world's smallest programmable robot spider influenced by monster's, inc.

roboeve xpider robot: roboeve, a beijing-based team of young engineers and industrial designers, has created what might just be one of the most adorable little robots to have emerged from a laboratory. the robot, called ‘xpider’, is made using 3D printing technologies and offers a number of smart features, such as an integrated camera and facial recognition. 

video courtesy of wang cara

the group was first founded as a way for a group of recently graduated robot enthusiasts to explore their passion and since, it has successfully created a tiny, spider robot that is sure to amuse. the robot itself, measuring 85mm in height and weighing 150 grams, is even touted by roboeve as being the smallest programmable robot in the world.

the ‘xpider’s’ main feature is its integrated camera eye, which was inspired by mike wazowski from the dreamworks film ‘monsters, inc.’, and is powered by an intel edison board and curie. the robot can be moved and controlled using either a smartphone or a game controller and offers its user a unique perspective on the world, especially due to its small size. additionally, the robot can transmit its own captured perspective to phone screens for easy viewing. 

the tiny, spider robot can also understand its surroundings thanks to a powerful recognition program, ‘smartnode’, which allows it to both recognize objects in its vicinity as well as people’s faces. the recognition features mean that it can explore spaces on its own by simply setting it on ‘roaming mode’. the robot can also recognize its owner. as it says on ‘xpider’s’ website, ‘with my people recognition power, you can set me up on your desk and I will dance happily when I see you and alarm you when someone else approaches.’ that’s a pretty affable feature for a robot companion to have. the ‘xpider’ can also be trained through a simple drag-and-drop neural network. 

of course, the ‘xpider’ is the result of a development process, which was initiated a year ago in august 2015 when roboeve set about modifying the nerf ‘terradrone’ (an off-the-shelf children’s toy) to include a first-person perspective camera. since then, the beijing-based team has created a number of robot designs and made a number of 3D printed iterations before arriving at the impressive and tiny ‘xpider’. if you’re curious how to get your hands on the tiny 3D printed companion, the beijing-based group will be launching a kickstarter for their project later this month. or if you fancy making your own, the ‘xpider’s’ 3D files and build instructions are available through wevolver.