In the back of Carlos Owens’ southern Alaska yard, an 18-foot-tall steel robot is taking shape in the dim light of the winter afternoons.The 26-year-old Owens is an Anchorage-area steelworker by day. In his own time, he’s hoping to become the creator of a true “mecha”–not a robot, exactly, but a gigantic exoskeleton that can transform its wearer’s motions into eight-foot strides and the devastating sweep of a steel fist.
Sure, it sounds like a cartoon or sci-fi fantasy–but so were moon landings 50 years ago. Owens’ mecha project is well on its way to completion, its horned red head and pincher hands towering above its creator under a few inches of snow. He’s hoping to finish it in time for a test spin at the local drag racetrack next summer, demolishing a few cars to show off its capabilities.
Does this remind anyone else of the movie Robot Jox?
If not, well check out what this homemade tank can do.