More than meets the eye

The Transformers were a big hit in the 1980s.

Optimus Prime. Ratchet. Wheeljack. Bumblebee. Ironhide. Omega Supreme. Brawl. Megatron. Starscream. Skywarp. Soundwave. Ravage. Laserbeak.

Autobots vs Decepticons in a battle of good versus evil played out on the small screen for several seasons and a beloved (by me anyways) movie that wrecked my world by killing Optimus Prime (from what I’ve read, a lot of people were not pleased). Director Michael Bay combined his love of mindless explosions! explosions! explosions! with a wafer thin plot, a dash of sexism, some really horrible dialogue, characters acting in ways that are completely nonsensical, and those robots in disguise to bring the Transformers-live action versions no less-to the big screen in 2007 (thus far with four movies, and a fifth on the way).

The Transformers were created in a joint effort between the American company Hasbro, and the Japanese company Takara Tomy as a line of toys in 1984. As a kid, I remember those toys being quite popular. Everyone wanted to own the Transformers toys (I was partial to the combiner robots, such as the Constructicons, the Predacons, or the Protectobots).  For all that the toys were fun, the young me wished that cars could really transform into robots. But of course such things are fiction, no?

Maybe in the 1980s, but not in 2014.

Two Japanese companies, BRAVE ROBOTICS Inc., Asratec Corp. and Tomy Co., Ltd. have created a prototype robot that transforms into a car.

Cool huh?

In robot mode it can move 1 km/hr while it can achieve 10 km/hr in car mode. This robot is only the first step. The companies aim to finish completing a 5m tall, full scale robot by 2020.

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More than meets the eye
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