Enters Silas, Nigeria’s robotic genius

DO you have a child who just likes breaking things down and rearranging them all over again? Or you bought that beautiful automated toy (that cost you an amount you could ill afford) just to make your kid happy, but few days later it simply ‘expired’ because your kid took it apart trying to see ‘what makes it do what it does’?

Well, he may be going somewhere.

Silas Adekunle started in a similar way barely 16 years ago. His passion for dissecting technology grew into developing devices and today, at just 27 years old, he is one of the best brains in the field of robotic engineering.

He is even being touted as the world’s highest-paid robotic engineer, a claim he and his team have however denied. But the claim is not totally baseless. Silas is credited with building the world’s first gaming robot, and his company, Reach Robotics, is reported to have signed a deal with the world-famous software manufacturers, Apple Inc.

According to Forbes, Reach Robotics, of which Silas is a co-founder and CEO, has developed an Augmented Reality platform named MekaMon which combines with robotics to bring video game characters to life.

The startup’s smart phone app controls real, battling robots and Silas has now perfected arrangements to take his product to mass market.

Forbes says investors have already committed $10 million into Reach Robotics, including London Venture Partners; and the UK-based company now has 32 full-time employees.

This young engineer has been named as ‘Someone to Watch in 2018’ by the Black Hedge Fund Group, and is listed in the 2018 Forbes 30 Under-30 Europe (Technology).

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Silas arrived the United Kingdom at the age of 11 with his family. He completed his secondary education and proceeded to the University of West England, Bristol, where he finished with first class honours in Robotics.

In 2013, he founded Reach Robotics and developed a lot of experience in robotics within a space of four years. He was later joined by Chris Beck, a world-class robotics expert, and John Rees, a manufacturing and operations expert who also shares a common belief for a more complex robotic toy with greater value and longevity.

Silas was also said to be a team leader of ‘Robotics in Schools’, a programme that assists students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

In 2017, in MekaMon, he released the world’s first gaming robot, with special ability to perform personalised functions.

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The initial launch of MekaMon was said to have sold 500 bots, generating $7.5 million. He received support from various organisations, including London Venture Partners, and that same year, his company, Reach Robotics, signed a deal with Apple securing exclusive sales in Apple stores.

Silas says the secrets to his success are “balance, shared ideas, time management and being oneself.”

He is currently located at the Bristol Robotics Lab, which is said to be the best robotics research centre in the United Kingdom.

In an interview recently, the young Nigerian entrepreneur spoke about his experiences and challenges growing his dream.

“When I started out, I had amazing support from my university and the Bristol Robotics Lab – but communicating the potential of MekaMon, as well as the technology itself to people outside of that world required some imagination,” Silas said.

MekaMon is a gaming robot with AR (Augmented Reality) capabilities –an unfamiliar concept in video-gaming that he developed while in school.

“Building the robotics and the software of MekaMon in tandem is core to our development but has added an additional layer of complexity as we aim to deliver cutting-edge gaming experience,” Silas told Business Insider.

On reports describing him as the highest paid robotic engineer, Silas says “It’s certainly very flattering but not true just yet. Having MekaMon listed on Apple last year was a big step forward for Reach, and we’ll continue to work to get our technology in the hands of as many people as possible.

“We believe that this technology has huge potential within STEM education – both as a teaching aid and as a means to inspire the next generation – whatever their backgrounds – to aspire to a career in STEM.”