As you know, I am Eli the computer guy.

And we're doing yet another coffee with geeks with Phil Karnak, head of communications for SWAT bots.

They do augmented reality toys, so I thought I'd have them on since augmented Reality is the big cool new thing.

So thanks for being here.

Hello.

Thank you for having me.

So the first question I always ask everybody when they come on the show.

So we know who they're talking to when you call yourself head of communications, what does that actually mean?

And that sounds really quite posh, doesn't it?

It basically means that I do all the talking.

So yeah, I'm here to basically try and verbalize what the incredible geeks in our studio here coming up with.

Okay, so is it is it the same as, like, a c m o?

Or do you have a CMO besides you?

No, Certainly don't.

There's only 13 of us, so I think, actually, multiple roles, but yes, CMO that that'll do.

That sounds quite good, doesn't it?

That sounds like I should be paid.

Yeah, that sounds like a raise.

So how did you How did you get to your position.

And so head of communications for, like, a startup company, like What's kind of your background?

And, well, it's It's a long story.

So you have to bear with me here.

I started at the point where I was on the phone.

Thio deejay, jazzy Jeff from Will Smith will start there, and that's a natural place to start.

I was actually doing, I've got to fill in some of the who were interviewing them and it kind of takes for writing and said, Yeah, I quite like this side writing, writing upsy moves to the web.

Andi, I found myself working on more and more high tech projects on DSS Wops.

There you go.

What about behind me on not actual size on?

Yeah, Basically, it's the thing about the fourth project I've worked on with roughly the same team of people has always been a couple of us have work on different projects together.

We've always had a hunger for interactive technologies.

Immersive technologies on Yeah, I'm just a man who has got the skills to design or code.

So, you know, you're an hour, so a lot of people are interested in, like working in tech companies, but not necessarily doing the tech work, did you?

Did you just walk into?

Did you just kind of back yourself into this?

Was were you trying to get into tech or you just wound up doing it now?

I wasn't particularly trying to get to Tak to me, Andi.

I always imagined that video games were made by crazy people in lab coats, somewhat hiring neo Tokyo or something on.

It wasn't gonna be something that I love.

Video games on dhe literally playing around from when I was so small playing on a buying It's been console, which anybody is.

Only enough may just about remember one of them only had hung on it on That was unique about that on DDE.

Ever imagine my stuff get into?

It's not like I want to work in it, but I just felt it was so far out, actually, that I would never get involved.

But as it happened on my doorstep, I'm here in Liverpool.

That's where we're based.

And it just happened that an awful lot of really good video games being made it, of course, So me and you look with their base for PlayStation Europe on Waas in Liverpool, the formula on games and the white out games lemmings.

Also, it's different.

Games came out of this city and relatively small city.

On Dhe.

It's It's something that I didn't know was happening right under my nose.

And when I found out I wanted to be about, Uh, that's cool, that's cool.

So you're in England because I had the idea.

I talked with somebody.

I thought you were in Ireland.

You're in England, then?

Well, that's that.

Beyond these accidents are blaming because an itty is originally from California around here near little when he was 16.

I think he's one of our co founder, says Andy and John.

New Suit co founds the SWAT bots.

Andi Yeah, basically, he's ended up in this matchup axes that is definitely mid Atlantic and, you know, islands kind of in the middle of the Atlantic or one side of it gets Okay, so then when we're talking about swat bots, cause what is like swat bots is coming, you have 13 people and you're in Liverpool.

But then I saw on your email address you have, like, draw and code.

So a SWAT bots the actual company or is drawn code the company.

And this is some kind of project of that.

Well, we'll go.

I won't go quite far back as locals to deejay jazzy Jeff, but to go back about six years on a set of drawing code and wrong codes and immersive technology studio.

So we make V our experiences a our experiences projection mapping.

So anything that puts the use of right at the center of an immersive three be interactive world, and we're quite far ahead with that sword technology.

I'm not saying that as far ahead as a lab in the university somewhere.

It's working on this stuff, but you know, we're first in line for for the D K one, the Oculus rift when you know the Kickstarter when live we were there putting our money down and going, Yeah, that's the future we're working with.

All meant reality from slightly before actually set up drawing coat.

So, yeah, it's work for hire studio on dhe.

We're working with some great clients for the comes a point where you say OK, we've made a lot of products for people.

Now it's time to really part money where our mouth is and make a product ourselves, which is what's what.

Boxes.

So then, Okay, now we got to the point.

Now we get to the point in the show.

What is swat bots then?

What you're saying this is the practice.

The rest of that was made.

So yes.

What's they?

Are these little toys?

Don't you see behind me, a couple cuts out that will fall over if there's a gust of wind.

But yeah, they're basically toys that are brought to life with the magic of old men.

Triviality.

But again, Andi Yeah, you can see the simple piece of plastic.

You know, we're not talking about a very expensive toy.

We're talking about something that is, there's no technology inside that's totally on.

We get a mobile by Sony IOS or Android Device.

We're bringing to life now.

Of course, we've seen mobile augmented reality before you know, it's been going has been knocking about too many years before The current generator smartphones with touch screens even on, but it's really coming into its own now on dhe particularly.

Obviously, we've seen the success of Pokemon go, but we do think a little bit more sophisticated cause the platform, The powers.

That is a few years old.

Still very good.

I like Pokemon.

Go.

So I'm not gonna knock it.

But things have moved on.

I'm not necessarily with the device, is Jack?

There is some incredible device going, but but yeah, with swat bots, We wanted to make the most of a r.

So we get the physical toy, we bring it to life.

And so it's like the video game has escaped from the screen like it's in the room with you.

So you could head to swat bots dot co.

Okay.

Well, I'm afraid ongoing check is out there.

You can pre order to tell you about a successful Kickstarter.

What?

You're very good.

The toys are still available to preorder at the moment as well, and you can check him out there.

It's not the work we do in their demo down the camera don't things quite the same.

So these videos and you can see what it's about.

So that's the way.

OK, so you've got those little square toys and you've got okay, I get it.

I get the toy sort of get the augmented reality.

What are we what are you doing with it, though?

Do you just do you just look at the toy through your mobile phone and it shows you something different.

Well, it's a little bit more techno, basically, yeah, that the toy will come to life, and the first thing you notice is obviously, you know, this isn't kind of a market based.

They are.

That's flat.

But that's two day.

This is three dimensional, which is so cool in itself because office it means you can literally hold the toy in your hand you can talk to.

You can pick it up on dhe That is unusual, not quite unprecedented, with unusual on.

You can also swap piece the toys so you can pull it apart and there's a head of body in the base, and each one is different attributes in the game.

There's been a few different game Moz, that kind of cool game with what work done.

The most work on is a battle game mode, So you typically up to four pots, two people playing either locally or over a network.

Andre will battle each other.

You basically pressed different parts of swap up to make it do different attacks, their special moves, their power ups.

There's also environmental elements that we kind of build around it.

So it has its own little base, little environment.

Hope that you build around it, put items around Powertel protected or just look cool.

Uh, so there's that.

So it's not just the toy, so there's a whole game that goes with it, then absolutely.

And it's a mania.

Children.

So we're looking at 6 to 12 year olds.

But to be honest, that's probably what Pokemon goes in that I've played it a bit more often than I should hours.

Okay, so that you're just using the hand held like tablet or phone.

You're not using whatever the hell Google's what the hell those goggles are, Whatever you're just holding in your hand.

Absolutely, we have developed for those or devices with 12.

An awful lot devices on Been working with a sip.

It'll merge recently, Andi mixed reality devices, and we've had what what's really in holo lens as well, Which was it was fun on dhe.

Very expensive way to run a fantastic, totally and yet way wanted to go from mobile augment reality because from a business point of view.

That's a huge market out to sea.

I don't need to tell you just how big it is on Dhe.

Anybody who's got a young child will know that they just pick up tablets immediately.

So, young lad, he's only 2.5.

So he's already able and surf through YouTube Select videos.

You didn't type anything, obviously, but he knows what it's looking for.

You can find it, which is astonishing, how natural it is to use on DSO.

Yeah, it's perfect for our market perfect technology.

One day we would like to have it.

Hence our experiments with it in various gonna mix reality headset.

We definitely would like to embrace that sort technology or the three d sensing technology.

It starts creeping phones in tow.

Lenovo's fab to has senses Apple autopsy, gearing up to something like that, and that's definitely would like to do.

But we want this to be able to reach kids, and they'll typically have and hand me down tablets.

So my lord is God and I had to.

That was the first night that I got old off Got Tim gave me an excuse to buy something you on dhe, but it means the cameras.

You know, they're not always the best in those older tablets.

I think people don't realize that point the camera be used the same way it would be in the phone.

So we have to design this with my mind.

So we've got flat side.

We've got high contrast.

We've got lots of details in setting lines.

A ll the different things you see from a kind of good A.

Our market attracts really well.

We've got put in this and try and make it turn suitable for for the mobile technology it will be used in conjunction with.

And that's a result of our experience.

That's because we've not just gone into this.

This isn't our first day, our project.

You know, it's something that we've had a lot of experience on, Marine.

There are to be well, central.

So why do you Why did you pick like toys?

If you have all experienced with augmented reality especially that I'm not sure that would be my first.

My first thought of what I want to go into.

If I was gonna do a business on vague, augmented reality.

Why that?

But what would you make.

I'm pretty curious.

Now, I don't know.

You know, I would be thinking MBE or something along the hole that the commercial environment, you know, like if you could put up, I don't know, like, signs or messaging.

So if you had your industrial employees, you're in circular security employees walking around and they needed information.

You could pull that up and look at some kind of something along those lines.

Yeah, I write that down.

I'll see that later on.

No, it's but what you're describing there as a Mormon enterprise solution where you're getting something quotes vis Kate by the sound of what you're proposing there and something that has kind of quite a prosaic in practical use.

We've done a lot of work in that field and we're exhibiting a W E.

The Augmented World Expo two senators every year.

Andi has been quiet for years.