Apple sells ‘MekaMons’ robots built by Nigerian-British engineer
Apple stores in the United States and United Kingdom have commenced the sale of gaming robots ‘MekaMons’ built by a Nigerian-British engineer, Mr. Silas Adekunle.
Adekunle is the founder/CEO of Reach Robotics, and developer of the world’s first augmented reality gaming robots.
His company just signed an exclusive sales deal with Apple, and his robots, Mekamon, will now be exclusively sold in Apple stores in the UK and US.
The product with a price tag of $299.95 went on sale from 16 November in the shops and online.
The robots are made of plastic and can be operated with an iPhone and other smartphones, which creates a virtual world for users to battle in and explore.
The app is also used to upgrade the robots with new abilities.
Adekunle, who was born in Nigeria, moved to the UK when he was 11 years old.
He is an engineer who graduated with First Class Honours from the University of the West of England in Bristol, with a Bachelor of Science in robotics technology. He previously worked at GE Aviation and Infineon.
“We’ve created an entirely new video gaming platform,” said Adekunle in a press release, published by Black Enterprise.
He added that “MekaMon straddles both the real and virtual worlds while taking the gaming experience beyond a player’s screen and turning their sitting room into a limitless robotic battle zone. MekaMon represents a quantum leap forward in the leveraging of augmented reality. Players can whip out their iPhone to battle their multi-functional, connected battlebots in the physical and virtual worlds at the same time”.
MekaMons are four-legged robots that players can control via a smartphone using a companion app for augmented reality game play.Multiple players can have their MekaMons battle one another. Each robot weighs a little over two pounds with dimensions of 11.8 by 11.8 by 5.9 inches.
MekaMons can connect to each other via infrared signals and Bluetooth, allowing for co-op gaming.
The robots are powered by a rechargeable battery that provides up to an hour of game play. They are compatible with the iPhone, using the smartphone’s camera and infrared tracking capability for precise navigation.
Adekunle’s company, founded in 2013, is based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) Technology Incubator. His colleagues include Chris Beck who had been working as a roboticist in the BRL.
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