TOBOT Is a Snarky Tic-Tac-Toe Robot That Always Wins

If you enjoy tic-tac-toe, but are having trouble finding someone to play with these days, perhaps YouTuber Andrew DeGonge's TOBOT would be the perfect solution. After a piece of paper is placed in the drawing area, the robot arm automatically plots the pound symbol/hashtag playfield and proceeds to make its first move. Its opponent can then draw in a circle to counter its strategy, which goes back and forth until TOBOT inevitably wins.

The device moves via a pair of stepper motors in the base and timing belts, along with a servo on the end to lift the pen up and down. An Adafruit Feather M4 board handles the low-level motor tasks with the help of stepper drivers, while a Raspberry Pi Zero W takes care of overall strategy.

The Raspberry Pi also uses a camera to recognize the human player’s moves, by photographing the before and after playfield to see what section is most different. An I2S amplifier board is implemented for audio output, whether to instruct you that it’s time to move or to give snarky “feedback” on how the game is going.

If you’re wondering how it “inevitably” wins — in a game that should end in a tie if played well — it actually resorts to some trickery if things aren’t going perfectly. It can either audibly distract you, or even swipe over the playfield violently until its able to “sneak” an extra X in to win the game. Although your feelings may be hurt, it’s hard not to laugh at the bot’s antics!