Ducky · frizzanteo

Humans are trying to make robots look as human as possible, literally, but is this what actually works? With my colleague Giulio Dalla Porta we tried to envision a more friendly robot aesthetic.

The Brief

The brief of the project was to develop a concept of a robotic element for the urban life of the future. We decided to focus on waste collection and specifically on the littering issue. We decided to go for a "companion" that can blend in the urban life and act as an inhabitant of the city itself.

Early 3D model of Ducky walking — Early 3D model exploration

Multiple angles of Ducky model — Multiple angles of the companion

Design Process

In the beginning we put a lot of effort in understanding what was not working with already existing robots. Robots like "Sofia" or "Spot" are very uncanny and tend to scare most of the people. In a way they feel wrong. Other designs instead, specifically the ones coming from toy design, tend to be more familiar and joyful.

After sketching and some physical models, we realized the first shapes of the robot. We used soft curves and colored parts to communicate playfulness, like in toy design.

Early concept sketches of Ducky with exploded view and scale reference — Early concept sketches — exploded view and scale reference

Physical model of Ducky with highlighted movable parts — Physical model with highlighted movable parts

Close-up render of Ducky in outdoor setting — Close-up render in an outdoor setting

Key Features

To reduce the uncanny feeling we introduced a dynamic display that allows the companion "Ducky" to change expression based on the situation: green when a task is performed, red if it needs help, or yellow for standby.

We decided to use colored orange parts to signal the elements that can move and interact with the real world: the mouth to collect waste, the legs and the tail for movement purposes.

Emotions of the Robot — 4 different status of Ducky to communicate with the enviroment

Technical drawing — front and side view of Ducky with section lines — Technical drawing — front and side section views

The Home

We conceptualized a "home" for the duck — a docking station used to recharge the batteries and store the trash that is collected. The home acts as a visible landmark in the urban environment, signaling Ducky's presence in the neighborhood.

Isometric sketch of Ducky's home docking station — Isometric sketch of the docking station

3D render of Ducky's home in an outdoor environment — The home rendered in context

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