[Report on Ory-san's Online Craft Workshop] Building a Robot Arm That Both Kids and Adults Can Enjoy

Hello, this is Sakamoto.

Scenes from the craft workshop

A craft workshop for building a robot arm was held on August 15th.

This workshop was led online by Ory Yoshifuji, the developer of the avatar robot OriHime.

Participants built their own robot arms using everyday materials like copy paper, cardboard, and duct tape.

When people hear "robot arm," many might think it's difficult and requires studying at a university or research lab to build one. However, Ory-san's teaching style was so easy to understand and fun that I think all the participants felt, "I can do this too."

Ory-san explained the mechanisms of robots and robot arms in a way that even elementary school students could easily understand.

Furthermore, I think the fact that they were made from common items like copy paper, cardboard, and duct tape really boosted everyone's motivation.

Believe it or not, the giant robot arm in the video attached to the tweet I mentioned earlier was made from cardboard and plastic sheets.

In any case, Ory-san's explanations were so clear and skillful that they made us think,

"I see, so that's how simple the mechanism was!"
"It looks like I could easily make one myself too."

It was truly amazing. You could really see the spark in everyone's eyes change.

There are many people in the world who explain simple things in a complicated way, but few who can explain complicated things simply; Ory-san truly embodied that.

People of all ages, from elementary school students to adults, participated in this workshop, and it was particularly impressive to see the adults getting so absorbed in building.

Actually, we were watching this lecture while connected with other participants online, and everyone looked like they were having a great time.

Thoughts on the craft workshop

Some people have already posted their thoughts on Twitter, and I share the same sentiment as this person.

I wish I could have watched this stream when I was in elementary school! I wouldn't have had any trouble with my summer vacation homework.

Ory-san has the skill to teach in a way that is easy for people to understand and also motivates them. He has that power to get people involved.

For example, an intern university student who listened to Ory-san's lecture immediately went and built a giant cardboard robot arm.

Furthermore, this internship involved working on the development of a full-scale robot arm, and we developed a robot arm that even bedridden people can operate remotely to cook.

Workshop Archive

For those of you who have read this far and are interested in Ory's craft workshop, don't worry, there is still time.

If you join the "Ory Independent Research Club," you can watch the craft workshop archive at any time throughout August.

Ory's Independent Research

"Ory's Independent Research Club" is an online community hosted by Ory, where various projects and information exchanges related to robots, manufacturing, and more take place.

To join the Ory Independent Research Club, please register here.

Also, the "Ory Independent Research Club" has plenty of other fun content besides the robot arm craft workshop. Registration starts at 1,000 yen per month, but I think it's a great value given the wealth of content.

I have previously summarized information about the "Ory Independent Research Club" on note, so please take a look at that as well if you'd like.