According to Charles Crain of PopSci
"Carlos Owens had handled all kinds of machines as an army mechanic, but he always dreamed of using those skills for one project: his own 'mecha,' a giant metal robot that could mirror the movements of its human pilot. Owens, 31, began building an 18-foot-tall, one-ton prototype at his home in Wasilla, Alaska, in 2004. Working without blueprints, he first built a full-scale model out of wood. Moving on to steel, he had to devise a hydraulics system that would provide precisely the right leverage and range of movement. He settled on a complex network of cables and hydraulic cylinders that can make the mecha raise its arms, bend its knees, and even do a sit-up. ... He foresees mechas having uses in the military and the construction industry, but acknowledges that right now they're best suited to entertainment." : continue reading
Here's a short video of Big Red in action and here's the designer talking about his big mechanical beast.
Its likely that the computer graphics emanated Mechatroids that were seen in Ridley Scotts' sci-fi film Alien, planted a seed of desire in Carlos Owen of Alaska, to actually build a real one.
