The mini (and cheap) version of the Boston Dynamics robot dog

The mini (and cheap) version of the Boston Dynamics robot dog

If Boston Dynamics' Spot is the robot dog par excellence, then it is not too far off to define Kyzen as the robot chihuahua that caters to a much larger audience. Spot has quickly become a web phenomenon thanks to the precise (and even a little disturbing) movements and the various demonstration videos in which it dances, runs, jumps or is used in the field for surveillance (also in Pompeii) or as a shoulder law enforcement. It is certainly one of the most famous automatons of recent years and also one of the most advanced, but on the other hand it has a high cost which makes it a device dedicated to an exclusively professional audience. Kyzen lowers the demands with more compact dimensions, simpler components, but without skimping too much on the functions to support creativity that make it one of the most interesting projects to appear recently on Kickstarter.

And in fact in a few days it has far exceeded the limit it had set and will be produced, with the first units expected to be delivered from next September. The shape is identical to Spot with the legs that can bend and bend to walk, run and bend in various positions, there is an articulated head and above all a parterre of components that guarantees a certain autonomy and that opens the doors to experimentation. Despite the spider legs, Kyzen can lift almost a kilogram of weight so as to guarantee the addition of sensors or modules at the user's discretion, it can walk in all directions, rotate on itself, advance close to the ground and bend on various sides . Three cameras are mounted on his head, which allow him to detect objects and faces (such as those of Nicholas Cage in the demonstration video) so as to follow a target not only with his head, but also while walking. Everything is processed on board, therefore it does not require you to connect to a computer or a smartphone as a shoulder, it can recognize shapes and colors, map an environment avoiding obstacles and understand which is the best way to reach a certain point.

Kyzen follows Nicholas Cage

Large 432 x 380 x 254 mm and weighing 2.5 kg, it includes a 4200 mAh battery and a 256 GB memory, but - as you can imagine - it is fully customizable . At this moment it is still possible to finance the project starting from 385 euros with shipments in September for the kit to be assembled or to 445 euros for the one already assembled with shipments to Europe.