Megasaurus and Transaurus are transforming

robotic Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s. Megasaurus is owned by Mike West and Transaurus is owned by Rick and Sheri Dorritie. They are modeled after a ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' and have hydraulically activated

arm In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between t ...

s, grasping

claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tars ...

s, and

jaw The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serv ...

s, as well as

flame thrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World Wa ...

s set up in the head to give the effect of breathing fire from the mouth. They both fold up into a vehicle based on a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful e ...

and when the robots perform they initially appear as a box on tracks decorated as either a military vehicle (Megasaurus) or a dinosaur (Transaurus). Each robot is roughly 30 feet tall at maximum extension. They are used primarily to destroy

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

s by "eating" them (ripping them apart with the claws and jaws) at motorsport events, especially

monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock ...

competitions. Although owned by different parties, both robots were built by the same company and operate and look almost identical, except for decoration. The robots have similar opening backstories used at shows while they are transforming, and the backstories reference both robots. Both robots are smaller imitations of the original

Robosaurus Robosaurus is a transforming dinosaur robot created by inventor Doug Malewicki in 1989 and originally owned and operated by his company, Monster Robots, Inc. Robosaurus is modeled after Transformers toys with the driver sitting in the head of the ...

, which was designed in 1988. Megasaurus was featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on January 18, 2009, where it was used to demolish the house of the Drumm family.

External links

* * Robotic dinosaurs Entertainment robots 2009 robots Robots of the United States {{dinosaur-stub