Award Winning Engineer Develops Robot, Game To Motivate Kids In Science, Math, And Computer Programming

Westford, MA — Mar 14, 2014 / (http://www.myprgenie.com) — Launched on Kickstarter, Rekam-DR1 Empowers Students to Build Their Own Robot and Uses Text Messaging to Program It

Want to learn how to build your own robot and turn your smartphone into a handheld game controller? More importantly, do you want to help kids learn about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in a fun and engaging way?  Leo Estevez, an electrical engineer at Texas Instruments, has the skills and knowledge to make this a reality; now he just needs the funding.

Leo developed a new robot called REKAM-DR1 that uses Bluetooth to turn a smartphone (IOS/Android device) into a robot brain and handheld game controller. Users can send a text message to their Rekam-DR1 to get a drink, tell a joke, play music or a game, and send an email and more.

The project was recently launched on the crowd-source site Kickstarter and needs $11,000 in 30 days to come to life. You can pledge as little as $1 to support the project or buy the REKAM-DR1 kit, which includes the robot and game, for $77.

WRITE COMMANDS IN LESS THAN 90 SECONDS

It’s so easy to use that anyone can learn to write commands in under 90 seconds, and it comes with a modifiable Bluetooth connected game to get the fun started.

“I spent a lot of time and energy enabling entertainment on smartphones,” said Leo, who led the development of a multimedia framework that was later adopted by Android.  “I feel like part of my responsibility is now to enable people to actually learn something useful while being entertained.”

REKAM-DR1

Rekam-DR1 also enables users to build snap together controllable limbs that are used in the context of an accompanying game called “DR1 Gladiator.  DR1 Gladiator is a single or multiplayer game in which you have to build and control your robot to capture K’nex snappable objects within some period of time (while defending against other DR1s in multiplayer mode).

There are two key elements to Rekam-DR1 that sets it apart from other programmable kits. First, it uses a simple operating system so that anyone can learn how to program in less than 90 seconds.  Second, it’s the only one that allows you to control and program the robot by texting through a handheld smartphone – all other smart phone kits rely on a physical connection to the actual device.

“I decided to support Rekam-DR1 because I was looking for an opportunity to spend more time with my kids,” said Lewis Evans, a father of four who has backed other projects on Kickstarter. “It’s much better than any video game because we can play and program together and my kids actually learn something that might help them in life.”

Estevez decided to run a Kickstarter campaign to try and crowd-source the $11,000 necessary to productize the design and to market REKAM-DR1 on a larger scale. His goal is to provide a learning experience for young people that will get them excited about a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. Kickstarter campaigns operate under an “all-or-nothing” funding model so if the Rekam-DR1 project doesn’t reach its $11,000 goal at the end of 30 days, the project fails.

“Rekam-DR1 is an exciting new invention that should appeal to students, parents, teachers and anyone interested in the latest technology,” said Sam An, Rekam-DR1 project designer and developer who recently graduated from UT Tyler with a masters in mathematics. “There are few physical limits to what you can do with Rekam-DR1; your imagination is the limit.”

AWARD WINNING ENGINEER DEVELOPS ROBOT, GAME TO TEACH KIDS

Born in Uruguay, Leo immigrated to the U.S. with his parents at a young age.  He holds a PhD in electrical engineering, a masters in cognitive neuroscience and more than 13 issued/44 patents pending for his hardware/software designs of consumer electronics.  He has received numerous awards for his work including the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in Industry in 2012 from Great Minds in STEM, whose mission is to inspire and motivate underserved students to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  He launched Leo Innovations LLC last year to develop consumer related products to encourage students in STEM.