Nano'Medes: Owl Companion Bot with Arduino Nano

I'm training this "nano" version of my AI robot owl familiar, Archimedes, to respond to cues from an ocarina. It's built around my Companion Core – a PCB I created to make it easier to build companion bots! It uses an Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense with Edge Impulse (for the AI bits), but thanks to the Companion Core's breadboard heart, you could easily swap in a Teensy / Adafruit QTPy / Seeed Xiao or other board.

Unlike (previous) (versions) of Archie, this one is smaller, easier to transport/wear, and made with more 3D-printed parts – and less "random stuff I had laying around" – which makes it more customizable.

Construction

Companion Core assembly: headers, breadboard, breadboard wires

3D-printed body parts: The main body piece captures the Companion Core board, and connects to a "hip" and the legs, which pivot on a GoPro connector.

Cables to USB hub: There are two cables:

• A USB-A cable with the other end snipped off, which is soldered to the Companion Core and provides power to the servos
• A USB-A to Micro USB cable (data-capable!!), which connects to the Arduino for power or programming.

Piezo speaker: A mini piezo speaker is hot-glued into the top of the hat, allowing Archie to chirp away. :)

Origami wings: As before, these are mounted on zip-ties – which have the perfect balance of bounciness and durability. I'll probably do 3D-printed wings in the future, but while I focus on building the body and harness, I whipped up a couple of placeholders using partially-folded origami cranes:

LEDs in eyes?: Later on, I may install LEDs in the eyes... but for now, he just kinda looks around.

Code

Follow the instructions at: https://docs.edgeimpulse.com/docs/development-platforms/officially-supported-mcu-targets/arduino-nano-33-ble-sense

If you get the warning "You're running an outdated version of the Edge Impulse CLI tools", just follow the directions to update it:

sudo npm update -g edge-impulse-cli

I gathered some of the data on the board that powers the robot, but in future, I'll use a separate Nano 33 BLE Sense so I can capture the servo noises that will be part of the finished robot.

Ocarina

I'm modifying a 4-hole ocarina I found on Thingiverse, which prints without any support material and can stand up on its end.

Here's a rough mapping – although it's a bit touchy: