Objective:
To design the body-shell for Zebo, a bot that will be used to teach children (between 6 and 12 years of age) the fundamentals of programming
through an mobile based app interface.

 

Specifications:
Bot has to be made using child-safe materials. Bot has to be mass manufactured.
Bot should be able to move along accompanying tiles that form the maze.

 

 

 

 

This bot is designed to teach children fundamentals of coding. Each packaged product/box will contain a bot and a set of tiles.
An app has to be downloaded to fully exploit the learning potential of the product. The app contains the story of the bot and a learning module.
The learning module consists of 9 levels of mazes. These mazes will be represented graphically in the app.

 

The child is expected to lay out the tiles on a solid surface according to the maze she/he is to solve. Once the tiles are laid out, the child will place the bot on the start tile as marked on the app interface. The child will program the movement of the bot through the digital app
interface. The child has 3 movement choices for the bot - move forward, turn right, turn left. A combination of these movements will enable the bot to move from start to finish of the mazes. The bot will use line-follower mechanism to move on the tiles as programmed by the child.

Inspiration: ‘Ropid’ – it is a tiny robot designed and developed by Tomotaka Takahashi of Robo Garage.

 

Behind the concept: Basic shapes are used, and parts are kept to minimum and simple form. Designed using the principle of DFD (Design for Disassembly). Kids can disassemble it and reassemble it.

Color: Bright Color

 

Charging: Charged using USB cable. (Slot given lower end, Behind ZEBO)

Indicators: Red color indicator attached around the chest. It is designed to increase the feeling of dynamicity and visual feedback which is continuous in nature to kids.

 

View 1: Front climb

View 2:  Back and Side climb

(Test output with no texture and lighting details, low-quality render for easy upload)