If designing robots to make our lives easier is a mark of human ingenuity and technological progress, what is giving robots katana swords and precision fighting skills a mark of? Because that’s a thing now.

The most impressive thing about this video is probably the extreme precision. Not only do they move fluidly together, they manage to get the tips of their katana swords touching and continue to move without breaking contact. But that’s sort of what ABB robotics, the company who built these two katana-wielding bots, is known for.

The short history. In 1890, two Swedish companies, Elektriska Aktiebolaget and Wenströms & Granströms Elektriska Kraftbolag merged to form Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget, a mouthful of a company whose name was shortened to ASEA. In 1891, Charles E. L. Brown and Walter Boveri establish Brown, Boveri & Cie in Baden, Switzerland.

These two companies were responsible for introducing some of the most notable technologies into Europe in the 20th century, including steam turbines, transformer stations, and industrial robots. Power and automation have always been key focuses. When the two companies merged in 1988 to become ABB, the new company continued the trend of technological innovation, particularly in robotics with 1998’s FlexPicker, a delta robot uniquely designed for the picking and packing industry.

ABB is currently a leading supplier of industrial robots, solutions that help manufacturers improve productivity, product quality and worker safety. Like this ABB robot that picks and stacks pancakes for packaging.

Precision is precision when you’re dealing with robots, whether it’s keeping sword points in contact or sorting food for mass distribution. Just as long as ABB’s robots don’t decide to turn their katanas on humans we’ll probably be OK.

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Feature image via CPM Special Bearings