Maker Shashwat Batish releases plans for a $70 humanoid robot with LLM capabilities and functional arms.

The 3D-printable humanoid robot ALANA was unveiled this week, offering makers an opportunity to build their own AI-powered assistant for just $70 in parts.

Designed by Shashwat Batish, ALANA features a pair of functional arms with human-like hands capable of lifting objects up to 500 grams when fully extended. Despite lacking legs and a head, the skeletal robot includes six degrees of freedom in each arm and uses a camera system for facial and object recognition.

“The whole build cost me roughly $70,” Batish said of the project. “That’s every part; 3D printing materials, electronics, and power supply.

The robot is controlled by a low-cost Espressif ESP8266 microcontroller that communicates with an external computer through a wireless interface. Such a configuration would enable ALANA to utilize a locally-hosted Qroq Llama 3 System for natural conversation and spatial awareness.

“Her arms aren’t just for show,” Batish said. “Not bad for a robot that costs less than the average phone charger.”

The project’s affordability comes from clever material choices, including PVC pipes for structural elements and 10rpm Johnson-geared motors that provide 20kgcm of torque and 120kgcm of stall torque while using just 15W of power.

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For makers interested in building their own ALANA, Batish has published complete documentation, including 3D print files, microcontroller firmware source code, and Python scripts for the backend system on Instructables.