Jeff Bezos has strapped himself into a giant mech suit that makes him taller, stronger and more metallic than he could have ever dreamed. At the 2017 Machine-Learning (Home) Automation, Robotics and Space Exploration conference on Sunday, an Amazon-organized private show where the company discusses future advancements, the company’s CEO entered a Method-2 suit created by Hankook Mirae Technology.
“Why do I feel so much like Sigourney Weaver?” Bezos asked attendees, referencing the power loader suit her character Ripley wore in Aliens.
The South Korean company behind the suit has placed a lot of faith in its design. When first unveiled in December, it was revealed that chairman Yang Jin-ho had invested 242 billion won (around $200 million) in 2014 to make his childhood dreams come true.
Its designer, Vitaly Bulgarov, has worked on films like Terminator and Transformers, and these influences shine through in its design. The machine weighs over 1.5 tons, with each arm weighing around 200 pounds. The whole machine stands 13 feet tall, and the ground shakes as it moves.
It’s huge, it’s ridiculous, and in many ways, it’s fitting that Bezos is one of the first to demonstrate the machine. He’s the mind behind grand ventures like Blue Origin, a space company that wants to eventually colonize the moon, and Amazon Prime Air, which is aiming to deliver customers’ products by flying drone.
The Method-2 is the sort of big idea that attracts the entrepreneur. It’s a mind-blowing application of technology that could change whole industries.
Jeff Bezos shared this photo on Monday
The mech needs some refinement before it can be put into use by industry. For starters, it needs a power cord, so it’s somewhat limited with how far it can move. The team has also run across issues like frame vibration, so it’s unlikely you’ll be able to follow in Bezos’ giant mechanical footsteps anytime soon.
Watch Bezos trying out the suit here:
