a giant ‘gundam’ robot has shown its first signs of life in footage shared on social media. modeled after a character from ‘mobile suit gundam’, a 1979 televised anime series, the 18-meter-tall (59 ft) robot has been under construction in the japanese city of yokohama for years. filmed at the ‘gundam factory yokohama’, the speeded-up video shows the automaton taking a knee before demonstrating its ability to move its arms, hands, and fingers.

giant gundam robot
image courtesy of pixabay

 

 

the robot, which weighs almost 25 metric tons (55,000 lbs), was set to be officially presented at the ‘gundam factory yokohama’ in october 2020. however the unveiling has now been postponed due to COVID-19. once open, the site will allow visitors to observe the moving figure from a viewing deck. meanwhile, an on site entertainment complex will feature shops, cafés, communication spaces, and educational exhibitions where guests can learn more about how the giant ‘gundam’ robot works.

 

video courtesy of GundamInfo

 

 

soranews24 reports that external construction of the robot was finished on july 29, 2020 with a jotoshiki ceremony. this saw gundam’s head blessed by shinto priests before being hoisted into the sky with a crane and secured to the robot’s shoulders.