Fritz Emoji Arduino Controlled Robot Kit [Advanced Edition]

*** The Robot is not Assembled!

Description

Have you ever imagined to create your own robotic friend? Fritz Emoji Robot Kit is the animatronic puppet meant for that! A complete robot kit consisting all the parts required to make Fritz, an Arduino controlled Robotic Head suitable for learning electronics and robotics. Arduino makes experiencing with this robotic kit simple and easy. Fritz was created to provide an inexpensive introduction into robotics that is both entertaining, creative and educational. There are 13 servos in the advanced version that are driven by an Arudino microcontroller.

Fritz is a robot that emulates human facial features and expression. It has 13 motors that move it's eyelids, eyeballs, eyebrows, lips, jaw and neck. It also Includes the Fritz Control Software for Windows where you can click and drag on a feature, and the actual Fritz will move in response.

With an open source directive, Fritz is accompanied by a PC application to provide you with an easy to use interface in customizing and interacting with the project mechanics. Fritz comes with an open source desktop application currently written in CSharp for the Windows platform. The application communicates to Fritz over a USB connection to the Arduino board. The software name is: xyzbot fritz editor.

Github Source Repository

The Arduino board can be powered by a battery pack or an external power supply. While the Arduino itself can be powered directly from the PC, once enough servos are activated the maximum draw on a USB bus will be exceeded and cause a reset (on most PCs the USB power is limited to 500mA).

Fritz is made from laser cut MDF (Medium-Density Fiberboard) that provides strength but is also lightweight to allow low torque servos to move the appropriate parts. The use of laser cut MDF also allows parts to be replaced (such as the face plate) with other materials such as acrylic or ABS.

Fritz is capable of displaying many expressions and reenacting them in a sequence that you can put together. Fritz can also generate synthetic speech and sync his mouth movements to that speech. If you'd prefer to use your own voice, Fritz can also mimic your mouth movements to pretend your voice is his.

For the coordinated, you can also use a Joystick or keyboard to create dynamic expressions and movements that give you total live control over Fritz. This is a great tool to create interactive movements with the rest of your family.

Fritz is a great introduction to robotics and provides an incremental approach for kids. Rather than requiring knowledge of a low level programming language, kids can become familiar with Fritz and a servo controlled robot very quickly using the interactive capabilities of the desktop application. They can use a joystick or keyboard keys to control Fritz. Once they get comfortable with the basic movements and animation potential they can continue advancing to recording movements and editing those movements. From creating scripted animations one can then move onto direct programming of Fritz using the provided programming interface.

Features:

•     13 Moveable Facial Parts
•     Open Source Hardware and Software
•     Arduino Based Robot Kit
•     Can be controlled using GUI Drag and Drop Interface
•     Includes Audio and Motion editor
•     Generate Speech from Text (TTS)
•     Can be controlled Using Keyboard or a Joystick
•     Humanoid Dimensions

You can use Fritz as a:

•     Remote Control Toy with a JoyStick
•     Unique Decoration
•     Educational Tool
•     Robotic Contest Kit
•     Robotic Receptionist
•     Pet Ententainer
•     Mean of having Fun !
•     ..