Ollie from Pritika Nilaratna on Vimeo.
Ollie is a blimp. He flies around and follows people and doesn’t want to intrude but just wants to chat if you’re not too busy. It gets excited when you talk to him and then floats around “exploring” his surroundings until he notices something interesting. He likes funny stuff. He’s also made of foil and floats around autonomously and flaps his cute little fins when he’s happy.
Yep. It’s a robotic blimp that has the emotional range of a shy, flying toddler. And he’s amazing and you can build one yourself.
Designed and built by Parson’s grade Pritika Nilaratna, Ollie is an open-source product and you can build your own using this Instructable and all of his code is available online.
Ollie is a blimp-based autonomous and ambient robot that dwells in human habitats. Ollie is equipped to demonstrate humor and patterns of delicate emotions. Ollie is observant, often flying in a manner suggesting curiosity for the world around him. Ollie reacts to voices by excitedly flapping his wings, communicating his friendliness and eagerness to be noticed. Ollie is often socially awkward and unobtrusive. Ollie wants to know about humans and yearns for their attention. Ollie is a performer.