raspberrypi.org/magpi The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book 75
ALONSO’S ROBOTS Projects
But Mira is more than just a
pretty face. Inside her body lies
a Raspberry Pi, laden with code.
Cover your face, for example,
and Mira will recognise the game
of peekaboo via her on-board
camera, offering up a shocked
squeal of excitement when you
say “Boo!” and reveal yourself.
Sit Mira beside you at a piano
and she’ll sing back to you any
note that you play, shaking her
head like a bird from a classic
Disney movie. And while all this
interaction is fun and pleasing,
Alonso is planning to take the
build further.
Robotic evolution
Alonso wants to explore the
idea of code evolution through
interaction and play. While it’s
cute to play with Mira – or her
successor Lumens, a mushroom-
shaped light that hides under its
cap – what if she could do more
with the information received?
What if, through the unique
individuality of the user, the
robot created its own, similarly
unique personality? While
explaining the concept, Alonso
touches on Conway’s Game of
Life and the concept of cellular
automation with code. Could
Mira and Lumens build their own
code and truly create their own
unique identities?Millimetre-perfect
Stepping back from the mind-
blowing concepts of interactive,
intelligent robots, the physical
build behind Mira and Lumens is
equally impressive. As an animator,
Alonso is highly skilled in 3D designusing the computer animation
software, Maya. And it was through
Maya that Alonso sculpted his
robots, enabling him to recreate
the Raspberry Pi and components,
and measure his 3D prints to the
millimetre. Those blinking eyes
that give Mira so much personality
come from two ultra-thin screens
that slip between the two layers of
her body. The space was so tight
that Alonso found himself having to
sand down solder just to make them
fit. And as for the way her ‘head’
moves over several axes? He took
the idea of the joystick he’d used as
a child to play games and recreated
the function using 3D-designed and
printed parts.
Mira and her growing family
are constantly evolving, and we look
forward to seeing how Lumens takes
shape moving forward. Hands up
who wants their own?Her lack of limbs and sharp edges
creates an instantly accessible
and pleasing character
>STEP-01
Design
Mira went through
multiple designs
during the process of
her conception, each
variation collected as
doodles by Alonso.>STEP-02
The bare bones
Each wire and
component has its
place inside Mira,
with no space to
spare. Given what’s
under the hood,
Mira’s small size is
an incredible feat
of design.>STEP-03
Those eyes
Mira’s blinking eyes
sit within the few
millimetres of space
between her head
and body. The small
LEDs are covered
with acrylic domes
that add a layer of
depth to her gaze.BRINGING
MIRA TO LIFE
With his latest creation, Lumens, Alonso aims to
incorporate the function of a night light into the robot,
while maintaining the ideas behind MiraMira’s control circuits sit inside her egg-shaped
body, with millimetres of space to spare