Mini Pupper open-source ROS robot dog kit lets you turn your dream for robotics into reality, which fits for schools, homeschool families and enthusiasts.
The robot kit contains all 3D printed parts you need to assemble a Mini Pupper. The completed dog-shaped quadruped robot measures 209 x 109 x 165mm and weighs 560g. As shown in the images, the robot dog looks like a miniature version of Boston Dynamics’ Spot. Meanwhile, the robot dog features a 12 DOF to bring it more biological movements than an 8 DOF equipped by most robots of thod category.
The robotic dog leverages Ubuntu and ROS (Robot Operating System) to operate its FSN (Full Self-Navigation) system, and it supports Melodic, Noetic, and ROS2 is in the progress.
Furthermore, Mini Pupper supports SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), so it’s capable of mapping its environment and learn the surroundings in real time using Lidar or a camera sensor.
Moreover, the robotic dog delivers multiple gait performances, such as Trot (diagonal pairs), Pace (lateral pairs), and the Bound (front and rear pairs). Its 240×320 LED display allows it to display custom facial animation.
With Raspberry Pi 4B, the robot dog is super expandable, and it also supports OpenCV’s latest 3D camera module, named OAK-D LITE. Using the module, the robot dog supports face detect, recognition, object detect, recognition, and more features.
The crowdfunding campaign for Mini Pupper is ongoing on Kickstarter. We can pledge $500 to preorder the open-source ROS robot dog kit. It will be shipped in November 2021.