Design

The Design phase is where a user’s idea truly comes to life. In our web-based 3D studio, we’ve built a guided—but infinitely flexible—workflow that lets anyone from hobbyists to seasoned engineers rapidly conceive, validate, and iterate on robot or IoT designs. Here’s what happens, step by step:

1. Module Palette & Search

   • Categorized Library of Core Hardware Building Blocks: All available components—actuators, joint modules, sensor packs, chassis frames, compute bricks, power units—are organized into intuitive categories.

   • Advanced Filtering: You can filter by performance specs (torque, range, power draw), certification status (e.g. SIL-rated, IP-rated), or even your preferred manufacturer.

   • Quick Search & Favorites: Bookmark your go-to modules and search by keywords (e.g., “360° lidar,” “high-torque servo,” “Coral TPU”).

2. Drag-and-Drop Assembly

   • Snap-to-Grid & Alignment Guides: As you drag in parts, our physics-aware engine auto-aligns mating surfaces and suggests compatible connectors, so you never force-fit mismatched geometry.

   • Constraint Handles: Click on any joint to immediately tweak rotational limits, stiction profiles, or damping characteristics—no CAD expertise required.

3. Real-Time Visualization & Simulation

   • Kinematic Preview: Instantly preview range-of-motion, workspace envelopes, and center-of-gravity shifts as you add or move modules.

   • Dynamic Load Simulation: Run a quick simulation of payload handling or locomotion in a virtual test arena—see if your arm drops the box or your rover tips over before committing to hardware.

4. AI Module Selection

   • In the AI Models panel, browse and activate from our curated suite of pre-tuned, edge-optimized AI Modules, including:

     • Vision & Perception: YOLOv8-Tiny, DeepLabv3+, Meta SAM

     • Localization & SLAM: ORB-SLAM3, RTAB-Map, Google Cartographer

     • Control & Path Planning: RRT, PPO, MPC modules

     • Language & Instruction: GPT-4[Vision], Gemini-lite, LLaMA-2

     • Edge & TinyML: MobileNetV3, EfficientNet-lite, TinyML models

     • Domain-Specific Agents: CropScout-V1/V2, InspectBot-V1, DroneSurveyor-V1 (aerial mapping), WarehouseBot (Inventory Sorting)

   • Please note that every build ships out with a baseline control progrram (Core Controle Module) that handles Boot & Health-Check, Communications (basic network stack (MQTT/ROS Bridge and secure heartbeat to the platform) and Manual Override & Safety defaults.

5. AI-Powered Assistance (Phase 2)

   • Smart Module Recommendations: Based on your high-level goals (e.g., “inspect 20 m pipelines,” “autonomous field mapping”), our AI suggests optimal sensor-compute pairs or chassis layouts.

   • Error & Compatibility Warnings: If you try to exceed a module’s voltage rating, or pair an incompatible bus protocol, the system flags it immediately and offers corrective alternatives.

6. Metadata & Certification Prep

   • Automatic BOM & Safety Metadata: Every part added carries with it metadata for weight, power draw, ASIL/SIL targets, and certification lineage—feeding directly into your later audit trails.

   • Version Control & Collaboration: Snapshots of your design are tracked automatically. Invite teammates to comment, branch off experimental variants, or merge improvements back into the main build.

7. Design Validation & Export

   • Pre-Certification Check: One-click “Health Check” runs through your design’s safety requirements (e.g., redundancy, fail-safe states) and highlights any gaps before you move on.

   • Export Options: When you’re ready, export manufacturing files (STEP, STL), firmware skeletons for each compute brick, or publish your digital build record directly into the “Publish & Certify” step—no extra tooling needed.

By combining an intuitive UX with powerful back-end checks and AI guidance, the Design phase ensures you’re not only creating something that looks good on-screen, but something that will perform reliably, safely, and predictably in the real world.