Meet Wigl!
Wigl is an interactive educational robot with a musical ear.
Wigl hears notes (from any instrument)
and responds with real-world movements, lights, and special dances! Kids, and adults, are motivated to practice their instrument.
Through sequenced musical notes, you
can program special dance moves for Wigl! The combination of right brain
creativity with left brain logic makes this a unique robot for any family!
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How does Wigl work?
Wigl has a microphone, a microcontroller (brain), and some motors for movement. Wigl is ALWAYS listening for musical notes, and through some complex math, it can hear individual music notes. There are two (2) modes built into Wigl:
(1) Auto Mode
When Wigl hears a musical note that it knows, it moves and lights up! Specific notes make Wigl move in specific ways. For example, an A might move Wigl forward, while a D could move Wigl backward. If you play a series of notes together to form a song, Wigl celebrates with a special dance!
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(2) Programming Mode
Instead of Wigl moving once it hears a note, it stays still and stores it in its memory. Every note played is memorized, like lines of code in a computer program. Then, to run your Wigl program, you play a special "ENTER" note, and watch Wigl go!
This is a fun way to problem solve (e.g. Wigl'ing out of a maze) and teach kids the basics of coding: notes as pseudo-code!
Wigl is born
My 3rd grade music teacher gave me my
first musical instrument, the recorder. Learning to play clean notes,
practicing mundane songs... none of this was fun. Plus it was frustrating since
I had to practice in a room, by myself. I wished I had a musical buddy that
would enjoy my attempts, and dance to my music.
Flash forward 20 years later, and I
still have that same desire (now with the ukulele). But this time, Wigl was
there to help me out. If I didn't play a note correctly, Wigl wouldn't move. This motivation to see Wigl dance around kept me practicing, and even led me to learn songs!
After the first prototype was built in July 2013, we started testing the unit with the Renaissance School
in Portland, OR. The kids loved the robot, but it didn't have a name (or a
face) yet.
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With the help of some wonderful designers, we began implementing the kids' input and creating the outer form that you see today. From sketch, to clay mold, to 3D print, Wigl was born!
The past 16 months have been spent testing Wigl with hundreds of children and parents at local schools, museums, and children's events. We've taken all of that feedback and input and invented what we believe is a truly unique learning experience.
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In November 2013, we entered Wigl into the Oregon Technology Business Center's (OTBC) Electronic Systems Pitch competition and were awarded the grand prize for our technology approach and business model.
A few months later, in March 2014, we entered Robohub / SV Robo's international Robot Launch 2014 competition and won two awards. The first was the "Crowd Pleaser", awarded by Indiegogo, for having the best chance of going viral. The second was the "Leanest Startup" award for frugal use of funds and updating Wigl through continuous customer feedback.
The positive reception, both from the kids and the startup community, has given us the confidence to bring Wigl to classrooms and homes everywhere.
Let's make little engineers
I'm an engineer, and I can see that there is a worldwide shortage of quality engineers. People seem to believe that strong Math skills are the most important prerequisite for being an engineer. However, I think that creative problem solving is far more important, and is really the foundation of Engineering. With Wigl, we can develop this skill and get kids excited about Engineering!
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Think outside the tablet
Today's robots for children require a separate screen interface (e.g. computer,
smartphone, tablet) for control, and this causes the majority of their attention to be
focused on that screen. We want to reduce screen-time, and I believe that
direct interaction with an educational robot will enhance their learning and
creativity.
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Wigl Perk Levels
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The Wigl T-Shirt will be produced locally, navy blue with a white logo:
How will your funds help?
Our team has gone through five (5) different iterations to bring you the version that you see today. Each of these iterations included additional features/functionality that parents and children helped us identify. We've crossed major hurdles in note recognition, noise cancellation, and even majorly altered the internal components to bring the cost down.
With this current prototype, we are at the final hurdle. And we need your help to get Wigl out to children everywhere!
Your funds will be used to cover the costs of production-quality plastics, professional PCB (printed circuit board) design, and improved functionality. We will be working with wonderfully talented Industrial Designers to prepare Wigl for mass production, and a quality Electronics Manufacturing to ensure high reliability circuitry!
Most of all, your donation will help us create a new type of educational robot. One that explores the creativity of children, without requiring a separate smart device / screen for control.
Let's create a new generation of educational robotics for children!
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About Wigl's Creator
Hi! I'm Vivek Mano, the creator
of Wigl. I'm an Electrical Engineer from the University of Florida. While at UF, I created my first robot, an autonomous tennis-ball retrieving robot. Since then, I've had fun building various other hobby robots.
For the past 8 years, I have been involved in Sales, Marketing, and
Business Development within the Industrial Automation industry (big robots).
But my background, and my passion, is in embedded electronics and robotics
(smaller robots). Being able to combine both experiences is what led to Wigl.
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Wigl in the
News
GoLocalPDX: http://www.golocalpdx.com/lifestyle/wigl-a-dancing-robot-that-teaches-children-to-play-instruments.
OTBC (Oregon Technology Business Center) Hardware Pitch 2013 Winner: http://otbc.org/node/600.
Robohub Robot Launch 2014 "Crowd Pleaser" and "Lean Startup" awards: http://robohub.org/meet-the-winners-of-robot-la....
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Risks and
Challenges
Manufacturing
Creating the plastics tool (mold) takes anywhere from 20-30 weeks to be built. There is also a risk that first series articles will have slight abnormalities that need to be fixed. By using local manufacturing for both plastics and electronics, we will minimize those risks!
Ambient noise
Since Wigl listens to everything, it's best used in a quiet environment. Having a TV on in the background, or in a group setting with people talking, causes Wigl to "hear" non-musical notes. Just like most sound-recognition devices (e.g. Siri), the quality of sound is paramount.
We'll be working hard to minimize that through creative software and circuit designs. My Electrical Engineering background will come in handy!
Frequently
Asked Questions
Will Wigl work with any instrument?
YES!
Wigl listens to everything: recorder, guitar, ukulele, flute, fiddle, bagpipes,
a singer's voice... anything that produces musical notes can control Wigl.
Wigl cannot distinguish individual notes from percussive instruments, such as drums.
How is Wigl powered?
Since
Wigl is propelled by high quality DC motors, a 9V battery is used.
How does Wigl hear songs?
Just like the celebration dance to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in the video, Wigl dances when it hears complete songs and song snippets! Wigl listens for the correct sequence of notes, and if it likes what it hears, you'll know it!
For which notes does Wigl listen?
Wigl listens for E5, F5, G5, A5, B5, C6, and D6.
Credits
Huge thanks to the folks that make Wigl look as great as it works!
Ali Greer - Video
Sage Warner - Graphics
Adam Horbinski - Industrial Design
