Final Production Questions & Answers...

What will it do?

"Little Buddy" is a minimalistic type of robot companion/figurine, inspired by Eastern & Western Manga Design aimed to interact with their human user as they enter the room, do their work or playing video games.

Little Buddy has 3 basic functions:
1. There is a motion sensor sitting on the front of the Base, which the figure stands on, and will detect the user getting closer.
2. It contains an LED light installed behind the eyes that will gradually get brighter as the User walks closer.
3. Once the user reaches a certain distance, a Servo Motor will activate and the Little Buddy will lift its head away from the phone to greet you.

Its default position is him looking at his phone, representing how individuals in modern society spend most of their day on their phone as it is now an extension of themselves. The hope is that it will give their users something to smile at when they walk through the door or when they are stressed out.

Who's done what beforehand?

My "Little Buddy" product is an Eastern & Western inspired figurine that has user interaction functionality in the same spirit as AI Robot Companion, but with minimal functionality at a much lower cost to the consumer.

Figurines are well known to many consumers through various companies and franchises. Gaming, Wrestling, Historic, etc - everyone has their own figurine product that comes in all shapes and sizes. Most notable inspirations come from "PLAY ARTS" high quality figurines that have adjustable limbs and joints for posing, photography and stop motion. But are often very high costs ranging in the €200-€3000 bracket.

The polar opposite inspiration being the sleek, variable and cute figurines from "POP!". These may not be customizable or have any mobility but they come at a very low cost ranging in the €5-€50 bracket and are considered mainstream collectables due to how well they portray the characters they are based on.

AI Robot Companions are an incoming market that has found multiple successes from Kickstarter crowdfunding and competitive robotics engineering. These robots are well designed, made to be affectionate towards their human user. They also are packed with millions of lines of code that update all the time to give each AI companion the best intelligence and responsiveness. Because of this, you can expect to find AI Companion products, such as EMO, Vector or Gizmo in the price range of €160-€6,000.

What will you design?

I will be designing the circuit board that gives Little Buddy it's functionality through the EDA tool "KiCAD". For fabrication I will be using the Roland SRM-20 with a 1/64 & 1/32 end mill. Afterwards I will solder the components and route the wiring. I will also be designing the 3D Model in Blender from scratch, based on my concept illustrations from Week 1 of Fab Academy

I will take their STL files and slice them in Prusaslicer to then be PLA printed in the Prusaslicer. I will also be designing/cutting the Vinyl Stickers used to give Little Buddy customizable features. These will be designed through Procreate & Inkscape.

What materials and components will be used?

Here is the total list of materials used, what they cost and where they come from:
(Material/Component - Cost - Source)

1x SagaSave FR4 Glass Fiber Copper Clad Plate - €8.99 (5 plates) - Source
1x Pololu VL53L1X ToF Motion Sensor - £15.99 - Source
1x LED - €7.99 (500 pieces) - Source
9x Haljia M/M Wires & 9x F/F Wires - £6.14 (120 Pieces) - Source
1x Adafruit Micro Servo Motor - €11.19 - Source
1x Seeed Studio Xiao RP2040 - €4.97 - Source
1x PLA Filament Roll - €6.82 - Source
1x Vinyl Sheet Roll - €7.98 - Source

What parts and systems will be made?

The model will be separated into the following parts:

Head, Torso (+Arms), Legs (+Feet), Servo/Neck Extender, Base Lid & Base Bottom.

The systems include a custom PCB to be fitted into the Base, A Time of Flight sensor wired to the front of the Base (facing user), A Servo Motor fitted into the upper-right shoulder of the model with the wiring flowing through the stomach and down the right leg through a hole in the foot & base leading to the PCB. Finally an LED placed in the head that flows along the servo wiring.

Note: The LED will most likely be implemented in future development cycles among other features. The LED is becoming unnecessary and over-cumbersome for the Final Project Build and will more than likely be removed for the deadline to save on Time Management.

What processes will be used?

Processes include 2D/3D Design & Building, KiCAD PCB design and Milling, Soldering, Programming, System Integration and Assembly Fitting, UX Design, iteration and Airbrush Painting.

What questions need to be answered?

1. Can the product operate independently?
2. Are any wires visible? Is the product stable?
3. Is it affordable for the average consumer?
4. Do users react positively about its design and function?
5. Does it provide its intended purpose (reduce stress levels and increase positivity for lonely workers)?
6. Does it hit its target audience (10-35 year old Game/Animation enjoyers)?

How will it be evaluated?

I believe it should be evaluated based on its Design, Functionality, System Integration and Trial & Error Documentation. I am very concerned about its functionality as I've had severe difficulty with Electronics & Programming - even for the most simple of programs. The main cause of my stress being the VL53L1X ToF Sensor which I've had repeated issues with getting the Serial Monitor to recognize the component. However I’ve documented the trial and error process throughout which shows the effort made to understand the process and failings.

Required Processes:

My project incorporates 2D Design through use of Procreate & Inkscape for Concepting & Vinyl Cut Design, as well as use of KiCAD for EDA.

My project also incorporates 3D design through the use of Blender3D when creating my Little Buddy model, as well as Slicing & Printing software; PrusaSlicer for Prusa i3 MK3S and Cura for Ultimaker3 Extended.

My 3D Model design uses both additive and subtractive processes through designing outward aesthetics, keying and hollowing out / integrating fitting systems internally.

Little Buddy uses a custom-made board design through KiCAD EDA and was milled using VCarve & Roland SRM-20. The board uses a Seeed Studio Xiao RP2040 microcontroller and Arduino IDE for embedded programming. Components include a Servo Motor, LED and VL53L1X Time of Flight Sensor. The product will be independently operable once connected through USB for power.

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