Iain Heath's TARS. Photo via YouTube
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Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic Interstellar divided opinion upon its release last year, but where there can surely be no debate is that the cast’s chief robotic character, TARS, was super awesome.
A crew member of the spacecraft Endurance, TARS’s dry cool wit and sarcastic personality instantly vibed with Matthew McConaughey’s Cooper as they travelled together to the far corners of the galaxy, while his unique shapeshifting appearance made him a truly original design among movie robots (and there’s been a few).
In honour of TARS, artist and YouTuber Iain Heath has built a full-sized walking replica of the machine, which, from the front at least, looks every bit the real thing. The costume took three months to build and was unveiled last month at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, where Heath collected the ‘One To Watch’ award in the costume competition.
The replica uses two iPads as computer readouts, and features a camera and monitor system to allows its pilot to see. The cosumte also boasts an audio system, which allows Heath to communicate or play sound effects.
“Everyone seemed enthralled by the thing, and we got a lot of love from the convention-goers,” wrote Heath via YouTube. “It was a great experience and I hope to lug TARS to other conventions over the course of 2015.”
Click below to watch Heath build his version of TARS, plus the robot’s big Comic Con splash.
