TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Steven Spielberg-directed film, Jurassic Park, may soon become reality after Japanese innovation company, ON-ART Corp., unveiled the world’s biggest walking and moving dinosaur robots for the first time on Thursday (November 9) in Tokyo.
Tyrannosaurus Rex was the first to emerge from the mist into the event hall, roaring loudly and stomping toward the audience, in a company-organized performance at a downtown Tokyo hotel.
The human-operated creature pretended to bite the head of a “staff caretaker” as part of the performance, and swung him onto the floor.
Other dinosaurs, including Allosaurus and Raptors, joined T-Rex in roaming the hall and letting out growls through their sharp teeth.
One of them even attacked Kazuya Kanemaru, the dinosaur’s creators and CEO of ON-ART Corp., as he prepared to take the mic.
After the performance, Kanemaru presented his dream of wanting to create a “DINO-A-PARK,” where visitors could see and experience these creatures first-hand.
“The fact that we have been creating living things, the desire we have had to want to truly experience dinosaurs, and living things, to draw that out, these are things that spurred us on.” Kanemaru said.
“We are striving to create dinosaurs that make people feel as though they are invisible, through how real the dinosaur’s breathing and movements are,” he added.
Similar models for these dinosaurs had been introduced in the past, but were much heavier, weighing 50 kilograms, and used materials that had a less life-like appearance.
Today’s dinosaurs weighed only 38 kilograms, while measuring 8 meters in height and also used state-of-the-art carbon fiber materials for the creatures to look more rugged and realistic.
Movements were designed by studying the actual muscle structure of these creatures, and the mechanical suits were modeled from fossilized skeletons.
Because these dinosaurs were operated by a person inside, they were also referred to as “mechanical suits,” at the event.
There are currently a total of 12 dinosaurs in operation for various events in Japan.
