The Age Of Robots has come!

[Bill Phil]

Mech is probably a better term, but FFS, FASA probably has a copyright on the word.

But... yeah. A vehicle that has legs instead of wheels. That still makes it really freaking cool though, no matter what you call it.

Isn't mech a shortened version of mecha as well?

I'm pretty sure FASA might have copyright over "Battlemech."

[Yukon0009]

Gipsy Danger and company say hello.

[*Aqua*]

Isn't mech a shortened version of mecha as well?

Afaik in the western hemisphere a mechanic/mechatronic suit is usually called "mech" because of the huge success of BattleMech. A mech can have any shape from tank-alike to humanoid. They are designed for either combat or construction work and (usually) aren't faster as tanks.

On the other hand in Japan such suits are commonly called mecha and are usually of humanoid shape. Sometimes they can transform into a plane shape and/or dock with other mechas to create a bigger mecha. Usually mechas have some sort of unrealistic high power supply, beam weapons, sabers, hand-like actuators to grab something and incredible high agility & acceleration.

TL;DR mechas are mechs on steroids.

That's how I perceive them.

[vger]

What legal ramifications?

Pilots possibly being maimed or killed.

[lajoswinkler]

Pilots possibly being maimed or killed.

The way the battle would be done excludes such options.

That's why I'd like to see actual robots, not mechas, so they could use really nasty stuff.

[vger]

The way the battle would be done excludes such options.

That's why I'd like to see actual robots, not mechas, so they could use really nasty stuff.

But they're talking about wanting melee capabilities. I know there's plenty that can be done to make the cockpits secure, but it's still going to be pretty darned dangerous. Like a demolition derby using monster trucks.

[Camacha]

and it's really stretching to call your car a robot.

It is not, which was exactly my point. We are surrounded by robots in our daily lives, though they are often hard to recognize. On the other hand, the things we typically view as robots (in assembly lines, for instance), are often much more passive than we imagine.

[vger]

It is not, which was exactly my point. We are surrounded by robots in our daily lives, though they are often hard to recognize. On the other hand, the things we typically view as robots (in assembly lines, for instance), are often much more passive than we imagine.

Same goes for just about any sci-fi definition of high-tech.

I know for instance, that smart phones are among the most advanced pieces of tech that are available to consumers. But they're also designed to NOT feel like computers.

For me, THIS

...still feels high-tech. Even though all of that could fit into...

...which really doesn't feel like much of anything to me. It's a kind of aesthetic, which I'm sure also affects my perception of what a "robot" is in my mind, just not in the literal technical sense.

[regex]

As an American I am embarrassed to be represented by that yellow and green atrocity. Seriously, get someone to redesign it to look better.