Polaris Mini is a small robot that hosts the northstar stand at events. It’s a Reachy Mini from Pollen Robotics, with a personality of its own. It talks to people waiting in the queue, explains what northstar and The Vessel are, sends visitors to MARK-E for a portrait, and dances when someone pulls out a phone.
Why we built it
A stand at an event is usually a table, a banner and a few people repeating the same pitch. A robot that greets you is more fun, and it gives people a reason to stop. It’s also a good way to show what an open-source robot and a voice model can do together.
Polaris Mini is built to forget. It keeps no memory of the people it talks to, only adds someone to our contact list after they say yes, and portrait photos are deleted after a day.
Where it’s going
Its first public appearance is at Tectonic in Ghent on 21 October, next to MARK-E. Right now visitors have to start the conversation. Next it should notice when someone walks up and say hello first.