Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti, co-founders of the robotics company, MegaBots, with giant robots MK2 (left) and Eagle Prime. Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti, co-founders of the robotics company, MegaBots, with giant robots MK2 (left) and Eagle Prime. Two years ago an American robotics company challenged a Japanese robotics company to a duel. This long-awaited match between the monstrous robots -- built by MegaBots Inc. of the U.S. and by Suidobashi Heavy Industry of Japan -- will be broadcast on Tuesday via the online steaming site, Twitch. It's billed as the "first ever giant robot fight." "This is a personal dream of mine come to life," says engineer Gui Cavalcanti, MegaBots' co-founder.

At first glance, you might mistake this enormous robot for a character from the latest Transformers blockbuster. But the 16 foot (five metre) tall machine is a robot called Eagle Prime that is ready to take on Japan in the Megabots Giant Robot Dual league. An incredible video has been released which shows the Eagle Prime in action ahead of the dual - which will be the world's first giant robot battle - taking place this month. At first glance, you might mistake this enormous robot for a character from the latest Transformers blockbuster. The Eagle Prime stands at 16 feet (five metres tall), weighs 12 tons, and has 430 horsepower.

What began as a gladiator-style robot duel has turned into an all-out war. Chinese robotics company GREATMETAL is now the third competitor in the first giant robot battle of its kind – and the team has unveiled its massive'Monkey King' to take on America's MK. Monkey King is a single-seat machine that takes the form of a giant monkey, as it is capable of fighting while standing on two legs or on all fours. Chinese robotics company GREATMETAL is now the third competitor in the first giant robot battle of its kind – and the team has unveiled its massive'Monkey King' to take on America's MegaBots and Japan's Kuratas Chinese robotics company GREATMETAL has unveiled its robot to take on America's MegaBots and Japan's Kuratas. Called the Monkey King, this robot is able to fight while on two legs and also on all-fours.

MegaBots' giant robot duel might just turn into a full-scale brawl. Beijing outfit Greatmetal has unveiled a prototype of Monkey King, China's take on an enormous battle machine. It's still human-piloted, but it has a distinct trick up its sleeve: it can either fight on all fours (good for stability) or stand on its hind legs to wield a staff. While we wouldn't expect wuxia-style acrobatics out of this bot, it could throw a curveball into what was otherwise set to be a relatively straightforward fight. You might not have long to wait to see it in action, either. MegaBots is deciding whether or not Greatmetal can enter its giant fighting robot league, and might even pit its Mk.

Who cares about a nuanced discussion comparing the necessity for big data-driven surveillance and the importance of privacy and strong encryption? What kind of puny, pencil-necked geek spends time pondering the relative pros and cons of logic-based artificial intelligence and statistical AI? If you're a red-blooded, testosterone-pumping tech fan who likes your gear served up with a thick-crusted slice of pro wrestling pageantry, the only confrontation that matters this year is the one pitting Californian robotics company MegaBots against Japanese robotics company Suidobashi in a totally awesome robot duel that's been years in the making. Set to finally take place this August (an announcement made this week), the date is the culmination of thousands of hours both companies have spent building giant human-driven mech robots -- you know, like those things out of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Now they're going to do what any self-respecting big kid would do when playing with kickass action figures: bash them against each other until a clear victor has emerged.

Who's ready for a robot rumble? Back in 2015, we told you about MegaBots, a team of American engineers building a piloted combat robot to battle Kuratas, a 13-foot mech built by Japanese company Suidobashi Heavy Industries. Two years later, it looks like the big fight is finally happening. The Giant Robot Duel will take place this August, MegaBots today announced. III, is 16-feet tall and weighs 12 tons.

Simone Giertz, the self-proclaimed Queen of Shitty Robots, has built many, many absurd devices. Arguably this knife-wielding bot, ostensibly meant to chop vegetables. It might not make you quicker in the kitchen, but it could certainly amputate a few of your fingers. Now the MegaBots team has taken Giertz's design and made it--well, not more useful, but definitely more terrifying. MegaBots, an organization dedicated to building giant fighting robots, has been working to improve its enormous machine in preparation for a duel with Japanese robot Kuratas.

You've seen it in movies, cartoons and video games, but gladiator-style robot combat has yet to become a reality – until now. Megabots, a California robotics firm, tested a collection of machine-slaying bots to narrow down the deadliest ones for their Mk.III robot, which will take on Japan's Kuratas robot in an upcoming giant robot duel. The American team's weapons include a body crushing grapple and a spinning wheel of death nicknamed'The Dentist' that can tear through a 13 foot robot in seconds. Megabots, a California robotics firm, tested a collection of machine-slaying bots to narrow down the deadliest ones for their Mk.III robot that will take on Japan's Kuratas robot (pictured is a mock Kuratas) in an upcoming giant robot duel Megabot was originally conceived as a Kickstarter project to create a robot fighting league after it challenged Tokyo-based Suidobashi Heavy Industries, maker of the 13-foot Kuratas, in 2015 to the first giant robot battle of its kind - the date and location has yet to be determined. Win or lose, it's all part of Megabots' plan by to make a real-life robot fight club into big-time entertainment – something the team see as a mix between Ultimate Fighting Championship and Formula One auto racing.

Building a robot that can do battle Pacific Rim-style is harder than it looks. MegaBots -- the US half of a proposed mecha duel -- is scrapping its Mk.II machine after deeming it completely "unsafe for hand-to-hand combat." In "almost" every test, the team discovered that the human operator (buried inside, a little like Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion) would have been seriously injured or killed. Now, the crew is working on the Mk.III -- a new robot with a safer cockpit, improved controls and modular arms. I like the cigar in particular.)