"We have these nine foot tall metal gladiators that shoot exploding projectiles at 20 rounds a second. Metropolitian Detroit right now leads the nation in robotics. We have more robots than any other place in America. I'm a Marvel fan, so I'm like, okay, let's make some robots that look like superheroes."
"Robots fighting each other as entertainment is a cultural fantasy that goes back at least to 1956, when Richard Matheson's short story "Steel" was published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. It was adapted into a 1963 episode on the TV show The Twilight Zone, and helped inspire the 2011 movie, Real Steel."
"Robowar has been selling out shows in its 572 seat auditorium since it launched last summer, and has attracted admiring national coverage. Cartwright says he eventually plans to stage online interactive robot fights where remote viewers control the action by buying virtual tokens."
Robowar is a live entertainment show operating from Global Empowerment Ministries church in Detroit, featuring nine-foot-tall metal robots piloted by humans that shoot exploding projectiles at high speeds. Founded by Art Cartwright, the Interactive Combat League produces these shows every few months in a 572-seat auditorium behind bulletproof glass. The concept draws from decades of cultural fantasy about robot combat, including the 1956 short story "Steel" and the 2011 film Real Steel. Cartwright designed the robots to resemble superheroes and aims to introduce community members to robotics employment opportunities. Shows have sold out consistently since launching last summer at ticket prices starting around $50. Future plans include online interactive fights where remote viewers control robots using virtual tokens, with AI personas created for 30 different cities.
Read at www.npr.org
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