Have you heard about Robi?
Are you a Star Wars fan like me? Do you dream of owning your own droid like C3PO or R2D2 that you can interact and play with? Well, brace yourselves folks. The future is here.
Robi, the tri-lingual, Manglish speaking Robot recently set foot in Malaysia along with another 100 or so units with its inventor Professor Tomotaka Takahashi. Presentations and dance performances were made in One Utama Shopping Centre from 10 to 12 March 2017.
Image source: Model Space
How does 3D design come in the picture?
Professor Tomotaka Takahashi says that many people believe that he uses complex computers and tools to generate ideas for his robots. However, the story he shares says otherwise.
He actually sketches them into his idea book. The image below shows the designs of Robi before it was brought to life.
It is important to note that technological inventions often start from 3D sketching. Only from the first step of sketching can people develop technicalities into the invention.
When Professor Tomotaka Takahashi was a small boy, he really liked Astro Boy and wanted to build his own robot when he got older. Today, he has achieved that dream.
The amazing part about Robi is that it’s not just well designed (smooth edges all round with no obvious screws or motors in sight), it is also programmed to behave very human-like. As seen in the video, the 100 Robi robots feel “tired” after dancing around for a minute.
In Malaysia, these robots can be built on a weekly basis whereby you could subscribe to the magazine to receive educational material/magazines and parts. There are about 70 magazines which sum up to around RM5,300 for all issues combined.
Upon further searching, we found out that Robi also has a very cool vehicle called the Robicle:
We’re not sure if this is or will be available in Malaysia though.
Professor Tomotaka Takahashi has also worked with industry partners like Toyota to create Kirobo and Kirobo mini. Kirobo was sent to space while Kirobo mini will be available for sales from 2017 (The Verge).
You can create your dreams today but starting with a simple pen or pencil and paper. A relatively cheap way to make it to 3D is by using Fischer TiPs.
What do you think about Robi? Do you have your own photos about Robi, or your own sketch of your robots that you would like to share with us? Just drop a comment below. Check out our stores for a wide range of TiPs for some fun DIY.
Note: The information obtained was from speaking with ground staff and online. We are not paid to write this article and these are only the ideas and thoughts generated personally, not in affiliation to the inventor, or owners of Robi.