A Robot Dog That’s Almost Too Cute to Be True
Have you ever wanted a dog that doesn’t shed, doesn’t chew on the furniture, and only does what you tell it to? Well, the SunFounder PiDog Robot Dog Kit for Raspberry Pi is for you.
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The SunFounder PiDog Robot Dog Kit for Raspberry Pi
The SunFounder PiDog is another great robot kit in dog form. A few weeks ago, I got to review the SunFounder GalaxyRVR Mars Rover Kit and had a blast building and running the rover all over the place. This time it’s a more challenging build, a better onboard computer, and a little more personality. If Luke Skywalker had had a droid pet, it would have been PiDog.
What is it?
The SunFounder PiDog Robot Dog Kit for Raspberry Pi is another great robot kit from SunFounder. The purveyor and innovator of all things for Arduino and Raspberry Pi. PiDog is a robotic pet that you build, meticulously over a few hours. It has the same aluminum frame, a multitude of sensors, and no less than twelve servos to mimic the actions and behavior of man’s best friend.
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The many parts of the PiDog kit
PiDog can sit, stand, walk, trot, bark, howl, almost anything a real dog can do except those things that make dogs not fun. You know what I’m talking about. PiDog can react to faces, avoid obstacles, and obey voice commands. All kinds of fun things.
The process of building, debugging, and using programming makes the PiDog kit a great learning experience for anyone from teens to retirees.
What’s included?
The kit comes with just about everything you’d need, including:
- 25 Aluminum Frame Parts
- 12 Metal Gear Servos
- 13 Clear Plexiglass pieces
- 7 Electronic Sensors for sight, distance, touch, balance, and sound detection and measuring
- A controller board
- LED light strip
- Over 200 screws, nuts, standoffs, etc.
- Many cables and connectors
- Battery
- Tools
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The assembled PiDog
What’s NOT included?
One thing you will need to purchase separately is PiDog’s brain. The kit requires a Raspberry Pi to function. If you’re not familiar with Raspberry Pi, in a nutshell, it’s a small, yet capable, fully-featured, relatively inexpensive computer. The PiDog will run with any of four different Raspberry Pi models.
Tech specs
- Size After Assembly: 10" long x 9" tall x 6" wide (24cm long x 22.5cm tall x 14 cm wide)
- Compatible Motherboards: Raspberry Pi 4/3B+/3B /Zero W (Not Included)
- Expansion Board: SunFounder Robot Hat
- Camera: 5MP Camera
- Sensors: Ultrasonic Module, Touch Switch Module, 6 DOF (Gyroscope+Accelerometer) Sensor Module, Sound Direction Module
- Battery Type: 2 x18650 Battery
- Battery Life: 1.5 Hours
- Charging Time: About 2-3 Hours
- Connection Mode: WiFi/ AP
- Body Material: Aluminum Alloy
- Number of Servos: 12
- Action Set: Walking, sleeping, sitting, running, turning left, turning right, scratching ears, bobbing head, wagging tail, stretching, push-up
- Voice Control Commands: forward, backward, turn left, turn right, trot, stop, lie down, stand up, sit, bark, bark harder, pant, wag tail, shake head, stretch, doze off, push-up, howling, twist body, scratch, handshake, high five
- Use of RGB LED Strips: Emotional Expression
- Control Mode: SunFounder Controller App
- Programming Language: Python
Design and features
Just as the Mars Rover kit from SunFounder was an excellent robotics kit, the SunFounder PiDog Robot Dog Kit is also a very well-designed and thought-out kit. I have a feeling, that most, if not all of SunFounder’s kits are excellent to teach different aspects of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Assembling PiDog was challenging in a way that was not overwhelming. I would not recommend this kit for children under 12 years old. Many tiny parts require dexterity that I don’t think younger children would have. It took me about four or five hours to fully assemble, set up and calibrate PiDog.
The assembly instructions were very well designed and laid out. There are 74 individual steps to assemble PiDog. Most of these steps are rather short and only take a few minutes to attach a piece of the frame or attach and connect a piece of the electronic hardware. Several of the steps require you to go on the SunFounder website and follow more detailed instructions to load a piece of software onto the Raspberry Pi or calibrate a servo to make sure it is in the right position before attaching it to PiDog.
What I like about SunFounder PiDog Robot Dog Kit
- Excellent kit with very well-designed and thought-out steps
- Assembly instructions and videos are very easy to follow
- Online projects are well done and educational
- Easily customizable code
- Loads of extra parts
What needs to be improved?
- Kind of expensive
- Raspberry Pi not included
- Front-heavy and sometimes tipped over on the nose
Final thoughts
The review that I did of PiDog’s sibling kit, the GalaxyRVR Mars rover, had given me the most joy and was the most satisfying I had written for The Gadgeteer thus far. Well, Mr. Rover, you’ve been replaced. The SunFounder PiDog Robot Dog Kit is the new sheriff in town. The amount of personality this little robot dog has is infectious. I love just looking at it and watching the little guy walk or trot across the floor. I haven’t felt this connected to a robot since R2-D2 in 1977.
Price and Where to Buy
The SunFounder PiDog Robot Dog Kit is available for $179.99, and the Raspberry Pi 4 is available for $75.00. You can find them on the SunFounder website or Amazon.
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PiDog in action
