Home Butler/Server Robot (NIVI)

What did you make?
This is my "bring me a soda bot." I nick named this robot NIVI, and NIVI is a 3 foot robot that can do simple tasks like serve drinks from his mini fridge and use his hand to grab various things. It is controlled by two Arduino boards, Arduino Micro and Arduino Duemilanove. One of the boards has a motor shield and a wave shield for motor and voice control. Its mobility platform is an iRobot create and the head is made of foam board for now. 


How did you make it?
Before the idea to build a robot surfaced I had no interest in robotics at all. In fact I didn't even know what an Arduino board was until 2 years ago. I got this idea when I was looking at the featured Instructables and saw multiple robotics projects within that week. My interest in robotics skyrocketed. I then did a lot of research and ended up buying an Arduino Duemilanove board within a few days.   

This was a solo project and ended up being a good way to unwind after a long day of school.

This project has been evolving since last summer. I have gone from a foam board body to a  wood body to the version I have now.  The head started out as a bowl with a webcam in it and the hand was made from a soda bottle. As you have heard i have gone through many prototypes until I got to this (almost) finished product. This is why I chose my username to be prototypeBOTs.

Where did you make it?
I made this project at home. I was fun to do this after school but other than that it doesn't really connect to anything else I do

What did you learn?

The biggest challenge was learning to program. I had to learn how to program the Arduino boards and I also learned about how the iRobot Create works. Another challenge was choosing a design I liked for the robot. I had gone through three different head designs, four arm designs, 2 body designs, and 2 head designs. I was proudest of watching the robot light up and move around. I really enjoy the feeling of successfully completing a project a doing it well.

If I could do it all again I would buy more up to date Arduino boards and I would use proper equipment. I would have bought an Arduino Due and I would have been really excited about buying a Raspberry Pi. I would make the head out of plexiglass and have it light up with LEDs. I would also have liked the body to be a sturdy matte white plastic.


Here is a video of him