Fun To Build
All Bottango kits come with an interactive 3D assembly program, to teach you step by step how to put your animatronic together.
Easy To Animate
Our animatronics are built fully integrated with Bottango, a state-of-the-art animatronic animation studio, designed to be as user friendly as possible.
When will this kit be available, and what will it cost?
We're ramping up production now, and are very optimistic that we will be shipping orders of our next kit in time for the holiday season. The design is done, and we're just working to keep the manufacturing process running smoothly.
The price will be announced when orders are open, hopefully in the next few weeks.
What exactly comes in this new kit?
It's our goal to give you 100% of everything you need to build and control your own animatronic.
Included in the box you get:
1) Parts and tools to form the structures and mechanisms.
2) Seven high quality, metal gear servo motors, configured ready to build.
3) Power supply, motor and control boards.
4) All required hardware, including bolts, nuts, push rods, ball joints, etc.
5) Cosmetic vinyl sticker decals to give him his cool look.
6) A pirate hat and earring.
There will also be a pro and standard version of the included control hardware.
What kinds of movements is this kit capable of?
Our latest kit is designed with seven axis of movement:
1) Move his mouth
2) Move his head from side to side
3) Move his head up and down
4) Rotate his head left and right
5) Move his left eyebrow
6) Move his right eyebrow
7) Rotate his mustache
What are the differences between the pro and standard versions?
In both versions you will build the same animatronic in terms of mechanisms, parts, and motors.
The pro version offers enhanced functionality in the control circuits.
The standard version will come with control hardware optimized for a USB connection to your computer. You create animations using Bottango's desktop software, and play them back on your computer with a USB connection to your animatronic. Audio is played through the speakers connected to your computer.
The pro version contains additional hardware to untether your animatronic. It will allow for wireless control from your computer without a USB connection to your animatronic. It will also contain hardware for saving and playing back animations without a computer, and audio hardware with included stereo speakers to play audio directly on the animatronic.
There may be a few more small perks in the pro version, but the animatronic itself will be the same in either version. There will also be a "standard to pro" upgrade kit available for later purchase.
Who can build this kit? Do I need to know how to code or build circuits?
Bottango's kits are meant to be as accessible as possible! We think that creative expression through robotics and animatronics is something everyone of all backgrounds can enjoy!
This kit comes with everything you need to build it, and doesn't require any soldering or circuit building. Because our kits integrate with Bottango, you can control and animate your animatronics without needing to write any code.
That being said, you need to be comfortable assembling parts together, as well as running and learning software and learning new skills.
How exactly do I control Bottango animatronics?
All of our animatronics are made to work seamlessly with Bottango, a state-of-the-art, intuitive animatronic animation studio.
With our technology, you can animate animatronics the same way you animate 3D characters for movies and TV. You move a 3D representation of your animatronic into desired poses, creating keyframes and synchronizing those movements with audio. If you have ever done any kind of 3D animating, the workflow will be very familiar. And if you haven't, it's easy to learn!
Out animatronic kits also comes with an example animation to learn from. However, the point is for you to build your own movements and animations. Bottango is a platform for you to build animations on, not a robot with a prebuilt set of behaviors and interactions.
Can the kit be used standalone or does it need to be connected to a computer?
The standard version of this kit is best used with a USB connection to your computer. The pro version can be used wirelessly, or standalone with animations stored on an SD card.
Can Pirate play audio? What does Pirate sound like when he's animating?
Bottango's software is built with audio playback as a key feature. You can animate your animatronic to audio in Bottango, and play audio back in perfect sync with your animations via speakers connected to your computer.
The pro version of the kit contains audio hardware and speakers to play audio directly on your animatronic.
One other note: Animatronics aren't silent while moving. You will hear motor movement while animating. It's simply a reality of motors at this size and gear reduction that you will hear some amount of motor sound.
Can I control multiple Bottango kits at once? Can I use Maxwell and this new kit at the same time?
At launch, only animation one animatronic at a time will be supported, however we're working hard on expanding functionality here.
We hope to have a software update soon that will give you the tools you need to animate multiple Bottango kits at the same time.
This will not require any new hardware, just new software functionality to unlock this feature.
Are replacement parts available? 3D Model Files?
We design our kits to be robust, but moving parts wear down and need TLC over time. If you need to purchase replacement parts, you can do so at Shop Bottango.
Upon request, customers with a valid order number are able to get STL and DXF files, as well as a template for the blank stickers.
Reach out to Contact@Bottango.com with an order number and from the email address associated with that order to request the files.
Who's designed this kit?
The principle designers are:
Evan McMahon - Bottango founder and software / experience developer.
Brian Roe - Hardware and animatronic developer.
I have another question.
We're easy to get ahold of!
The best way to talk with us is to join the developers in our Discord community! There you can talk about Louie, Maxwell, and Bottango: https://discord.gg/wyhSMQb
If you have general questions about Bottango's animatronic kits: Contact@Bottango.com
Press or Media? Cool! We're excited to talk to you: Press@Bottango.com
Anything else: Contact@Bottango.com