Published May 7, 2024

CG34 - The Companion Bot

An AI Companion robot controlled by an Arduino Uno, and your laptop.

IntermediateWork in progress2 hours332

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino UNO

SG90 Micro-servo motor

LED (generic)

Any color you want.

LED Dot Matrix Display, Red

Intel RealSense Camera

This is just a placeholder; use any USB camera that can connect to your laptop.

Desktop Microphone, Unidirectional

Same for this, use any mic that can connect to your laptop

Speaker: 3W, 4 ohms

Same again, use a small speaker that can connect to your laptop. (but make sure it's small!)

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

penguinmod

This is what i used to program the AI.

Hand tools and fabrication machines

3D Printer (generic)

Soldering iron (generic)

I didn't use one, but if you want your CG34's wires to be more stable, then use this.

Story

Intro

Hi. My name is Chris. I am 12 years old, and for a while now, I have been interested in companion robots. the thought of having a robot that you can build, and kind of like a pet, in a way, who will always be by your side. That's why I made CG34. I wanted to share how I'm trying to make it, so maybe you could make it too! You can also change hardware and software to whatever you like, it doesn't really matter (Just as long as it works, of course (: ), so here is the tutorial!

Step 1

First of all, we need to set up the AI on your laptop. Go to penguinmod.com, and click create. then put in this file:

File

(To put in the file, go to the top-left, and click “file”, then “load from computer”. Then open the file you downloaded.)

Basically what we are going to do is connect the camera, mic, and speaker to our laptop, and later we’ll put them in the robot when it’s built. Click the green flag to test that it works. Say “Hey CG34” and then one of the commands. You can also say something else other than a command and the AI will respond. But, no messing around. We need to build the hardware next.

Step 2

Print out the parts I provided.

The servo will go on the body, which attaches to the head through the bridge. The LED Matrix will go into the square. Put something translucent in front of it to dim down the light on the matrix.

Now for the wiring.

You might notice the Led matrix is missing. It's because I didn't have it in the diagram maker I was using. The led matrix will be wired like this:

GND: GND on the breadboard

VCC: 5V on the breadboard

DIN: 11 on Arduino

CS: 10 on Arduino

CLK: 13 on Arduino

Upload the code onto the arduino to test that it works.

Also, Find a place to put the camera (Maybe the top), the mic (Maybe between the head and body), and the speaker (Do what you think is best for this).

Step 3

Plug the Camera, Mic, and speaker into your laptop, put them into your robot, and power everything on. Run the code on penguin mod (By clicking the green flag), and put the laptop into a backpack.

Now, I’m not sure how you would put your robot onto the backpack, but you can figure it out. Just make sure it doesn't fall.

DISCLAIMER: I haven't been able to use the LED matrix yet, so it isn't in the code. I will try to get to that soon, though.