SECON 2014
Automaton™ is the leading name in combining autonomous robotic design and athletic recreational activity. We provide a creative alternative to competitive combat-simulation scenarios by custom building robots and courses to fit entertainment centers’ needs. Automaton offers a safer experience for players both young and old. With the ability to reuse ammunition we can provide a more costeffective option for customers while remaining entertaining to these audiences.
Automaton’s goal is to provide a safe, entertaining environment for consumers looking for an interactive firing range. An alternative to paintball and lasertag courses, Automaton will provide unique tracks for each type to compete against consumers, each course providing its own challenge. These challenges will initially be custom built for arcades, entertainment centers, and other similar outlets. Eventually,
Automaton intends to expand enough that it can provide temporary courses for private gatherings, such as parties, college campuses, and general events. These courses will offer a scale of difficulty levels, depending on the consumers’ tastes and skills. Automaton intends on possessing a foothold in this
• entertainment sector within the Southeast within three years and nationwide within ten years. In summary, Automaton’s objectives are:
Install four courses/arenas in entertainment facilities within one year
• Achieve name recognition with 50% of target market in Southeast within three years
Constant additions of difficulty and a variety of course options will keep customers coming back to try new installments and maintain a wide customer base.
Automaton will receive useful information on ways to continually improve by maintaining active communication with Nerf™ gun enthusiasts. Several members of the Automaton team will regularly attend conventions (e.g. Reckoning Nerf event hosted by the Lawn Chair Mafia) and reach out for suggestions on online forums, will allow the facility to be aware of the latest Nerf™ technologies.
Outreach to groups that often have team-building exercises, such as camps or companies, will increase
Automaton’s popularity.
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SECON 2014
Automaton possesses several advantages that similar businesses lack. The use of robots allows people to play without having to reach a minimum number of participants, a common problem for those who want to start a paintball or laser tag match but do not have enough players. In terms of equipment,
Nerf™ darts prove more practical than paintballs. Paintballs can be painful upon impact and can only be used once. Nerf™ darts are less painful and are reusable. Automaton also provides the advantage of adjusting the difficulty of the robots that players face, making the game fair to groups of players with varying skill.
Automaton courses will be interesting mainly to younger audiences and people looking for an athletic recreational activity in an indoor setting. Children ages 8-14 greatly enjoy Nerf™ products and will be fascinated by the idea of ‘living the game,’ where a team of them can take on robotic opponents.
However, because of the multiple difficulty levels of the courses and robots, our product will be able to cater to a wide range of ages and skill levels. Automaton’s products will be an alternative to both Laser
Tag and Paintball, providing a blend of the two that involves physical ammo and precision without the discomfort of paintballs or the added costs of ammo and compressed air. Teams can be varying sizes to allow different families, parties, or other special events groups to participate without the need of additional players. These groups will make up the majority of customers, but parties of high school and college students will also be drawn to the challenge of the more difficult tracks. This service applies to these demographics and interests nationwide, so Automaton can expand beyond the southeastern
United States and still have a place within these communities.
The strategy for obtaining startup funding for Automaton will include utilizing online funding platforms such as Kickstarter.com. We will take advantage of the Small Business Investment Companies and apply for grants. Also, to fund our startup we may take out a loan with help of the Small Business Association.
The most direct way to reach our target market is through integration with the marketing of the arcade and entertainment facilities where our product and courses will be located. Since our goal is to have only four separate arenas functioning at the end of the year, it is feasible to market to the entertainment facilities in person. We will send representatives to each potential location to discuss the benefits of adding an Automaton recreational course to their business and to answer questions and address concerns. We will also have a fully functional website available to customers, where we will offer coupons for discounts and free games. We will contract a company to build the courses under our supervision and will manufacture robots by hand for the first several years until demand exceeds ability.
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SECON 2014
Automaton robots will be distributed as they are ordered because each robot must be custom-made depending on the demands of the facility and the demand is relatively low.
The goal of our company is to obtain new markets by expanding from our Southeast hub across the
United States. More ideas for company growth include introducing new products. We would like to expand our business to transportable, rentable courses for private use, such as birthday parties or carnivals. We would also like to integrate our company vertically in the future. This would allow us to take over the course construction from contractors and the distribution to our target market by developing free-standing arenas, rather than remaining only an addition to existing entertainment facilities.
Finally, we will introduce more advanced and challenging robots, such as rugged robots that can traverse a variety of services for outdoor gaming and robots that are not limited to line following for more unpredictable action.
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