerful Terminator that combines the exoskeleton of the T-800 with the shape-shifting liquid metal of the T-1000.
T-X (a.k.a. Terminatrix)
The T-X, also called “Terminatrix,” takes the shape of a beautiful woman and incorporates a variety of weapons into its endoskeleton. In addition to conducting DNA analysis by tasting blood, the shape-shifting assassin can remotely control other machines and Terminators.
Cameron Phillips (TOK715)
Other items on display include a reproduction of Cameron Philips (TOK715), a reprogrammed Terminator from the “Sarah Conner Chronicles” TV series.
The exhibit also includes a few props and movie trailers from the forthcoming film.
T-600 endoskeleton
Set in the year 2018, Terminator Salvation will prominently feature the T-600, an early Terminator prototype. Unlike the T-800 portrayed by Schwarzenegger in the previous films, the more primitive T-600 features an endoskeleton covered in synthetic skin instead of living human tissue. At 8 feet tall, it is also much bulkier.
Moto-Terminator
Also on display is the Moto-Terminator, a motorcycle-based death machine, as well as the Hydrobot (not pictured here), a menacing eel-like underwater robot.
The final section of the exhibit introduces a variety of Japanese robot technology, mostly in the form of text-heavy exhibits (Japanese only). However, an Actroid — smartly dressed in a skin-tight black jumpsuit — is on hand to liven things up.
Actroid
Actroid
The exhibit runs until June 28, 2009.
