Home of the independently created floating bed and doomsday escape pod, China has become a hotbed of DIY inventors making their dreams come true.  Such is the case for a resident of Jinan who, since watching Transformers 4 years ago, has been creating his very own.

After spending 70,000 yuan (US$11,000) and 6 months he was ready to unveil this robotic wonder. He sure looks proud. Let’s see it!

Oh… Hey… Er. That’s pretty cool. It’s got like an LED sign board and its face looks like it’s in constant unbearable agony… And look the doors become little arms!  I used to do that with my Hot Wheels when I was a kid. But when my parents saw, I was put in Special Ed for a year.

The robot stands 4.8m (15’8”) tall and is 2m (6’6”) wide. According to the man, it can walk, although I have no idea how, and the car is drivable – at a top speed of 15km/h (9mph)…

Okay, before we all crap over this guy’s dream, remember this is only after 6 months and created solely by one guy working in his off hours.  He had to learn all the skills needed in that 6 months as well, from auto mechanics to wiring to sculpting.

Taking all that into consideration, it’s not that bad. And although this robot is more suited for children’s birthday parties or opening car dealerships than fighting intergalactic battles, at least he’s out there trying.

The reason we don’t have real-life transformers (aside from them being totally impractical and inefficient) is no one’s stepping up and giving it that good ol’ college try. It guys like him and his crappy robot that make technology and the economy thrive. We need more people like him.

The man will continue making improvements on his robot and hopes to ultimately make a whole theme park full of transforming robots.  The reason he is promoting this thing is to invite others to join him in his dream.

I would help, but – jeeze, schedule’s a bear. I have a wedding in two months, and don’t even ask about 2013. Maybe these guys will lend a hand.

Source: Itai News (Japanese)

▼ Here’s a pretty smooth attempt at a transformer on a smaller scale.  It walks like it pooped its pants, but it dances like a dream.