A "fight club" was established with humanoid robots.
In a secret warehouse in San Francisco, an unconventional fight club called REK pits humanoid robots against each other in the ring. Behind the initiative is Cix Liv, a virtual reality entrepreneur and robot combat enthusiast. Liv, who previously won the city's Ultimate Fighting Bots league, is designing an event that combines both sport and theatrical spectacle, drawing inspiration from mixed martial arts, professional wrestling, anime, and science fiction.
THEY TRAIN WITH FIGHT VIDEOSIn REK, humans, called "pilots," remotely control the robots' movements using VR headsets and special arm controllers. The robots punch, wield swords, and attempt to defeat their opponents. Liv aims to train its AI models with fight videos so the robots can execute their own choreography.
"ANGRY" REACTION FROM THE ROBOTBut things don't always go as planned. Last month, Liv's robot, which she named "boyDeREK," exhibited an uncontrolled movement that caused the crane it was attached to to fall and part of its head to pop off. This "angry" reaction is thought to be due to the robot's feet not being able to touch the ground. Unlike previous robot combat games like BattleBots, which were popular in the late 1990s, REK takes a more intimate and passionate approach. Liv said that before starting the project, she was choosing between buying a house or investing in robots. "I chose this over buying a house," she explained.
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