A UNIVERSITY graduate has been on a mission ever since finishing his studies to help bring dinosaurs “back to life”.

Vaios Panagiotou, who was awarded a Mechanical Engineering BEng(Hons) degree from the University of Brighton, has been working hard for the past four years developing and building life-sized robotic dinosaurs.

The 43-year-old’s unique creations are currently based in the Beijing National Stadium in China, where they scare large crowds of people by moving their mechanical body parts and roaring at onlookers.

His first job was to build robotic animals for the Chinese calendar but the dinosaurs he ended up creating were by far his biggest challenge.

Mr Panagiotou, who is currently working in China, said: “These giant moveable robots took two years to design and construct and are the largest dinosaur robots in the world.

“The project was one of the biggest challenges. It was not only to make a machine because at the end this machine should be turned into the animal. We used high technology staff in order bring these giant dinosaurs back to the life.

“The timescale was very short and we had to succeed on our first attempt.

“For years my life was nothing but work.

“But we did it – and in my view it was nothing short of a miracle.

“We also have plans to build and bring Greek mythology monsters fighting with Hercules to life in a similar way.”

The dinosaurs move around on stage in front of a prehistoric backdrop with dramatic music playing in the background.

The group of robots can act out various synchronised movements and are made up of hundreds of sensors and actuators.

They are up to 15 metres high and 25 metres in length.

Mr Panagiotou, who is originally from Greece, was chief designer of the dinosaur robots and was in charge of teams from China and across Europe, who got the project ready for audiences to enjoy.

He said he plans on staying in Beijing for the time being and recalls some of his fond memories of his time spent studying and harnessing his skills at the university.

Mr Panagiotou said: “My tutors trusted my capabilities – I hope they’re proud of their old student.”