As jaded as I am, even I can appreciate a super cute, remote controlled robot. And the toys that Orbotix makes are some of the cutest I’ve seen, simply because they’re so simple. Up until recently, the main robot Orbotix manufactured was Sphero, based around a spherical shape and controlled via iPhone or Android apps to roll around and jump to amazing heights. In order to develop its latest toy and expand upon Sphero’s form, the firm found power in 3D printing.
Ian Bernstein explains in the video below how, using a MakerBot 3D printer, the company was able to iterate and brainstorm the design for their latest robot, Ollie. As he tells it, “When we started Orbotix, I was building all the Sphero prototypes with paper clips and brass and stuff like that, and you can only go so far. Having the MakerBot and being able to make more advanced parts, we’re doing bigger and better things now.” The idea was to create a toy that could teach kids to learn programming, but also serve as a fun, little robot easily controlled by a smartphone. Bernstein says that when the company started developing smartphone-controlled robots, “Back in 2009, nobody was doing it.”
After successfully creating Sphero, Orbotix moved onto a somewhat more complex design, a cylinder with wheels meant to merge Sphero with a remote control car. They began prototyping Ollie, with their MakerBot Replicator 2, originally printing Ollie’s wheels in green PLA and the other parts in purple. The prototype, unofficially dubbed the Joker due to its colour scheme, managed to jump so high in the air that it was able to clear four stacked boxes of Spheros. When it pulled off that feat, Bernstein and his team understood that Ollie was ready for mass production.
Ollie can travel up to 14 feet/second, about twice the speed of Sphero, and can self-balance, using a gyroscope and spectrometer. The bot is customizable, in that you can select the colours of its tyres, hubcaps and accessories. More interestingly, Ollie also has built-in infrared sensors that allow multiplayer gaming and you can even program Ollie. For $99, you’ll be able to do all of these things this Fall. I know what I’m asking for Día de Los Muertos!
Source: MakerBot
