In this week’s issue of AppleMagazine/TechLife News, I wrote “Our Borrowed Technology,” an article focusing on the advancements we’ve made in technology, and how much of it is reminiscent of ideas originally seen on TV and film, such as The Jetsons and 2001: A Space Odyssey. A California man is behind bringing the ideas in Wall-Eto life.
Of course he’s not going through the technology of that time in the future. He hasn’t done anything to destroy the earth and doesn’t have everyone living on a huge spaceship being transported around by a chair lift system. He actually built Wall-E, as in the robot from the Pixar movie.
This isn’t Mike Senna’s first foray into building movie robots. He first built R2D2 from Star Wars. It’s what he did with the robot that made it even more amazing. He took R2D2 around to hospitals and events with kids to entertain them, to bring happiness to others.
Some kids these days might not even know who R2D2 is. For them he built the robot they know. Wall-E. It had its challenges for him, as the parts and technology behind Wall-E don’t current exist yet, so he had to create every single part, including the best part of Wall-E, his eyes, allbeit putting them together from parts found at Home Depot. All of us who have seen the movie know that hidden beneath what should be hollow robot eyes is Wall-E’s heart.
The real life Wall-E was two years in the making, although after a few stumbling blocks, Senna was tempted to give up on the project after a year-and-a-half, but pushed through. It turns out Senna isn’t the only Wall-E builder. He belongs to the Wall-E Builders Club, and he and Mike McMaster built similar Wall-Es.
Kind of makes you want to rent the movie on iTunes now, doesn’t it?
Posted with Blogsy
