Like an interim step between the humans and the Terminators. All robots have since been returned to ABB and have been prepped for less visible, but equally important future roles in real-life industrial manufacturing! It was a great deal for both parties.
The robots were really an evolutionary character, said Zolfo. I really got a feel for all the planning and effort that is put into every individual scene. Just like the human actors, many of the robots were significantly made-up, covered with black soot to appear as if they had been in rigorous use for an extended period in dingy conditions. The robots are very visible and instrumental in the final, climactic scene of the movie. Originally we were scheduled to be on-site for about five weeks I think when McG (movie director) saw how cool the robots worked we got the chance to be in a couple more scenes, said Ryskamp. What the ABB programming system was able to get the robots to do was better than we ever expected. ∾rik and his team worked with us very closely creating an incredible ballet with the robots, actors, stuntmen and Christian Bale, said Zolfo. An ABB IRC5 controller was provided with every robot to facilitate the precise programming required for the various scenes. They had the right lines and they provided the feel that they could actually be making Terminators.≊BB Field Service Engineer Erik Ryskamp, with periodic support from additional ABB technicians, spent 10 weeks during the summer of 2008 on set, installing, programming and operating the robots. Academy Award winning set director Victor Zolfo and production designer Martin Laing were most intrigued by ABBs product offering, and began working with ABB Robotics Vice President of Marketing Ted Wodoslawsky to work out the details and select the robot models that would best fit the role.We looked at a variety of different robot manufacturers, but were most struck by the presence of ABBs robots, especially the larger units, said Zolfo.
Through special effects, the robots are arranged in an almost endless manufacturing line of robots on the Terminator factory floor, mass producing a growing army of the Terminators.Jaffe Entertainment, a product placement firm, had initially contacted ABB and other robotic manufacturers to investigate the possibility of using their robots and to review their individual product lines.
#TERMINATOR SALVATION ROBOT MOVIE#
Appropriately cast in a versatile manufacturing role, 12 ABB IRB 6620s and 6 ABB IRB 1600s spent the summer of 2008 on the movie set in a converted power plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition to Christian Bale and the army of rival Terminators, 18 ABB Robots will share starring roles in the fourth of the highly popular Terminator film franchise. The visibility of ABB Robots will reach an entirely new level on when Warner Brothers Studios releases the new Terminator Salvation movie to North American audiences. Movie magic will make 18 ABB Robots appear to be an almost endless manufacturing line of robots on the Terminator factory floor, mass producing a growing army of the Terminators.