OmniZero.9 robot storms to success in Japanese contest [Video]

While at first glance the OmniZero.9 looks as though it's rocking the robot equivalent of Joan Collins shoulder-pads, in actual fact they're the 'bot's secret weapon for speedy transport.  Capable of transforming from a walking upright robot to a wheeled truck, the OmniZero.9 can also lift and carry a person (as you can see in the video after the cut).Video demo after the cut

OmniZero.9 is the handiwork of Takeshi Maeda, a notorious Japanese 'bot builder.  More details on the robot in the build-log here, complete with the previous incarnations of OmniZero.

All of that was good enough to win the annual ROBO-ONE competition in Tokyo over the weekend.  The competition is for bipedal robots, judged by their ability first to walk and then differentiated by performing other tasks.

[via The Raw Feed]