When Stan decided to build Dave, he didn't imagine that people around the world would embrace the world's first AI LEGO robot the way they did.
The 17-year-old Dutch and creative mind behind Storms released a video showcasing Dave's talents late last year.
A marvel made of LEGO blocks and gears, Dave bears as uncanny a resemblance to a human as can be, complete with a wig that frames a full head of hair. A pair of eyes that roll over your worst jokes, supplemented with eyebrows that add to the realism.
A mouth with movable corners and a jaw that moves up and down give Dave the appearance of speaking and emoting as he responds to cues and questions.
The core of Dave's capabilities is the integration with ChatGPT. This allows Dave to engage in natural, flowing conversations, making interactions feel remarkably real.
Dave is bilingual and speaks English and Dutch fluently. Dave can also play games like Rock Paper Scissors.
Building an AI-powered LEGO robot was no small feat. Stan spent weeks designing complex mechanisms, such as the system that moves Dave's eyes. With more gears than a whole head, the mouth alone took two weeks of his time.
About 1,100 lines of code power allow Dave to track hands and faces, recognize faces and objects, read text, count, predict emotions, age and gender, and even tell time and weather.
Reconstruction of Dave
While a lack of LEGO blocks for his other projects forced Stan to scrap Dave, a wave of fan comments, viewer support and channel monetization made it possible for the creator to rebuild Dave.
Stan took to YouTube documenting the process, his excitement and the challenges involved. “I'm going to recreate it in this video, so ahh…excited! Let's get to it,” the young creator announced.
Stan began rebuilding the AI-powered LEGO robot, guided by what he had learned during the rebuild and inspired by a song written for the occasion by ChatGPT and music producer AI Udio.
Despite his excitement, the process was not without frustration. Stan was often faced with missing pieces and had to scrutinize the photos to ensure accuracy. “It took several hours, but now a nearly complete dive is on its way,” he notes.
There is a more worrying sign on the software front. As Stan progressed, he realized that parts of Dave's software were outdated. The Dutch creator highlighted the changes needed, including a new way to interact with the ChatGPT API.
A promising future
As Dave took shape, Stan took a moment to check the “Digital Dave” running on his laptop. “Hey Dave, how are you?” she asked, to which Dave replied enthusiastically.
“From now on, I'll be slowly upgrading Dave for years to come, as well as building other machines,” Dave promised, motioning for Dave to add arms and legs.
About the editor
Amal juice choco Amal writes code on a typical business day and dreams of clicking pictures of cool buildings and reading a book on fire. He loves tech, consumer electronics, photography, cars, chess, football and F1.