The Brief
Mettis Shanghai is a technology company that provides STEAM education solutions to primary school with their robots and correlated courses. They are aiming to immerse the kids in the environment of technology and get them to know about 3D modeling, 3D printing, coding and electronic components in an early stage through robot assembly.
The Challenge
High complexity in assigned electronic & functions:
There are more 20 components including Arduino board, motor, servo, microphone and different sensors with multiple wires each to connect. It adds to the difficulty in assembly and has potential safety hazard.
Low consistency of the design language & interactions:
The “housing” parts of all the electronic components are screwed together with all the switches and sersors exposed, which makes the robot looks like a mess, also increases the complexity of assembly.
Meet Mendes!
Mendes Robot is a comprehensive educational robot designed for kids aged 7-14 to learn about technology, coding, and the future. The appearance of our robot is adorable, alien-like and accessible, which could be attractive for students who is at the very beginning of the learning.
To reduce the complexity of assigned electrical components and functions, the structure of the robot is designed to be assembled in only 12 steps with clear and understandable logic. Still, more features were added to the robot to help the kids to immerse in the interaction with Mendes.
Identify Character
The biggest difference between Mendes and other robots is the two extraterrestrial tentacles of different sizes, chic shapes and smooth lines. Of course, children can also think of them as a pair of big flashing eyes. In any case, they allow Mendes itself to firmly grasp the attention of the children, enhance their interest in learning, and contribute to the process of robot programming learning.
Under the premise of cute styling, Mendes also brings a sense of future and technology. While the upper body was designed as the organic body, the lower body was in semi-integrated tough structure, combined with the angular language of the robot to form a small technical armor, which creates an infinite futuristic sense for Mendes.
Identify the Structure - 4D Puzzle
Interactions
The Final Prototype & Details
All the corners and sheets on the robot are treated with rounded corners, which reflects the care for the children. A variety of materials including UV Curable Resin, ABS, and translucent acrylic were selected to help students understand the relationship between appearance and correspondin functional areas. In terms of surface treatment,
We use the contrast of bright and matte finish, and the strong color to make the whole work come true to life.
The Product Kit
