SunFounder PiDog AI Robot Dog Kit for Raspberry Pi 5/4/3B+/Zero 2W,LLM ChatGPT4o/Gemini/Grok, Voice and Video Recognition, Python, Control via App, Battery, Gyro, Camera(RPI NOT Included)

I’m kind of an older guy (57) but recently I started looking into Raspberry Pi, programming an own Voice assistant with locally deployed AI models etc. I wanted to turn it up a notch and found SunFounder where the PiDog was my direct choice to learn about the combination of mechanics and electronics. I loved the building and programming although I ran into 1 little issue. At some point when running some of the examples where all servo’s were turning on, the power dropped to the Raspberry Pi and rebooted. This is where the difference comes in…… SunFounder has an awesome community on their forum helping out each other with challenges they are facing. SunFounder themself are actually very engaged on this forum and after briefly communication they brought me into contact with their official support and without any problems I received a replacement robot hat which is working perfectly fine right now. Customer Support, good customer support, is a rarity these days but SunFounder just simply delivers. In the meanwhile I also have the Pironman5 and if all well, I will receiving today the Mars Rover on Arduino to take me to the next level ;) I can only recommend.

Pidog just seems so happy, wagging his tail and doing superman and howling and trotting tricks. I watched the assembly videos and used the paper assembly instructions too - the two together complemented each other, and the only problems were where I failed to follow the instructions, which nevertheless were really good. You do need patience and good dexterity to build it - some parts are quite small and the screws and nuts for servos can be challenging. You want to think about building it as a fun challenge, like a puzzle, not as a chore full of difficulties, and you'll have a good time. It's not a simple build - there are about 70 steps, but all the parts are there and clearly labeled. The documentation is really well done - from the hardware build to how to install & run the software. The canned example programs are fun and pidog is perky and does fun stuff. It has so many sensors and behaviors. Support is good. There's a forum for asking questions and you get an answer in a day. I dropped Pidog and broke a neck servo, and also the speaker failed so no sound initially. Sunfounder shipped me replacement parts which arrived in about 2 weeks. I've run all the examples, and I'm working through the section where you create your own programs based on the source code they give you, and I find the function examples documentation clear. I suspect there's an API doc in there somewhere but haven't found it yet. It is not a software programming course, but rather a vehicle for trying python programming in a robot. Depending on your skill level with software you may spend more or less time trying to understand and re-create the sample code they give you. I'm an experienced roboticist and I was prepared to struggle and the whole experience turned out to be pleasantly problem-free. There will be learning experiences for those not so advanced - but that's why you choose a kit like this. But be careful not to give it so someone who doesn't have the right mind-set.

Die Montage ist dank guter Anleitung + Videos gut machbar. Einige Schrauben sind argh klein, nur als Hinweis für Menschen mit Sehschwäche, es ist von Vorteil schon einmal mit einem Feinmechaniker-(Uhren-)Werkzeug gearbeitet zu haben. Eine Schraube hatte ich im Servo zu stramm angezogen und brach ab - der Support schickte auf mir anstandslos und kostenlos das Ersatzteil zu - vorbildlich!! Nun mache ich mich nach dem Zusammenbau nun an die KI, erste Tests bewältigte der Hund schon meisterhaft und die Python Projekte des Herstellers machen Lust auf mehr. Fazit: Tolles Projekt und absolut empfehlenswert!

great product, I had my own raspberry pi and was working on AI vision and speech anyways so it is a pretty good instrument for that. I wish they had designed the feet a bit better so it could walk better on different terrains. a simple 3D printed foot makes it a lot better, and I am planning to add doggy ears which would make him look cute(and not terminator dog!) over all instructions are easy to follow and parts well made, extra pieces added and for the price I think it is a fair product. basically an open source robot you can practice coding on, pretty hardy too, fell a few times from top of the table and still all intact!

E' stato divertentissimo assemblarlo . Istruzioni chiare e precise. Il Robot l'ho montato su un Raspberry Pi 4 da 8 gb che disponevo ma è compatibile anche con altre versioni. Fa egregiamente quanto descritto. Consigliato