When 17-year-old Sten decided to build Dave, the world’s first AI LEGO robot head that talks like a human, he didn’t anticipate the global embrace it would receive. The Dutch creator behind Creative Mindstorms introduced Dave late last year through a captivating video showcasing its remarkable capabilities.
Dave, a marvel of LEGO blocks and gears, boasts a strikingly human-like appearance. A wig simulates a head full of hair, eyes that roll in response to jokes, and eyebrows that raise add to its realism. A moving mouth and jaw give Dave the appearance of speaking and displaying emotions as it responds to prompts and questions.
Central to Dave’s abilities is its integration with ChatGPT, allowing it to engage in natural, flowing conversations, making interactions feel genuinely lifelike. Dave is bilingual, speaking both English and Dutch fluently, and can even play games like rock-paper-scissors.
Building this AI-powered LEGO robot was no small feat. Sten spent weeks designing intricate mechanisms, like the system controlling Dave’s eyes. The mouth alone, containing more gears than the entire head, took two weeks to perfect. Nearly 1,100 lines of code enable Dave to track hands and faces, recognize faces and objects, read text, estimate emotions, age, and gender, and even tell time and weather.
A shortage of LEGO blocks for other projects led Sten to dismantle Dave. However, overwhelming support from fans and channel monetization enabled him to rebuild it. Documenting the process on YouTube, Sten expressed his excitement and the challenges he faced. “I’m going to rebuild him in this video, so uh… Excited! Let’s get to it,” he announced.
Rebuilding Dave involved meticulous work, guided by photos taken during deconstruction and a song composed by ChatGPT and AI music producer Udio. Sten faced frequent frustrations due to missing pieces and had to carefully review photos to ensure accuracy. “This took many hours, but now an almost complete Dave is on its way,” he noted.
Software issues also arose, requiring updates and a new way to interact with the ChatGPT API. Testing “digital Dave” on his laptop, Sten asked, “Hey Dave, how are you?” to which Dave responded enthusiastically. Sten promised continuous upgrades to Dave and hinted at future projects, possibly adding arms and legs.
