Japanese Startup Tsubame Industries Makes Humanoid Robot, puts it up for sale at $3 Million

Start-up based in Tokyo Tsubame Industries has created a 4.5-metre (14.8-foot) tall four-wheeled robot that resembles "Mobile Suit Gundam" from the wildly popular Japanese animation series, and it is available for $3 million.

The robot, named ARCHAX after the avian dinosaur archaeopteryx, has cockpit monitors that receive images from cameras attached to the exterior, allowing the pilot to control the arms and hands with joysticks from inside its torso.

The 3.5-ton robot, which will be unveiled later this month at the Japan Mobility Show, has two modes: upright 'robot mode' and'vehicle mode,' in which it can travel up to 10 km (6 miles) per hour.

"Japan is very good at animation, games, robots, and automobiles, so I thought it would be great if I could create a product that compressed all of these elements into one," said Ryo Yoshida, Tsubame Industries' 25-year-old CEO.

"I wanted to create something that says, 'This is Japan'."

The start-up intends to build and sell five of the machines to wealthy robot enthusiasts, but he hopes the robot will one day be used for disaster relief or in the space industry.