bytewizard42i/johnny5pi-robot

Johnny5Pi Robot is a physical robot project inspired by the Johnny5i character. It is a 24-inch tracked robot powered by a Raspberry Pi, with a 3D-printed modular body, articulated tracks, expressive binocular eyes, sensorized arms and hands, and a conversational AI layer called Clara that runs through OpenAI. The project is currently in an early concept and architecture phase, and the images in the repository are concept renders, not finished engineering drawings. The design separates the robot into distinct physical modules: a head with binocular eyes, a rotating neck, torso shells, a removable backpack holding the Raspberry Pi, an internal frame, modular arms, compliant hands, a tracked base, an electronics tray, and a battery drawer. The batteries sit low in the tracked base to keep the robot stable. The preferred fabrication method is an enclosed 3D printer with roughly a 340 mm build area. Major parts will be split along natural service seams so they can be printed and assembled individually rather than as one large piece. A central safety principle defines the project. The Raspberry Pi and AI layer never drive motors directly. Instead, a local microcontroller sits between the AI and the physical actuators. Every movement request is checked against joint limits, speed limits, current limits, touch sensors, obstacle sensors, battery state, and a physical emergency stop. This means the AI can ask the robot to move, but a separate, simpler controller decides whether the movement is safe to execute. The repository currently contains documentation and concept media. The documentation covers system architecture, mechanical design, actuation and touch, a preliminary bill of materials, a development roadmap, and research sources. Folders for hardware CAD files and software are present but described as holding future work. The next milestone is to build two bench prototypes before committing to the full body. The first is a binocular head with pan, tilt, camera, microphone, and expressive motion. The second is a single lightweight arm with a compliant, sensorized claw. These prototypes will help the creator measure real actuator torque, power consumption, thermal behavior, sensor thresholds, and safe interaction limits.