From ”do it yourself” (DIY) videogame consoles, to DIY mobile phones, DIY DJ sets and much more, the Croatian company CircuitMess has well and truly made name for itself internationally.
Led by 22-year old entrepreneur Albert Gajšak, this company creates products which don’t just provide fun, but also education about electronics and programming with hopes to popularise the STEM area (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) for younger generations. With the need on the market growing ever larger, but with the lack of interest for the field, CircuitMess want to both entertain and direct kids to STEM and show that it isn’t dull, nor does it have to be tough.
As with previous products which were supported by Kickstarter, a web platform where people can propose their ideas and get financial support their projects (through crowdfunding campaigns), and this is the case with their next big product: The Circuitmess Batmobile.
© CircuitMess
This new edition, a small robotic car that drives around autonomously using AI and machine learning was presented by Gajšak himself at a press conference at CircuitMess on October 5, just as the kickstarter campaign was officialy launched. The campaign will last until December 4, and at the time of writing this article, the very same day it started, the campaign had received am amazing 70,178 US dollars. This result with 476 backers in just a few hours is even more fantastic when you see that the initial goal was a mere 15,000 dollars. With 59 more days of the campaign still to go, things seem to be going in the right direction.
”The Circuitmess Batmobile has one camera, and a processor that will allow for machine learning so it can memorise visual cards or a ball (part of the package) and much more. Batman is a superhero who has no superpowers, instead, he has technology with which he saves Gotham. This is line with what we try to promote and show children. You can be like Batman, if you use your hands and learn,” explained Gajšak at the press conference.
The work on the CircuitMess Batmobile lasted for around two years, and the project was pitched to and approved by none other than the globally famous and respected Warner Bros company. When asked about the design (black with a distinctive bat-head on the front), Gajšak mysteriously said they had various ideas for the design which will be recognised by Batman fans. A little later, he confirmed for TCN that their inspirations included the 1992 animated series and a ”Batman Rebirth” comicbook from 2016.
”By landing this cooperation with Warner Bros, we hope to show that CircuitMess is no longer a small company,” said Gajšak The company indeed grew with around 50 partners that distribute CircuitMess products worldwide either through webshops or in physical stores. Over 52,000 of their products have so far been sold globally, mostly in the USA, UK, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia.
Whether the Batmobile will be the coolest product made by CircuitMess is yet to be seen (although the kickstarter results look promising), but it’s definitely the easiest product for the user to assemble so far. Suitable for kids over six years of age, this product has magnetic connectors and requires no soldering.
”People sometimes get scared when they need to solder our products because they worry that it could be dangerous or just for professionals. So, here we have magnetic connectors. We’ll see how they will do and perhaps open up some room for more creativity in the future. So far, when a CircuitMess Product, for example, gives you instructions to build a game console, you have to end up building a game console. But when I was a kid and I played with Lego, I followed the instructions to some point, then I ended up building something completely different. With magnetic connectors, there’s a chance for that, too,” explained Gajšak.
However, the success of the Circuitmess Batmobile will determine whether or not magnetic connectors will be used in next products made by the company.
Even though the easiest DIY product (estimated to take 60 minutes to be built and then you’re onto programming and playing), Gajšak pointed out it will not be boring for those who want more. An additional ”Inventor pack” has more components and even more possibiliters are presented in the ”Ultimate pack” for the pros.
Along with the excitment of presenting the CircuitMess Batmobile, Gajšak also used the press conference to point out the problem of crowdfunding in Croatia.
”We’re using a mediator in the US for our kickstarter campaigns becuase we have no access to kickstarter in Croatia. Croatia is part of the EU so there’s no reason for it to be that way,” complained Gajšak, hoping to see change and the allowance for both CircuitMess and other entrepreneurs in the country to propose and get support for their projects with more ease.
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