By Hope Brumbach
Splash Editor
July 16, 2008
LIBERTY LAKE—With six beefy wheels, the "Hex" looks like it could scale boulders. Then there's an intricate camouflage tank, a monster truck and the "Gardener," a fierce-looking battle robot with a propeller.
The vehicles lining an office in a local industrial building are called MINDS-i, a new customizable construction toy being developed here in Liberty Lake.
The toy—a cross between Legos, Erector sets and remote control cars—is the brainchild of Mike Marzetta, the president of Altek Inc. and MINDS-i inventor and founder.
"I always liked LEGOs because it allowed you to create in free form, but once you were done, you couldn't play with it much," said Marzetta, 37, of Spokane Valley. "The intent was to combine the best of construction systems."
An avid hobbyist, Marzetta developed the idea for MINDS-i three years ago, wanting a toy flexible enough to build and hardy enough for play.
Marzetta believes he's achieved that with MINDS-i, a toy that will appeal to ages "8 to 108" with its durability, freedom to create, remote control feature and hobbyist appeal, he said.
MINDS-i - a name that comes from the idea of creating anything in the "mind's eye" - will be sold in kits with instructions and in bulk pieces and accessories.
"If I can envision or dream it up, I can build it," Marzetta said earlier this month. "We're selling the experience, the ability to create."
Marzetta said he hopes the product will hit shelves in 2009, starting off with sales online and in hobby and specialty stores. MINDS-i has several patents pending, he said.
They plan to market it as a premium brand and position it as a true hobby, with possible mass retail in the future, Marzetta said.
In the meantime, MINDS-i is exploring options for marketing, distribution and financing, Marzetta said. Altek will manufacture the components.
The toy is designed for assembly with one "click." Basic pieces include long "beam" sections with evenly spaced holes and bolts that can be locked with a screwdriver.
All of the kits—from the most basic to the complicated—use the foundation elements.
"Everything has the same pieces, just different quantities," said Levi Wilson, a MINDS-i product development engineer.
MINDS-i has adopted universal standards when available, allowing users to incorporate off-the-shelf items, such as wheels, batteries, motors and other parts for hobby or remote control vehicles. MINDS-i also will provide different "shells" for the vehicles, such as a monster truck or racecar look.
Marzetta and his crew unveiled MINDS-i last fall at the iHobbyExpo in Chicago, where industry representatives, distributors and customers gathered to check out the latest developments in the toy world.
MINDS-i was well received, Marzetta said.
"Mostly it was just, ‘Wow, you can do that?' A lot of jaw-dropping and big eyes," Marzetta said. "That's the feedback we got from the industry. It's fresh. It's new."
Marzetta has gathered a team around him, including former Hasbro Inc. toy executive Larry Bernstein as chief executive for MINDS-i LLC and Dennis Poole, former vice president at model-rocket producer Estes, to head up marketing.
He recruited two twenty-something men as engineers, capturing young talent to hone the product for his target market, Marzetta said.
He plucked Kriston Broxson, 22, from the Spokane Community College mechanical engineering program. Broxson and Wilson, 23, have known each other for nearly their entire lives. Wilson graduated from a local diesel mechanic program.
"We get to do what we've done all our lives, but we're getting paid for it," Broxson said.
The pair use computer-aided design programs to develop the product and they also test-run the results. On a recent morning, they drove a remote-controlled monster truck around the parking lot of Altek.
Growing up playing with LEGOs, they're fans of the durability and creativity MINDS-i offers.
"You don't have to worry about your mom picking it up and breaking it," Wilson said.
Reprinted by permission of The Liberty Lake Splash.
by Salvador
I am a Chibots member and was a volunteer at the Chibots booth at iHobby Expo which
was across the aisle from MINDS-i. I got a chance to spend time at your booth and was amazed with the product.
As a robot designer and builder one challange is always the platform on which the mechanics and electronics will be mounted. Whether the robot has a size restriction (like 3.9" x 3.9" for mini sumo) or not, the design of the chassis is always a critical point in the build process. While I consider myself adept at electronics and software design, machine tooling is another matter. Upon seeing your product I found it to be an awesome solution using a simple, flexible and practical technique.
I really can't wait till next Spring so that I can purchase your product and begin testing and experimenting. I congratulate you on your invention of which I am sure will be beneficial to many and hope that all goes well so that production can start on schedule. I also wish to thank the guy at your booth who took the time to explain every aspect of the product in detail.
Regards,
Salvador
www.chibots.org
Chibots Yahoo! Group
by Parker Howell
Spokesman-Review Staff Writer
October 10, 2007
A plastic tank, rock-crawler trucks and a lowrider in various stages of assembly line the shelves and tables of a small office inside a Liberty Lake industrial building.
Tools and hundreds of plastic components that make up the vehicles—which resemble a combination of Lego Technic, Erector sets and remote-control cars—litter tables and the floor. It's the space where three young men have helped Altek Inc. President Mike Marzetta develop MINDS-i, a new customizable construction toy they foresee offering fun for kids of all ages.
MINDS-i LLC, which has recruited a former Hasbro Inc. toy executive as its CEO, will unveil the product at an international hobby fair in Chicago next week and is talking to investors about securing more funding, Marzetta said. The company has applied for several patents, and it is considering releasing the product this spring, including at Whiz Kids Toys stores in Spokane, he said.
"I would be happy to carry his whole line," said Peter Christensen, Whiz Kids owner.
While Marzetta, 37, and his wife are funding MINDS-i separately from Altek, the contract manufacturing business would make the parts, which are meant to be more durable than similar systems, he said.
Marzetta boasts the product will appeal to people ages 7 to 70, combining the speed and power of remote control, the customizability of Legos and Erector sets and the technical aspects of robotics.
MINDS-i would sell kits with instructions, similar to Lego sets, along with bulk pieces and accessories, which would cost a premium, Marzetta said. He foresees offering the toy in hobby shops, "specialty learning stores" such as Whiz Kids and the Internet.
MINDS-i is a "real breakthrough in the hobby business" because it allows hobbyists total freedom to create, said Larry Bernstein, former president of Hasbro's toy division and MINDS-i LLC chief executive. He sees MINDS-i not as a toy, but as a "hobby item."
"It is a true invention. That's why it's exciting," he said.
Marzetta, an avid hobbyist, said he hatched the idea about two years ago after deciding he wanted a toy flexible enough to modify and durable enough for heavy-duty play.
"I've always been a builder," Marzetta said. "The fun to me was always in the builds."
The company plans to show MINDS-i off at the iHobbyExpo on Oct. 18, which is expected to draw about 400 exhibitors.
Convention-goers will act as the company's focus group, Marzetta said. If the product receives good reviews, MINDS-i will tool up and start production, which could cost about $2 million, he said.
"This is just a point where it could make or break us," said employee Kriston Broxson, 21.
The "ultimate challenge" will be making MINDS-i a retail success in one year, Bernstein said.
Christensen, of Whiz Kids, said companies like Lego and Erector have a lot of momentum "just because they've been around."
Dennis Poole, a former vice president at model-rocket maker Estes, will handle marketing, Marzetta said.
Marzetta said he designed the basic elements, which include long plastic pieces with evenly spaced holes. To join pieces, his system uses two-part gray bolts that can be locked using a screwdriver. They prevent pieces from rotating or coming apart on impact.
The toy centers on the idea of requiring only one "click" to assemble pieces, making it easy enough for children to use, Marzetta said. The name stems from the concept of creating whatever the "mind's eye" can see.
"Rather than a piece that could easily fall out, he has a locking system that we think is novel and unique, and that's what gives it its competitive advantage," Christensen said.
Marzetta said the company has adopted universal standards when possible, allowing people to incorporate off-the-shelf components such as tires, shocks, batteries and motors for hobby vehicles.
While MINDS-i most closely resembles a Lego product, Marzetta's product is "much better," said Christensen, who is also an attorney and helped Marzetta with patent applications. Construction toys are a "huge market" for Whiz Kids, Christensen said.
"Even though we can't sell it yet, we're hoping to get some customer feedback" from an in-store display, he said.
Broxson demonstrated one creation, a green truck with a four-wheel independent suspension and an electric motor, zipping it along the floor near where a fellow employee worked on a machine. Broxson said he's known colleague Levi Wilson, 22, since they were young children playing with Legos. They use computer-aided design programs and shop tools to design and machine the plastic parts.
For them, it's a dream job.
"It's nice coming to work and being able to do what you want and not be punished for it, like most other jobs," Broxson said.
The company could quickly prepare for production, Marzetta said.
"We want to control our own destiny a little bit here," said Marzetta, who's peeved by companies taking manufacturing abroad. "If these guys can do it, we can do it."
The 27-year-old Altek Inc. does value-added manufacturing and plastic-injection molding for the medical, automotive and electronics industries. It makes components for Precor Inc. treadmill consoles, Indian Motorcycles and defibrillators, among other products.
Marzetta, who helped with East Valley High School's robotics team last year, said the toy can teach children about engineering. He picked Broxson out of a community college mechanical engineering program. Broxson recruited his friend, Wilson, and Marzetta found Tim Lines, 18, on the EVHS robotics team.
"I'm just going to have guys who are my target market," Marzetta said. "They're teaching us what's cool."
©2007. Reprinted with permission of The Spokesman-Review. Permission is granted in the interest of public discussion and does not imply endorsement of any product, service or organization otherwise mentioned herein.