Seeing Robotics with New Eyes
Since Microsoft launched its Kinect motion-detecting system for video games, hackers have been eagerly repurposing the $150 device. Garratt Gallagher, a robotics engineer at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, used it to build a robot called the Bilibot that he is selling online for $1,200. The device, which is small enough for Gallagher to carry in his arms, can perceive its surroundings, move around, and manipulate objects. The Kinect is a key element, Gallagher says, because it can detect its environment just as well as a sensor that costs $5,000.

A. Kinect
The Kinect provides data on more than 250,000 points in three-dimensional space, at a rate of 30 frames per second, with color information included. With these “eyes,” the Bilibot can sense its surroundings at much higher resolution and accuracy than was previously possible without expensive equipment.
B. Custom Power Board
Fueled by a cheap lead-acid battery, this component determines where to direct power throughout the Bilibot. It sends energy to the Kinect and the computer that processes the data it produces, and it charges the battery that the robot uses to move.
C. Robotic arm
The Bilibot’s robotic arm uses motors that let it lift about three pounds, which is more than many hobbyist robots can handle. Its gripper is powered by motors originally used for vent blades in air-conditioning units; Gallagher was able to buy them as surplus parts.
D. Custom computer
The robot relies on a 3.1-gigahertz Intel i3 processor with integrated graphics. In addition, it has four gigabytes of RAM and a 160-gigabyte hard drive. Gallagher tested eight different computer platforms before settling on this configuration.
E. Robot Operating System
The software that controls the Bilibot runs on top of the open-source Robot Operating System. Users have contributed packages that allow a robot to recognize gestures, track motion, and perform similar tasks. ROS is maintained primarily by a research institute called Willow Garage in Menlo Park, California.
F. iRobot Create
At the base of the robot is an iRobot Create, which is essentially iRobot’s floor-cleaning robot, the Roomba, minus the vacuum. This device enables the Bilibot to move. It includes a bump sensor, four downward-facing infrared sensors, wheel-drop sensors, and a side-facing infrared sensor to find walls and way points.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI
The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models.
The Biggest Questions: What is death?
New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.
Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist
An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.
How to fix the internet
If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.