Punching robot designed for mixed martial arts training

While many fighters train with a punching bag, it's not really a fair fight – after all, the bag can't punch back. Stryk's new RXT-1 training robot, however, does exactly that.

The device was invented by mixed martial arts fighter Brent Verdialez, after a wrist injury caused him to seek out a lower-impact alternative to sparring with another person.

His creation mounts on a wall, has 12 inches (30.5 cm) of height adjustability once installed, and is plugged into an electrical outlet. It has four foam-padded arms that swing in at the user, at speeds of up to 40 mph (64 km/h). The RXT-1 also features a padded spring-loaded head target on which the user tries to land punches – a torso target is available as an optional extra.

Utilizing a built-in 4.5-inch touchscreen, it's possible to select between three training modes (Practise, Spar and Combination) and three levels of intensity. The screen can also be used to set and track parameters like round count, round time, and rest intervals.

Should you be interested, the RXT-1 is presently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. Assuming the funding goal is met, a pledge of US$699 will get you one – that's 40 percent off the planned retail price. It can be seen in action, in the video below.

And no, this isn't the only fight-training robot we've seen. There was the Punching Pro, which never reached production, along with the BotBoxer, which tries to evade the user's punches.

Source: Kickstarter, Stryk