Aster Is an Affordable and 3D-Printable Humanoid Robot

Do you want a cool, humanoid robot? One that can walk around, grab things, and exhibit facial expressions? And how about if it’s open source and you can 3D-print it yourself? Well, I have good news: that exists! The Poppy humanoid robot project is completely open source and is designed for 3D printing. Unfortunately, it utilizes very high-end motors and costs thousands of dollars. But don’t despair! If you’re just interested in having fun and don’t need a robot that is as sophisticated as Poppy, you can build a derivative called Aster that should cost less than $200 to construct.

Aster is a remix of Poppy on Thingiverse that was designed by UnderTheNozzle specifically to be as low-cost as possible. Even if you 3D-print all of your own parts, the Poppy kit will still cost you more than $7,000 to build. Considering that it runs on a Raspberry Pi, it’s easy to see that the motors make up the bulk of that cost. Those motors do give it the ability to walk on two legs, and the design is remarkable. But not many of you are willing to spend the equivalent of a certified pre-owned Honda Civic on a robot. By replacing the expensive Robotis Dynamixel modular smart actuators with standard hobby servo motors, UnderTheNozzle has made the design accessible to a much broader audience.

Of course, the use of MG996R servo motors in place of the Dynamixel motors does dramatically affect Aster’s capabilities. For instance, it can’t walk. As UnderTheNozzle explains, it’s more of a “cheap puppet-like robot for beginners.” That said, you can still move its arms and legs around. It even has a Samsung Galaxy S4 face! In total, 16 servo motors are used for movement, and those are all controlled by an Arduino Uno board through a servo shield. Everything else can be 3D-printed on just about any model of 3D printer.If you like Poppy but aren’t made of money, Aster could be the alternative for you.