Buddy Social Arduino Robot - 3D Printed Parts only

How Buddy Sees

Buddy sees by updating certain waypoint in his area, And then inspecting items that pop up as he looks around. His eyes are not camera. They are a simple proximity sensor. But he uses to build a simple 3D map of the area around him.

When he sees something in the worldview change. He will react to it. It is a simple system that we had to use some clever pieces of psychology to make it appear alive and more complex.

Apps, Arduino and Blockly

There is no app for this version of Buddy (though there might be one in our stretch goals). When he is built or pulled out of the Box he is ready to go. Just plug him in and then have fun.

But Buddy is a STEM kit. He is meant to teach robotics and engineering and the psychology and interaction that comes with those in a way that is fun. What is better than building a robot that actually seems alive.

Buddy can be reprogrammed. We will be posting code samples in Arduino and he is compatible with graphical systems like makeblock and Scratch. We want it to be easy to work with this little guy in and out of the classroom.

Cute

Cute. That is how we wanted him to be described. Cute. We wanted you to say "Awwww" when you see him. He's like a potted plant that happens to be alive on your desk.

Simple

There are few bells and whistles. The entire kit has fewer than 15 screws. Less than 25 parts total.

This helps him stand up to the rigors of the classroom STEM groups. He can be picked up by his neck (not recommended) and likely not damaged. Buddy is really an exercise in minimalism. This makes him very robust.

Top Quality Parts

There is nothing "cheap" about this kit. Every decision was made to make a top quality product.

The main board of Buddy is manufactured inside of the US and is a system that we have used in the last 8 of our robotics kits. It is solid and battle tested.

The motors through Buddy, are top quality metal-geared servos used in performance RC aircraft. They are not typical off the shelf items. They are precision devices that can stand the test of time and the abuse they might suffer at the hands of kids.

Buddy is fully 3D-printed. We made this choice because is allows Kids to do more than just program the robot. Seeing that he is 3D-printed invited them to print accessories or redesign him and then print those parts at school or a library. 3D printing opens the doors for more engineering thinking, which is the whole point of our kits