Robot Butterfly
Robot Butterfly is a whimsical creative art robot that invites makers to experience nature's elegance alongside it! This is a toy you make by hand.
Perfect for intermediate makers, and ideal for beginners looking to advance their skills. Available now as a kit!
Kit
With the Robot Butterfly kit, you'll create a charming companion that flaps its wings and sparkles in response to its sensors. The kit includes motors, sensors, a circuit board, and a 3D printed enclosure. You'll solder through-hole components onto the circuit board, assemble the enclosure with fasteners, and attach the wings. Experience the magic of bringing a robot to life as you put all the pieces together. The microcontroller is programmable through the Arduino IDE with additional code available for future tinkering. Once assembled, simply press the buttons to activate party mode! 😎 PS: A holographic wing sticker is included too!
Highlights:
- Soldering a circuit board
- Assembling 3D printed pieces
- Programming a microcontroller
- Discovering details in nature
- Connecting with online community
Workshops
In Summer 2025 we conducted a 6-session Robot Butterfly workshop, sponsored by Awesome Kingston, for 7 participants to build their own Robot Butterfly kit at the Boys and Girls Club - STEM & Robotics Centre in Kingston, Ontario.
Community at a Glance
9
chrysalis hatched
(kits delivered)
1
observations in nature
(photos on #RobotButterfly)
6
virtual community participants
(members on Discord)Photo Gallery - Robot Butterfly in Nature
Technical Information
Specifications
- Microcontroller: ESP32-WROOM
- Power: 2x AA batteries or USB-C
- Sensors: MPU6050 6-DOF IMU, HC-SR04 ultrasonic distance sensor, DHT11 temperature & humidity, Photocell ambient light levels, 2x tactile buttons
- Actuators: 2x 9g Servo motors
- Indicators: Buzzer for sound, Neopixel RGB lights, two status LEDs, RX/TX LEDs, and power LED
- User-programmable with Arduino IDE, sample code provided
- Footprint for additional pins and peripherals provided
- Open source available at the following repositories: Robot Butterfly, Boostlet!, Keystone
Open Source Hardware
Robot Butterfly's design files are released as open source hardware, provided under these unique terms:
If you replicate it, please take a photo of it in nature and email it to me with the city and its nickname!
Contact
Page last updated: October 01 2025 11:05:42.