More than 30 years after the first Transformers toys debuted and the original cartoon hit the airwaves, and nearly 10 years after Hasbro’s toy franchise became a blockbuster movie series, robots which transform into cars (or vice versa) are a reality.
For $600,000, you can have the real-life, full-size action figure, which is a BMW 3-series vehicle. The car (or robot in disguise), named Antimon, is currently up for auction in Abu Dhabi. (The winning bid may have been submitted by the time you read this.) It was built by a team of 12 engineers and four engineers for Turkish startup company Letvision. The company calls the robot/vehicles Letrons. No word on whether they lean more toward the Autobot or Decepticon side.
Here is Antimon in action, on display this past week at the Big Boys Toys exhibition in Abu Dhabi. Transformation from car to upright robot takes about 30 seconds.
Real-life transformer up for auction
Engineers in Turkey are auctioning off a real-life transforming car that would make even Transformers director Michael Bay jealous.
Before you start thinking it’s time to take out a loan (unless you’re fortunate enough to have $600,000 in very disposable income), consider that you won’t be able to drive Antimon around town. Most of the car’s interior is occupied with the parts and technology that allows it to transform, so there’s no room for a driver. However, the vehicle can be operated via remote control.
Antimon also can’t walk around once it’s transformed into robot form. So using your new robot to impress potential friends and crush your enemies (or get a better parking space) isn’t really an option either. Although the moving head, arms and fingers might accomplish some of those objectives. The engineers say that walking functionality is possible, but more funding would be necessary to build that out.
Apparently, Letrons doesn’t include voice commands by Peter Cullen (the voice of Optimus Prime in the Transformers cartoons and movies). That’s another disappointing aspect. As cool as it would be to have a car that transforms into a robot, having the robot tell other drivers to switch to the right lane when they’re driving too slow or use their turn signal, or firmly scold them for cutting you off in traffic would be greatly satisfying.
Evidently, you’ll need more than $600,000 to bring those fantasies to life. But Letrons says it will build you a customized robot for the right price.
[CNN]
