Want a new pet? Well, there’s no need to go to a shelter. Instead, you can build this fully 3D printed hexapod robot. This enthusiastic little bot looks a bit like Tachikoma — the AI robot from the Ghost in the Shell universe.
Curious Redditors swarmed a video recently posted on Reddit by the aptly named Makeyourpet with various inquiries on the robotic pet project. The posted video depicts a spider-like robot dancing around with an Android smartphone attached to its back.
Videos of the project on its YouTube channel show off even more capabilities, including recognizing faces and linking up to Google Assistant.
The entire print is available for download on the MakeYourPet GitHub, with videos of the build available on their YouTube channel. An Android app controls the bot.
Make Your Pet is the brainchild of ex-Googler Mehdi Alizadeh and the hexapod was made using an Ender 3. Alizadeh worked in the Android OS team at Google and said he uses that experience to transform old Android phones into main processing units for robotic hobby projects.
Alizadeh is keen on using old-Android phones because they offer several advantages compared to a single-board computer such as Raspberry Pi. Alizadeh says Android phones have unmatched software development and debugging tools. They also come with powerful processors, touch screens, cameras, cell connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, gyroscope, and a whole bunch of precalibrated sensors.
He says, “one of my goals is to bring attention to this, especially in the enthusiast/hobby RC community.”
There’s also an environmental motivation to put old phones to good use.
Alizadeh says that facial recognition isn’t far away, either. He’s been using Google’s “ML kit,” and “the final goal is for the robot to recognize its owner’s face, detect the major facial expressions, and react accordingly. All of that is already available in the ML kit module. I just need to use it.”
Alizadeh encourages others to try building their own hexapod, saying that “no specific robotics knowledge is needed, but it needs some knowledge about how to connect the wires and use basic electronic components such as servo motors or relay switches. But honestly, you can find solutions for all of that online, and nothing too complicated.”
Can’t get enough of 3D printed robots? Check out our list of the Most Advanced 3D Printed Robots.
Lead image source: MakeYourPet via, YouTube
License: The text of "3D Print This Android-Powered Hexapod at Home" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.