A Real-Life Transformer?

When Yang Jin-Ho was a child, he dreamed of owning a giant walking robot. Now the businessman from Seoul, South Korea, helps build them.

His company, Hankook Mirae Technology, made headlines earlier this year when it released a video of a real-life transformer. The robot stands more than 13 feet tall and weighs almost two tons. A pilot directs its movements from the cockpit. Forty-six electric motors work together to move its arms, hands, legs, and feet. 

When Yang Jin-Ho was a child, he dreamed of owning a giant walking robot. Now the businessman from Seoul, South Korea, helps build them.

His company, Hankook Mirae Technology, made headlines earlier this year when it released a video of a real-life transformer. The robot stands more than 13 feet tall and weighs almost two tons. A pilot directs its movements from the cockpit. Forty-six electric motors work together to move its arms, hands, legs, and feet. 

The company was formed in 2014. So far, it has built two prototypes: METHOD-1 and METHOD-2. Presently, it’s working on METHOD-3, a smaller robot that it expects to finish in 2018. “Ultimately, we want to build a robot that is delicate and agile,” says Yang.

Developing these complex machines takes all kinds of engineers. They specialize in electronics, robotics, and manufacturing, to name a few areas. The company also worked with artist Vitaly Bulgarov. He designed 3-D computer models of the robots used in the Transformer movies.

So far, the work has been challenging. No one has ever built a robot as large or as intricate as METHOD-2. “We face many more problems and experience them much faster,” says Lim Hyun-Kuk, who runs the company with Yang. Computerized motors control the robot’s posture by rotating thousands of times each second to balance the joints of each limb.

Right now, the robot can walk along flat surfaces. But moving up a hill or over rugged terrain is more difficult. The first two prototypes require a driver to operate them. The company is designing the METHOD-3 robot so it can be controlled remotely.  

Don’t expect any of the METHOD robots to be for sale anytime soon. The company says they are only in the research phase. In the meantime, Yang enjoys turning his childhood dream into a reality. “I was thrilled at the idea that a robot from the movies could be real,” he says.

The company was formed in 2014. So far, it has built two prototypes: METHOD-1 and METHOD-2. Presently, it’s working on METHOD-3, a smaller robot that it expects to finish in 2018. “Ultimately, we want to build a robot that is delicate and agile,” says Yang.

Developing these complex machines takes all kinds of engineers. They specialize in electronics, robotics, and manufacturing, to name a few areas. The company also worked with artist Vitaly Bulgarov. He designed 3-D computer models of the robots used in the Transformer movies.

So far, the work has been challenging. No one has ever built a robot as large or as intricate as METHOD-2. “We face many more problems and experience them much faster,” says Lim Hyun-Kuk, who runs the company with Yang. Computerized motors control the robot’s posture by rotating thousands of times each second to balance the joints of each limb.

Right now, the robot can walk along flat surfaces. But moving up a hill or over rugged terrain is more difficult. The first two prototypes require a driver to operate them. The company is designing the METHOD-3 robot so it can be controlled remotely.  

Don’t expect any of the METHOD robots to be for sale anytime soon. The company says they are only in the research phase. In the meantime, Yang enjoys turning his childhood dream into a reality. “I was thrilled at the idea that a robot from the movies could be real,” he says.

1. Put your stack of books near the edge of a table.

2. Rest one end of the board on the stack of books and the other end on the table. This makes an inclined plane.

3. Poke 2 holes toward the top of one cup. 

1. Put your stack of books near the edge of a table.

2. Rest one end of the board on the stack of books and the other end on the table. This makes an inclined plane.

3. Poke 2 holes toward the top of one cup. 

Make a data table displaying the number of pennies needed at each height.    

Make a data table displaying the number of pennies needed at each height.    

1. How do you think gravity plays a part in your experiment? List all of the ways you can think of.

2. Which object—the cup of pennies or the car—transferred its energy to move something else? Explain.

3. Do you think it took more or less work to get the car up the steeper inclined plane? Explain, using your results

1. How do you think gravity plays a part in your experiment? List all of the ways you can think of.

2. Which object—the cup of pennies or the car—transferred its energy to move something else? Explain.

3. Do you think it took more or less work to get the car up the steeper inclined plane? Explain, using your results