Silas Adekunle - Nigerian Star Robotics Engineer

Silas Adekunle is a testimony that Nigeria has really got talent. The Nigerian-born robotics expert tried his hands on different computers and electronics at a very young age. During his exploration,he pulled off several tremendous feats. According to Forbes, a computer was brought to his primary school, and since students had to pay to see it, he seized the opportunity. He also explained how his curiosity and exploration caused a major blackout in a house he shared with his family some time ago. 

The Road to Success

Adekunle thrived and gained mastery when his family moved to the United Kingdom. He watched a lot of YouTube videos that made his learning process easy before he went to the University of the West of England, Bristol, to study C++ programming language.  Since there is always a need for time to create great things, Silas Adekunle spent quality time training and getting the hang of things, even improving his experiments.

Per an interview Adekunle had with Forbes, he explained how he built a robotic hand from baked bean cans. He didn't stop at that; he also created a robotic face with eyes made from tennis balls and ears made from pieces of paper. Also, in 2012, Silas Adekunle worked as a verification engineering intern with Infineon. At Infineon, Adekunle built and debugged tests for the company's multicore debugging solutions. 

Striving to be better and impact lives alongside, Adekunle was a robotics volunteer intern in 2013 at Rusty Squid limited, where he joined other engineers to present a global project. He also worked as a student teacher at the UWE, England.

Mekamon

The young robotics engineer was already making a name for himself when he encountered the co-founder of Reach Robotics, Christopher Beck, in 2013. Together, they created magic that birthed Mekamon, the world's first gaming robot. Mekamon gave Silas Adekunle a more prominent name, the 4-legged robot that uses augmented reality became the talk of the technology industry. The robot, however, received its share of criticism; people said it would be too costly and unaffordable.

Mekomon lived up to expectations, Reach Robotics produced 500 units the following year, and it got exhausted. Not long after, Apple inc. got attracted to the masterpiece, this was after Reach Robotics had made over 7 million from working with Korean investment partners and IGobe partners. Apple offered to sell the robots in their stores, and it was a hit. According to the guardian, Silas Adekunle is the "smartest gaming guru" in the world.

Another Big Deal - Awarri

After Reach Robotics closed down in 2016, Silas Adekunle continued making waves. He put Mekamon to good use by establishing a robotics education ecosystem in Africa. This initiated Awarri, Africa's robotics enabler. Adekunle created Awarri to build an ecosystem that will encourage and train young people to proffer tech solutions to most of the problems found in Africa. Over the years, Awarri has made giant strides; last year, the company partnered with Union bank to organize a robotic legend competition.

Using Awarri, Silas Adekunle has empowered several young people in Africa. In November 2018, Adekunle was recognized by the Financial Times as part of the Top 100 minority ethnic leaders in technology. Following this event, he was also nominated for the 2018 Forbes 30 under 30 Europe technology list.

How much does Silas Adekunle earn from Robotics Engineering?

No doubt, the young robotics engineer makes a fortune from building robots. When Adekunle built Mekamon, he became the world's highest paid robotics engineer. According to guardian, he made over $7.5 million when he launched the gaming robot. He also gained support worth $10 million from various organizations. Per Wikipedia, while Adekunle's exact net-worth is unknown, he earns a little over $10million from his gaming robot.

Silas Adekunle is an inspiration. Want to try Robotics Engineering?

There is a rising demand for robotics engineers. While universities in Nigeria may not provide the course, there is a way to go about it. Mechatronics engineering is a 5-year course that teaches robotic education, the course gives you access to the skills and knowledge needed in the robotics field. Universities offering mechatronics engineering in Nigeria include:

• Bayero University, Kano
• Bowen University, Iwo
• Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
• University of Benin
• University of Port Harcourt
• Federal University of Technology, Minna

To study mechatronics engineering, the requirement is five credit passes in Mathematics, English language, Physics, Chemistry and any other science subject. Also, the UTME combinations should include the same subjects for the O'level.

Conclusion 

Today, Silas Adekunle is a force to reckon with. He chased after his dreams and created a beautiful future for himself. Adekunle is not only creating robots. He uses his skills to transform lives and help young people find their feet. Being extraordinary is not impossible and Adekunle is proof.