Meet six real-life giant mech robots

These machines represent passion projects, a means to fulfil childhood dreams, trading practicality for the sheer joy of making giant mech robots a reality

It’s an exciting time to be alive, as once-imaginary concepts transition from the realm of science fiction into reality. One such concept that has materialized is that of mechs — giant, piloted robots. In this article, I spotlight six real-life mechs and their creators. These people followed their childhood dreams, transforming mechs from fiction into reality, despite their impracticality.

Before I introduce those six real-life giant mechs, let’s first define what we mean by “mech”. Mech (or mecha) is a large, humanoid robot, typically controlled by a pilot seated inside. The key distinction here is that these robots are piloted. They are not “worn” like exoskeletons or form-fitting powered armour such as Iron Man’s suit. Examples of mechs from fiction include Jaegers from Pacific Rim, titans from Titanfall, mechs from the Armored Core series and mobile suits from Gundam.

Mechs are undoubtedly cool, but what specific problems do they solve? What can they offer that other solutions cannot? Well, the answer is not much. Mechs tend to create more problems than they solve.