Meet PenguinBot. It waddles, listens and talks back.
A 3D-printed penguin with thirteen servos, two microphones and a speaker. It turns toward whoever is speaking, moves its beak as it answers, and steps along on its own two feet.
Drag to turn it around
Idle · Breathes and glances about while it waits.
Thirteen servos, one personality.
Every joint has a servo of its own, so PenguinBot can walk, look, gesture and talk at once, the way a living thing does.
- 01
Walk
4 servos
A waddle like the real thing: both ankles tip the body onto one foot, then both hips swing the free leg forward.
- 02
Listen
2 microphones
One microphone on each side of the head hears which way a voice comes from, so the head can turn to it.
- 03
Look and emote
6 servos
The head rides on six rods, so it can nod, tilt, turn and lift in any mix, the way a real neck does.
- 04
Gesture
2 servos
Each flipper swings forward and back on its own shoulder servo, for waves and a bit of emphasis.
- 05
Talk
1 servo · 40 mm speaker
A servo opens the beak in time with its voice, which comes from a speaker behind the white belly.
A head on six rods.
Six servos under the head each push a rod up to a plate inside it. Moving them together lets the head nod, tilt, turn and rise in any mix, and a flexible bellows hides the mechanism.
- Nod
- ±18°
- Tilt
- ±18°
- Turn
- ±50°
- Lift
- +9 / −7 mm
Drag to rotate · tap a part
Printed outside. Hobby parts inside.
Every part is either 3D-printed or an off-the-shelf hobby component, from the servos to the small board that runs them all.
- Brain
- Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
- Motion
- 13 servos on a PCA9685 driver: six in the neck, two hips, two ankles, two flippers and the beak
- Hearing
- 2 × INMP441 I²S microphones, one on each side of the head
- Voice
- MAX98357A amplifier into a 40 mm speaker
- Power
- 2S LiPo, 2200 mAh, through a 5 V 5 A buck converter, with USB-C charging and a power switch
- Body
- 3D-printed shell, 29 cm tall, with a flexible bellows around the neck