WRLD
Inspiration
I learned about Disney Imagineering’s BDX droid in August of 2024 and loved the look of their droids movement and was very interested in the RL control.
When I started my design, I wasn’t thinking or directly trying to remake what they had, but it obviously subconsciously directing my design. I mainly focused on a design resembling my friend’s lego BD-1 while trying to make it creatively my own.
I’ve been a Star Wars fan from as long as I can remember so this type of creation always lingers in the back of my mind. Since my thesis involves RL, it seems like the right time to start a project like this.
Project
An affordable (forced lol) bipedal droid for testing reinforcement learning-based control and computer vision models. This project specifically will push my full stack design abilities for a mechatronic system, especially one running AI on a microprocessor.
As of 09/27/2025, I have completed most of the mechanical design and am now focusing on a PDB/switch module for power distribution and easy handling of buttons, buzzers, and LEDs.
Mechanical Design
- 9 DC Servos (Feetech STS-3215-C044) –> 2 for hip, one for knee per leg; 2 for neck; 1 for torso translation
- Head featuring an LED button eye and a RasPi Cam 2 eye along with a snap-in “hat” for different functions. Carrying hat shown.
- Carbon Rods for legs which increase stiffness while decreasing weight
- Engraved name
Electrical Desgin
Currently designing the PDB. Designing it to use two LiPo batteries and switch between them easily and safely. More to go but here is what the current board looks like:
