Meet Silas Adekunle: The Robotics Prodigy and Founder of Reach Robotics

Picture this, a group of men huddled behind the bar at San Francisco’s Four Seasons. The air is charged with muffled conversation, the tone of which betrays a sense of interest and child-like wonder.

“It’s got character,” one voice cuts across the buzz. It’s Ron Okamoto, Apple’s Head of Developer Relations. He was talking about the Mekamon, a small robot designed to look like the mechanical step-child of a crab and Spider.

At the receiving end of this suppresses complement was Silas Adekunle, the founder and CEO of Reach Robotics, the company that brought the Mekamon to life.

What started as a 15-minute question and answer session between Ron and Silas spilt over into an hour-long conversation.

Ron knew for a fact then, what the rest of the world is only starting to find out, now; the team from each Robotics is onto something disruptive, and that he had to bring them back with them to Apple Park in Cupertino, California.

It has been over a year since that Interaction with the development team at Apple. In that time the Mekamon has evolved and grown into an Augmented Reality console that combines both AR gaming with simplifying computer Code for all ages.

What’s incredible though is how much personality the little robot has. It gives a stunning and emotional performance. You can tell exactly what the little bot is feeling any moment; from how it trembles when it’s scared right before a battle, to how it pushes its chest out right after a victory.

We’re not sure when Silas really started to make strides in robotics because he’s been at it for such a long time now. Though one thing is for sure, he’s come a long way from his pre-teens back in Nigeria, when his first prototypes would cause blackouts across their entire Apartment.

We spoke to Silas about his journey and it went somethinglike this:

What was your childhood like? Did you enjoy it? Who were your role models?

I had a pretty magical childhood. I grew up in Nigeria, Osun State and Yoruba. This meant a lot of exposure to the natural wild… for both animals and plants.

My dad was a biochemistry a teacher, my mother was a medical nurse and so I was exposed to science from a young age.

I loved reading, loved studying, and valued my family. I wasn't that sporty as a young child. At that time I hadn’t really grasped the concept of role models. I remember looking up to celebrities. But when it came to people who I wanted to emulate I thought about all these scientists I read about; from Newton to Einstein.

Looking back, were there any personality traits in your early life that signalled a career in Tech and business?

I wouldn't say so. I wouldn't say there were traits that signalled a career and tech business but I was always curious. So, definitely, the curiosity had been there from a young age, which then helps you to look around the world and try to create something interesting or try to solve problems. So curiosity has always, kind of, been my north star.

Were you a good student? Do you feel education adequately equipped you for life, work and business?

I was an okay student. When I worked hard I'd pass really well but there was this time when I had a failing streak in math and then I had to give myself a pep-talk. I set a study schedule and everything and pushed myself. From the next paper onwards my luck changed, hehe.

That was a strong lesson for me from a young age, that if I put the time in then I’ll succeed. But work and business are different from academic school work. I don't think anything can adequately prepare you for the business world per se. I mean, each business is so unique!

Plus the market conditions are different for different places. Also, different industries have their own different sets of rules. You just learn on the go! With a bit of curiosity and thirst for knowledge as a foundation, you can go pretty far.

How did the internet affect the way you learnt about robotics?

I really got into the internet when I moved to the UK. It's a cheat code for knowledge. I mean, you can basically learn so much online. You can go out there and find information that you might not have access to by yourself. Then use that to your advantage.

You have studied both in Africa and in the United Kingdom. In what ways would you advise African policy makers to adapt the local education systems?

I'd say in terms of advice; reward curiosity!

That means giving students the opportunity to have extracurricular activities, things that can develop and nurture their interest and allow them to become the best version of themselves.

Nurture curiosity. The internetand access it should be aninfrastructural aim.

The second is; STEM educationis so important.

Not just the theory, the practical implementation as well. Without an opportunity to implement what you've learnt, you won’t have much context! Also, you're not being prepared for the real world if you don't have the opportunity to actually implement.

You’ve always had a passion for reaching out and inspiring children especially about engineering. What drove this passion?

I suppose, for myself, it's a combination of all the different elements of science.

Also the ability to observe the world around us and using that to create as well. Those things combined together is what created the passion. Now, sharing that knowledge… that passion and seeing other people being affected by it is a whole other thing, especially when it’s used to better the lives of other people. It keeps me driven, motivated and very passionate about what I do.

What was the gap between expectation and reality in the robotics field when you joined University?

When I joined University, the gap was a huge gap between what I imagined and what I found. It’s a gap that’s still there today. Everybody goes online and they see Boston Dynamics with their robot doing a backflip and they think robotics is much further than it is.

Back then, I had a similar feeling. I went into robotics wanting to create amazing technology I saw in science-fiction movies. You know humanoid robots that could help us in our homes and things like that.

Then, you know, you’re hit in the face with reality, which is; there are still lots of opportunities! Don’t get me wrong that makes this field that much more exciting. There's a lot of opportunity for development when talking about robotics technology, especially in things like battery technology.

This is one of those things that grounded me a bit and gave me a kind of wake-up call which is; robotics isn't quite there yet despite it being very advanced. It's not yet at the ‘everyday use’ level that we all see in science fiction movies.

What were you trying to achieve with the first prototype that you created in your college dorm room?

So the very first prototype ofMekamon was just to show people the proof of concept on what my robot could look like.

It had four legs. It had the components of a game-bot… It could react to touch. It had some app-control. This was one reason I did it but more so, I did it to prove that this thing could be made. I always prefer an approach of show-rather-than-tell. It's much easier if I just show you. That was the thinking behind the prototype!

Describe the Mekamon. (What early influences inspired it?)

Think of Makamon both as an entertainment platform that embodied by robots and a tool for tech-education.

It’s a four-legged robot controlled by smart-phone or tablet. You can play with it in various game modes. You can upgrade it with various accessories. The more you play

with your robots, the better it gets. We're constantly improving the robot, deploying new firmware to make it give better value for the customer that’s entertainment value. You can also learn to program… to code with it. It's an all-in-one entertainment platform. The nameMekamon means ‘mechanical monster; I’ll admit there some influence from pop culture here. I really enjoyed the Pokémon series. That’s one strong… early influence.

What were some of the challenges you faced when making the Mekamon a reality?

The reality in itself is a challenge. How do you make this as accessible as possible? Do you make it cheap enough that everybody can access it?

And then you realize you have to look at manufacturing and mass manufacturing. So one of the big changes was to make one, initially, in the early designs, one that was supposed to be small enough to fit in your hand.

Then it turned out that actually, it couldn't be that small. And we had to scale up the size just a little bit. You got hit with all of these different challenges at once. We started when we were looking at battery technology. We initially started with the battery in the leg and then moved it into the body due to centre-of-mass. Basically, the same challenges that anyone that’s doing product design would go through.

A big part of the way you design has to do with motion. Why did you focus so much on this?

I think 'motion' is important because that’s how you communicate that something is alive… that something has a personality or behaviour. I learnt this from observing nature all around me when I was growing up. Motion is a critical element in that. So especially when you're looking at consumer robots; you can either have a robot that’s inviting, that has huge eyes and invites users to come in, or you can have a robot that's very expressive. A robot that's very expressive allows for you to have a bond with the robot, just like a gamer does with a console. We wanted to make sure that when using interactive Makamon, they see a creature that's alive. I want all the Mekamonusers to feel as though they have a little ‘a partner-in-crime’.

The emotional component is a big motivator with Reach Robotics’ products. Will they eventually become pets or are they best reserved for gaming?

I mean, what do you get in a pet? You get somecompanionship.

I think we're going to get more or more value into our products in general, in terms of the robotics landscape.

You know people don't want to buy a product and then leave it on the shelf the next day. People want something that amazes, challenges and responds to them.

So by introducing more and more of a companionship element; something that has a life of its own; that interesting; that can wow and constantly amazes; that unique; that's got personality. I believe people will see more value because they will connect to it. So while I think products should have a purpose; which in this case is gaming and education, we shouldn’t overlook the companionship elements as well.

Is there a process to your creativity? How do you come up with new ideas?

I wouldn't say I'm the most creative person but I think you come up with new ideas by exposing yourself to new situations. You can still be creative by taking the working solution and looking at it through a lot of different lenses.

That's one way. So either you have an existing solution in a different context or different industries, or you create something new and try it somewhere new. So they've just lots of opportunities. For myself, I try to have as many eclectic interests as possible, from dancing to sports to anything in between.

Silas Adekunle

What is AR (Augmented reality)? Why incorporate it with robotics?

Augmented Reality basically means you are, for a lack of a better word, augmenting, adding information to a world that exists already.

In a way, augmented reality allows you to bridge the gap between the physical and the virtual world. So when you have a physical robot that's for entertainment, you can add a digital component to it by using augmented reality and open up whole new worlds.

What are the next steps for Reach robotics?

The next step would be, first of all, making our product more accessible! We always try as much as possible to reduce price points and widen our reach. We're currently looking at the African market and the Asian market. If you look at the three things that we want to focus on is; to entertain, inspire and educate people.

We always have this goal where our products must also, in one way or another, leave people better than they were when they first interacted with it. We want to make sure that we stick to this vision as we proceed. So that means any product that we create will have education, a sense of community among the users and a sense of companionship with the bot at their core.

Have you invested in any other companies so far? What qualities would you/do you look out for?

I think when you invest you should also be very open to advise. Because of the focus on Reach, I'm currently not in that position. But, from interacting with many world-class investors, I think the most important thing is the people that you invest in. Again, they say; give me a B Team with an Idea and you most likely see failure, give me an A-Team with a B Idea and I'll turn it around. So it's always about the people at the end of the day.

What do you still wish you were better at?

I think time management is always going to be a struggle. Because I think in life almost everything designed to shift your focus. So you have to go out of your way to manage your time well and focus on the essential things.

Do you feel that your career and entrepreneurship have made you a better person? If so, how?

I would say so.

I think we’re all on our own paths and as long as you strive to be the best that you can in whatever you're doing, you will always come out better for it.

I think entrepreneurship and robotics ground you.

They give you a context for how our technology in the world works and how the socio-economic factors work as well. When you're making a product or building a business, you have to learn to deal with people! From the team, you work with day-to-day, to the customers that you're selling to, and everywhere in between the partners that help you get to the market. So you get this whole holistic view of how the world interacts with each other.