Semyon Orlov (July 4, 1982 – November 6, 2020) was a Nizhny Novgorod photographer and engineer, founder of the photographic community "Fotogorky" and chief engineer of the WOWCube game console.[1][2]
"Fotogorky"
In late 2006, together with Artyom Kozlov, Orlov launched the website "Fotogorky" (photogorky.ru) — an online platform for fine-art photography from Nizhny Novgorod.[1][3] The community was distinguished by its work-rating system, which ranked contributors from "candidate" to "photo artist," turning the site into a prominent professional venue on the city's photography scene.[1]
The online community referred to the project as part of the "cultural face" of Nizhny Novgorod on the internet.[1] After the founder's death, Fotogorky continued to operate through the efforts of other contributors.[1]
Engineering Work: WOWCube
In 2017, entrepreneur Ilya Osipov invited Orlov to join a startup that had grown from an idea by his son Savva: a puzzle device with screens on each face.[2][4] Orlov became a co-founder and chief engineer of the project, created the first commercially viable model of the console, and wrote two games for it.[2]
He developed four generations of prototypes: the second- and third-generation circuit boards he soldered by hand under a microscope, spending a year and a half working on the hardware alone — engineers from Saint Petersburg and Shenzhen later joined the effort.[5] His colleagues noted his perfectionism, which extended to the sound made by the magnetic contacts of the casing.[5] Orlov personally brought the pre-production unit to the editorial offices of Popular Mechanics, traveling from Nizhny Novgorod.[5]
Patents and Awards
Orlov is co-author of two patents granted in the United States and Russia.[2] In 2020, his engineering work was recognized with a silver medal at the Edison Award and a platinum award at the Muse Design competition.[2]
Legacy
Semyon Orlov died on November 6, 2020, at the age of 38.[1][2] Cubios Inc., the owner of the WOWCube trademark, announced the posthumous publication of an art book of his photographs; the cost of the edition was covered by Ilya Osipov.[2]
Sources
- NN.RU — The Cultural Face of Nizhny Novgorod: Semyon Orlov and His Website Fotogorky (archive)
- Koza Press (archive)
- photogorky.ru (archive)
- Forbes Russia — How a Father and Son Invented a Cube-Shaped Game Console and Collected $39 Million in Pre-orders (archive)
- techinsider.ru — WOWCube: The Coolest Puzzle of the Decade (archive)