Amid the steady stream of robotics toys, with anime-style aesthetics and limited functionality that are flooding the market, a few products are elevated above the fray. One of the more interesting ones was first introduced at the 2021 CES as the Robosen, Interstellar K1 Pro.
A FEATURE RICH LEARNING PLATFORM
Robosen originally entered the market in with a boost from the Transformers franchise by introducing their very first robot as a fully functional, totally transformative Optimus Prime, responsive to multiple voice commands. When prompted with, “Loyalty”, his deep mechanical baritone responds, “We will never forsake this planet or it’s people” accompanied by appropriate hero music. At 19” tall and a $999 price point this was meant for the serious Transformer fan. But Robosen was on to something. A robot with character, some attitude, under voice control and, with lots of servo motors for animation, and some very cool moves. By adding various programming modes this is the perfect entry point getting kids (even us big kids) interested in STEM. A key part of the Robosen mission.
MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE
Their product releases in 2019 and 2020 were loosely transformer-based, then in 2021 they hit the market with a totally humanoid bot, the Interstellar K1 Pro that brought all of their technology experience together – at a price point that more people could afford. Check out the specifications in the table below.
| Mechanical | Mechatronics | Programming Option | Control |
| Aluminum alloy frame | 17 servos – Chest, 1 Hands 3 X 2 Legs 5 X 2 | 30 Pre-programmed voice commands + Programmable Voice commands | Voice |
| ABS and Polycarbonate body panels | 18 micro-controllers. One per servo + a Primary | Block base programming using Scratch language | Application on Google Pay or Apple store |
| 349mm X 176mm x 99mm | Battery: Li-polymer 2000mAh 12V | PRP (Pose, Record, Playback) | |
| Weight < 940 grams | Add your own music | Visual 3D Programming | |
| USB Type C port | Built in gyroscope for stability |
A WHOLE LOTTA BOT
The K1 Interstellar Pro comes in at a $300 price point, but if you look around and check their web site you can find discounts. For three Benjamins you get 17 degrees of freedom and gyro-stabilization that allows the K1 Pro to do a headstand and even a backflip! Some of the pre-programmed moves include “Kung Fu”, push-ups, mountain climb and it can execute cool dance moves like the Funky Wiggle and Cyberpunk. Plus, you get four programming options available as well. That’s a lot of bot for the money.
HOW TO GET ONE FOR YOUR OWN
Robosen does produce a slightly less expensive version known as the “Scout” instead of the Pro. The Scout has blue body panels rather than the stealth look of the black and gray Pro, but it is not immediately evident how available the Scout model is. It does show up on their Indiegogo site. Robosen’s own web site features the K1 Scout as an “Econobot” and at a price point of $249 it has a reduced set of pre-programmed functions, though it appears to have all of the same hardware of the Pro model. The Robosen web site (https://www.robosen.com/store) also makes mention of the Pro model, so I’m guessing that you can order directly from Robosen. And to whet your appetite – here’s an unboxing video from KhanFlicks to give you an idea of what this bit of cool engineering is capable of.