Prosthesis: Mech Racing | Alpha Mech Pilot Program

Created by Prosthesis: Mech Racing

Become a mech pilot. Join us as we embark on the next phase of mech sports development.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Win Mech Pilot Training! Two New Opportunities!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Dec 03, 2021 at 12:21:48 PM

Hello Kickstarter Backers

It has been a while but we thought you'd be interested to learn about some new opportunities for you to get in the pilot seat. But first a quick update on the project since we last posted here. After spending the spring implementing several pilot interface improvements we had a very busy summer full of demos and testing. We also were able to welcome the first 3 of our American Alpha Mech Pilot Trainees across the border to our test site in September. Fall testing was characterized by one element in particular, MUD. We headed indoors just as things here in BC got even more rainy due to several atmospheric rivers. We're giving Prosthesis some much needed TLC, finishing off an electrical/controls upgrade and doing some exciting R&D. 2023 and beyond is looking very exciting so stay tuned by following us on our socials and signing up for our mailing list here

Now, in no particular order, we have two opportunities for you to win mech pilot training!

A very fun mobile game called Mech Arena will be hosting a tournament later this month and the winning team of 5 players will all receive pilot training experiences. Sign up by Dec 12th for your chance to compete! Anyone in the LA area should visit the Mech Arena event at the Santa Monica Pier this weekend (Dec 3-5) for the chance to win the ultimate mobile gaming setup worth $5,000.

Click the image to sign up!

We've also been working with a great DIY educational kits company called Creation Crate to develop Engineering learning kits inspired by our full size mech design! With the three kits you'll end up with a single leg that you control bio-mechanically with a glove!

Click above to purchase your kits today!

Prosthesis 2020 Recap - Year of the Pilot (Preview)
about 3 years ago – Thu, Jan 14, 2021 at 01:53:00 PM

Hello Mech Fans

The following is a preview of our year end recap newsletter that we'll be sending out to our mailing list on Sunday, January 17th. We'd encourage you all to sign up here to receive it and future updates on Prosthesis, Furrion Exo-Bionics and Mech Racing as we build upon the Alpha Mech Pilot Program.

...

August-October 2020: Alpha Mech Pilot Program

With James proving to be a willing and capable guinea pig for the new pilot training program that we had developed with Cassie's expert input, we were ready to cast a wider net in search of test pilots. We turned to “the crowd” and launched the Alpha Mech Pilot Program on Kickstarter. This was the first time we’d given access to the mech beyond those who helped build it and our first concerted promotional effort since a very skeptical reception back in the beginning of 2018. With the mech now well and truly walking, and performing feats of skill, the world could finally see our vision for a future filled with giant, agile powered exo-suits, piloted by skilled athletes. The video and story went viral across the globe. We raced past our $30k goal with 240 backers supporting us and over a hundred stories being published worldwide. Those articles were shared over 100k times with a total reach over 600 million. Our call for test pilots attracted 12 brave pioneers who are now lined up to train next summer once COVID restrictions lift.

Cheers,

Jonathan and the Prosthesis Mech Racing Team

Update on Rewards
about 3 years ago – Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 04:15:09 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Alpha Mech Pilot Program - Survey Sent
over 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 08:44:07 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Next Steps For The Alpha Mech Pilot Program - Important Reward Survey Info
over 3 years ago – Sun, Nov 08, 2020 at 12:57:47 PM

Greetings Backers!

This update is a few weeks over due so we thank you for your patience. While working to fulfill all the rewards we’ve been tackling a backlog of engineering work. We’re trying to take full advantage of the remaining nice weather this fall before the winter rains start here on the West Coast. We have received the funds transfer from Kickstarter and now need to gather information from you to fulfill your rewards. We are excited to announce that we have transferred all Backer pledges to our pledge management tool, BackerKit. We know that we have a lot of backers who have not used Kickstarter or BackerKit before so we will be providing detailed instructions in our next update once the surveys are sent. In the meantime we've provided an overview of BackerKit at the end of this email.  But first some updates on what we got up to in October.

We did a round of samples for the rewards and found the quality was not up to scratch, so we worked with a couple new suppliers to rectify the situation. We are also very excited to offer two additional add on rewards: a Zip Up Hoodie and a Tank Top! See the BackerKit section below on how you can purchase these items.

*Note: Digital mock ups may differ from final item style


We have been in contact with the 8 mech pilots who signed up through this AMP Program. We are working with each individually to schedule pilot training for the spring/summer as we wait for travel restrictions to allow.

Jon has had his hands full with the arrival of his second child and communicating with an influx of new contacts. Beyond just a pilot training program, this campaign represented our first concerted promotional campaign in years. Thanks to all of you each aspect was a resounding success. We can’t get into specifics but let’s just say that many stars are aligning and 2021 is shaping up to be the year of the mech.

Engineering News

We have also been very busy with Prosthesis up at our field trials site. We completed a major hydraulic power plant upgrade, opting to install a 2nd larger displacement pump matching the one we added earlier this summer. We have a few more upgrades planned and a bunch of dialing in to do but this upgrade is sure to help us unlock the full potential of our next big upgrade, Smart Cylinders!

Our new cylinders arrived from RHK Hydraulics. They have oversized ports, internal end stop cushioning and integrated Temposonic positional encoders from MTS Sensors that are accurate to 0.1mm .

They are quite literally faster, stronger and smarter. The focus of R&D is now shifting to implementing these cylinders and realizing their performance gains and data collection capabilities.

Curtis and Sam have taken advantage of Jon being preoccupied with dad duty to train and compete for the title of world’s 2nd best mech pilot and try to eventually surpass Jon.

We are pleased to begin working with a student team from Curtis and Jon’s alma mater the University of British Columbia. This is the 9th Mechanical Engineering Capstone project that we’ve supported. The four person team is hard at work designing a new pilot suspension system set to be implemented in time for AMP spring training.

Media News

The October issue of Fluid Power Journal was released and we made the cover! See page 28 here for the article. 

We also had this great video and article published on Business Insider

BackerKit 

As we mentioned above the rewards survey for our Kickstarter is going to be handled through a service called BackerKit. The great thing about this service is it actually allows a lot more flexibility with reward items much more like an online retailer. You’ll be able to change your reward level and add additional items (payment through BackerKit). This will also accommodate anyone who pledged extra for additional items.

Here's a quick rundown:

  • The survey will be sent out in the next week or so. We’ll let you know when it is sent so you can watch out for it. You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to answer your survey. The invitation email contains a link to your personal survey. It is important to submit your responses as quickly as you can since we need this information to process your rewards.
  • If you need to change your survey responses, purchase add-on items, or update your shipping information, you can click the link in your survey email again or request your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page. This page will only start working after we send the surveys out.
  • Answering your survey helps us get your rewards out to you faster. BackerKit helps us save lots of time by streamlining the survey process, automating data organization, and providing us with pledge management software to make it easy to process your pledge reward shipments.
  • If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey link is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact me.

We will provide a thorough set of instructions and answer frequently asked questions in our next update once the surveys are sent.

Again, thanks for all your support. We can’t wait to send you your rewards.


Cheers,

Jonathan and the Prosthesis Mech Racing Team