Meet MAKIMAKI is a 3D printable humanoid robot. The little guy needs to raise $30,000 on Kickstarter by Thursday, Feb. 28, to see the light of day.
The folks at Hello Robo – MAKI’s inventors – build friendly robots designed to interact with humans and be aesthetically empathetic. MAKI’s success will make good on their mission to design a high-quality robotic platform that’s affordable, approachable and accessible. One look at the armless robot illustrates this. Big eyes and non-threatening features worked for E.T., and MAKI is taking that lead. He looks ready to be adored by children all over the world.
MAKI is comprised of six AX-12 Dynamixel Actuators from Robotis, an Arbotix Robocontroller from Vanadium Labs, ZigBee Wireless and a USB Webcam from Microsoft. He is compatible with popular software such as ROS, Pypose and RoboRealm. MAKI can also be used with Arduino IDE.
The robot currently needs a PC for higher level functions (such as using RoboRealm for object tracking). More advanced users familiar with ROS can take advantage of the arbotix python package to help give MAKI actual intelligence.
MAKI's specsOf course, not everyone who likes robots knows how to build one. MAKI has an answer for that, especially when it comes to education. With a desktop 3D printer and off-the-shelf hobby electronics, schools everywhere could introduce applied math and science skills to students via robotics.
“With the increasing popularity of personal manufacturing, we see the opportunity to bring advanced robots to anyone with access to a desktop 3D printer. Taking advantage of readily available electronics, easy to print designs, and open source software, MAKI can be built for under $500.”
As of now, MAKI requires a 3D printer with a build envelope of at least 150mm x 150mm x 175mm. The developers are currently working on reducing this size. Like the Ouya, MAKI is open source. This feature encourages others to share their work, and increase MAKI's capabilities.
“It is our belief that for robots to effectively interact with and work beside humans, they should be friendly and empathetic even in design. Our robots are intended to operate in human environments; because of this, the overall aesthetics are considered heavily during the design process. It is important for our robots to feel friendly and approachable.”