Mimobot
Encyclopedia
MIMOBOT flash drives are a line of collectible designer toy USB flash drive
s launched in 2005 by Mimoco, Inc., headed by Evan Blaustein. Designed by contemporary character artists, preloaded with original media content like music, video, animations, or games, and produced in limited runs of usually between 500 to 5,000 units, MIMOBOTs merge the aesthetics of art toys with the functionality of USB flash drives. Their memory capacities range from 2GB to 64GB. The MIMOBOT line can be found at stores like the MoMA
, Kidrobot
, Giant Robot
, Colette, and other lifestyle institutions worldwide.
MIMOBOT characters have been produced in 3 categories: original MIMOBOT characters, artist series collaborations, and licensing partnerships.
Core Series 2, released July 2007 - Fairybit Fairybot, Galacula, Gigglebyte, Pupstar, Psy & Ptry (the Clops Bros.), RayD8, Swirl, and Owsley Owlbert designed by contributing artist Dino Alberto (NYC)
Artist Series ’06 - mimoco has collaborated with influential contemporary character artists in the vibrant designer toy community, including:
Shawnimal Smith (Chicago), TADO
(UK), Jon Burgerman
(UK), Circus Punks/Jim Koch
(US), Devilrobots (Japan), Worldwide Biggies
/Dino Alberto (NYC), Lili Chin/Brian McCarty/Phofo (LA),
Artist Series '07 – Mori Chack
(Japan), Hanazuki (Amsterdam), and Sket One
(New Haven, CT), Reach One (Taiwan)
Artist Series '08 - Bubi Au Yeung (HK), Gary Baseman
(US), FriendsWithYou (US), and tokidoki
(US)
, several series of Star Wars
mimobots have been launched. The original included Darth Vader
, R2-D2
, Chewbacca
, and an Imperial Stormtrooper
, all sold out for several years. Star Wars Mimobot Series 2 includes Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo. Series 3 includes Luke Skywalker (hoth) C-3PO, Wicket the Ewok, Darth Maul, and an Imperial Snowtrooper.
A special edition release for Star Wars The Force Unleashed II saw the ever popular Starkiller mimobot in 2010
There has also been a series modeled on the popular Xbox
video game Halo
, featuring Master Chief
as well as a red and a blue Spartan.
Domo Kun has a MIMOBOT series, as well as Happy Tree Friends with Giggles, Flippy, and The Mole.
Recent licensing partnerships include DC Comics
for a Batman
MIMOBOT series and Sanrio
for a Hello Kitty
series.
USB flash drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
s launched in 2005 by Mimoco, Inc., headed by Evan Blaustein. Designed by contemporary character artists, preloaded with original media content like music, video, animations, or games, and produced in limited runs of usually between 500 to 5,000 units, MIMOBOTs merge the aesthetics of art toys with the functionality of USB flash drives. Their memory capacities range from 2GB to 64GB. The MIMOBOT line can be found at stores like the MoMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
, Kidrobot
Kidrobot
Kidrobot is a producer and retailer of designer toys founded in 2002 by Paul Budnitz, specializing in artist-created toys and imports from Japan, Hong Kong, and Europe. Kidrobot also makes Kidrobot Mascots, which are figures of their main logo. These figures are usually nicknamed KR and the number...
, Giant Robot
Giant Robot
Giant Robot may refer to:* Giant Robot , magazine of Asian American popular culture* Mecha, a piloted or remote-controlled limbed vehicle* Giant Robot Week, week-long event that aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami in 2003...
, Colette, and other lifestyle institutions worldwide.
MIMOBOT characters have been produced in 3 categories: original MIMOBOT characters, artist series collaborations, and licensing partnerships.
Original MIMOBOT characters
Cosmos & Go (Core Series), released July - November 2005 – Protobot0, Protobot1, Isadore, Jolibear, Vera, Magma, Galaxor, Ta2b designed by contributing artist Yahid Rodriguez (Mexico)Core Series 2, released July 2007 - Fairybit Fairybot, Galacula, Gigglebyte, Pupstar, Psy & Ptry (the Clops Bros.), RayD8, Swirl, and Owsley Owlbert designed by contributing artist Dino Alberto (NYC)
Community-designed Series
VDC MIMOBOT Series, released in November 2008 - The six winning designs from Mimoco's forum-based Vimobot Design Contest (2007) were released as MIMOBOT flash drives. Designs: Cosmobot (Roxie Vizcarra), Holybot (The Fickilians), Golden Panda (ShanDurRah), Zombie Tiki God (heyimlindsayp), Mimoshroom (bananafromcanada) and Yakuza (eetteekers).Artist series
Shawnimal Smith (Chicago), TADO
Tado
Tado is a village in south east Togo, near the border with Benin.Tradition states that Tado was the birthplace of the Aja people at some point in the 12th or 13th century. Today the Aja populate the south part of Togo and Benin...
(UK), Jon Burgerman
Jon Burgerman
Jon Burgerman is an English artist and illustrator.-Life and work:Jon Burgerman was born August 8, 1979, in Nottingham, UK. He studied art foundation in Bournville, Birmingham, England, and then Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University....
(UK), Circus Punks/Jim Koch
Jim Koch
Jim Koch is the co-founder and chairman of the Boston Beer Company, the producers of Samuel Adams. He is an American entrepreneur and former business consultant who established the company in 1984.-References:...
(US), Devilrobots (Japan), Worldwide Biggies
Worldwide Biggies
Worldwide Biggies is a digital entertainment studio that creates original multimedia outlet entertainment products for a diverse age range of consumers, including computer generated features, hi-definition movies and television series, direct to DVD series, and broadband and mobile content aimed...
/Dino Alberto (NYC), Lili Chin/Brian McCarty/Phofo (LA),
Artist Series '07 – Mori Chack
Mori Chack
Mori Chack is the artist name of a Japanese graphic designer, who was born in Sakai, Osaka, Japan. He is famous for his Chax product line, and especially the character Gloomy Bear, a 2 m tall, violent, pink bear that eats humans...
(Japan), Hanazuki (Amsterdam), and Sket One
Sket One
Sket One grew up in New Haven, Connecticut where he started his art in 1986 as hip-hop swept the country.- Art and Career :Sket One created and ran Unitee in the 1990s – a shirt design company while looking for full-time work as a designer. He eventually landed his current position as Creative...
(New Haven, CT), Reach One (Taiwan)
Artist Series '08 - Bubi Au Yeung (HK), Gary Baseman
Gary Baseman
Gary Baseman is a contemporary artist who works in various creative fields, including illustration, fine art, toy design, and animation. He is the creator of the Emmy-winning ABC/Disney cartoon series, Teacher’s Pet, and the artistic designer of Cranium, a popular board game...
(US), FriendsWithYou (US), and tokidoki
Tokidoki
tokidoki is the Japanese-inspired lifestyle brand created in 2005 by Italian artist Simone Legno and his business partners Pooneh Mohajer and Ivan Arnold....
(US)
Licensing
In partnership with LucasfilmLucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
, several series of Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
mimobots have been launched. The original included Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
, R2-D2
R2-D2
R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...
, Chewbacca
Chewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
, and an Imperial Stormtrooper
Imperial stormtrooper
The Imperial Stormtroopers are fictional soldiers from George Lucas' Star Wars universe. Stormtroopers are the soldiers of the imperial army under the leadership of the evil Sith Lord and Emperor Palpatine and his commanders, most notably Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin.They are shown in...
, all sold out for several years. Star Wars Mimobot Series 2 includes Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo. Series 3 includes Luke Skywalker (hoth) C-3PO, Wicket the Ewok, Darth Maul, and an Imperial Snowtrooper.
A special edition release for Star Wars The Force Unleashed II saw the ever popular Starkiller mimobot in 2010
There has also been a series modeled on the popular Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
video game Halo
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
, featuring Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
as well as a red and a blue Spartan.
Domo Kun has a MIMOBOT series, as well as Happy Tree Friends with Giggles, Flippy, and The Mole.
Recent licensing partnerships include DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
for a Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
MIMOBOT series and Sanrio
Sanrio
is a Japanese company that designs, licenses and produces products focusing on the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories that are sold worldwide and at specialty brand retail stores in Japan...
for a Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty
is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States...
series.