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MekaMon lets you live out your robot battle fantasies in augmented reality
Augmented reality may still be just a toy for most, but that toy just became a lot more interesting with the launch today of MekaMon, a small spiderlike robot that you can control and fight in AR.
Designed by U.K.-based robotics company Reach Robotics, MekaMon is a modular robot that can be customized with different appendages and attachments, and users can control the robot and have it fight other MekaMons using an AR phone app, which plays a bit like a strategy game.
“We’ve created an entirely new video gaming platform,” Reach Robotics Chief Executive Silas Adekunle said in a statement. “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. Players can whip out their smartphone to battle their multifunctional, connected battlebots in the physical and virtual worlds at the same time.”
Reach Robotics is not the first company to think of using AR to combine video games with physical toys. Weta Workshop, the practical effects studio made famous by its work on the “Lord of the Rings” films, uses AR for its own robot fighting game, “Giant Killer Robots.”
Unlike MekaMon, however, “Giant Killer Robots” does not use actual robots in the game. Instead, Weta’s game uses stationary robot figures that are more like giant board game pieces.
MekaMon is certainly cool but it’s not exactly cheap. The robot retails for just under $300 in the U.S., which is even pricier when you consider the fact that you need to buy at least two to be able to pit them against one another. MekaMon has several game modes that do not require a second robot to play, including an AR games mode, which sends waves of AI enemies at the player, and an arcade mode, which includes a number of different minigames.
Augmented reality is still a young technology, especially for consumers, and the high cost associated with devices such as MekaMon might be a turnoff for many. However, as the smash hit of “Pokemon Go” demonstrated last year, the demand for fun AR experiences is certainly there, and there is plenty of profit to be made for companies that can get the formula right.
Here’s a video of MekaMon in action:
Photo: Reach Robotics
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