A FIELD GUIDE TO MAKING ROBOTS
Build the robot.
Understand
every part.
Meet BDX-R. Your way into the mechanics, code, and small discoveries that make a robot come alive.
Start with the basics Explore all 42 modulesONE ROBOT. THE WHOLE PICTURE.
From “what’s a joint?”
to “I know why it moved.”
You don’t need CAD experience, a robotics degree, or a robot on your desk. Start with a picture, learn the idea, then try it yourself.
Follow BDX-R from CAD and simulated walking to your first 3D print, physical assembly, wiring and first steps. Then train for the robot you built, create expressive character animations, and explore LEDs, a charging dock or new mechanisms. Each module pairs a clear explanation with a practical lab and a short knowledge check.
NEW / CHARACTER & EXPRESSION
A robot with
something to say.
Seven guided modules connect Disney’s published robotics research with your own gestures, head movements and expressive walking experiments.
Try the animation studio- 01Author a curious look.
- 02Preview it on BDX-R.
- 03Give it a physical performance.
YOUR WORKSHOP NOTEBOOK
A course you can build on.
Meet the robot
See the systems inside a small walking machine.
Forces, units & motion
Do the small calculations that prevent large mistakes.
Actuators & QDD
Understand what is inside the joint before choosing one.
Sensors & feedback
Know what the robot can actually measure.
Your software workbench
Use files, Python and Git with confidence.
Install & explore CAD
Learn the workspace before editing the robot.
Sketch to solid
Make an editable spacer, one deliberate constraint at a time.
Read the BDX-R assembly
Turn an unlabeled shape into an engineering inventory.
Physical → digital
Build a useful model from measurements and explicit assumptions.
Joints, frames & descriptions
Give the geometry a mechanical meaning.
Your first physics laboratory
Install MuJoCo and bring one hinge to life.
Bring BDX-R into simulation
Load the right description, then inspect what it actually means.
Make a joint follow a target
Understand stiffness, damping, saturation and error.
Inside one walking decision
Observations in. Actions out. Meaning everywhere.
Run, measure, and debug a walk
Build evidence you can compare, not just a convincing animation.
How a walking policy is learned
Read rewards, randomization and evaluation before buying compute.
Turn geometry into an assembly
Tolerances, fasteners, materials and a buildable parts map.
Meet your printer & slicer
Learn what each tool does before sending your first job.
Choose the right build files
Separate robot manufacturing geometry from things that merely look printable.
Your first print & fit experiment
Make a small part, measure it, and learn what a successful print actually means.
Color, materials & the AMS
Choose appearance and mechanical behavior as two separate decisions.
Orient, inspect & print in batches
Turn individual candidates into a controlled manufacturing queue.
Fasteners, inserts & assembly fit
Learn how a joint holds together before tightening it.
Build the legs
Turn matched parts into inspected mechanical subassemblies.
Torso, head & covers
Complete the structure while keeping the robot serviceable.
Power and communication
Read the electrical architecture before making a harness.
Build the harness
Make every connection identifiable before applying power.
Commission one layer at a time
Practice the checks before the first physical movement.
First stand & first steps
Earn each increase in freedom with an observed result.
Close the loop with the real machine
Measure, update the model, test and keep a way back.
Train for your built robot
Use measured hardware to improve a simulated learner.
LEDs and power budgets
Make the robot expressive without disturbing its walking controller.
Charging dock hardware
Design the support and charging boundary before autonomous approach.
Learn to dock
Build perception and a state machine before trusting an autonomous charge cycle.
Tails, arms and new policies
Change the body deliberately, then earn back the walking baseline.
Make movement mean something
Animatronics, animation principles, and a character of your own.
Keyframes, curves, and timing
Author your first clip, then measure what you asked the joints to do.
Attention, gaze, and little reactions
Build a responsive character without starting with computer vision.
Put your gesture on BDX-R
Joint names, axes, neutral poses, and an honest MuJoCo preview.
Give the walk a character
Contact phases, animation references, and a controller that can follow them.
Build a small performance system
Background motion, triggered gestures, operator control, and clean interruptions.
Your robot, with a personality
Commission a small repertoire and prove that the performance is repeatable.
KEEP YOUR WORK
Your discoveries
belong in a notebook.
Lab checklists, answers, and notes save in this browser on this device. Export your notebook to keep a backup. Progress does not sync between computers.
Built around Kayden Knapik’s BDX-R and the open-source BDX-R community. This is an independent Gubi Labs learning course. Model revisions, real hardware, and simulations can differ; the lessons show you how to check them. Completing a simulation lab is one step toward a measured physical build.
Model attribution & source