IPOH: A workshop owner’s passion for robotics led him to build a replica of the ‘Bumblebee’ robot, inspired by the iconic character from the Transformers film franchise, utilising recycled materials.
Ahmad Zuruwa Daud, 40, is satisfied and proud to see the yellow and black robot replica that he spent a month building now standing in front of his ‘Robot Workshop’ in Taman Klebang Putra.
Speaking to Bernama, the Kelantan native said he created Bumblebee using unused motorcycle and car parts at his workshop and gained inspiration from watching Japanese robot creation videos on YouTube.
“Originally, I made this robot replica just for fun since many motorcycle parts in this workshop could no longer be used.
“I built this Bumblebee robot by myself in one month. I was just guided by videos and tried to find the right parts to build it,” he said when met at his workshop here.
Ahmad Zuruwa said that apart from Bumblebee, he once produced a robot replica while working at a car service centre in this city.
“I was asked to build a robot replica to be placed at the main entrance of the service centre. Creating a robot is not easy because it requires creativity and foresight. A mistake will also affect other parts,” he said.
He said that Bumblebee – a replica that weighs around 400 kilogrammes and needs six adult men to lift it – tends to catch the eye of people passing by.
“Just mention the Robot Workshop, and people will know where this workshop is. Some even made a U-turn to take a picture with Bumblebee.
“I was once approached by a man who wanted to buy this replica for RM3,000, but I have no intention of selling it,” said the father of four.
According to Ahmad Zuruwa, he also received many requests from several parties, including schools to produce robot replicas but had to reject some of them because he was already busy repairing motorcycles and cars at his workshop. – BERNAMA
