Unofficial mod transforms the Playdate into a charming robot pet

Although Panic paused development on its official Playdate charging dock, an enterprising character artist has swooped in with an open-source kit (via Gizmodo) that transforms the device into an interactive robot pet.

PlayBot is Guillaume Loquin’s name for the cute add-on, which anyone with the right know-how can build. (For those without know-how, don’t be shocked if you eventually see others sell builds on platforms like Etsy.) Made with two wheels, a motor, a microcontroller and a 3D-printed casing, it taps into the Playdate’s built-in accelerometer, microphone and sensors to turn the indie game console into a charming desktop companion.

Loquin, whose day job is as a character artist at Ubisoft, put those skills to use in bringing the device to life. Although it won’t do anything crazy like have a chat, pop wheelies or play fetch, Loquin’s video below shows it reacting to a wake-up tap, navigating around a corner and getting dizzy after spinning the Playdate’s crank. It can also scoot around your desk, steering clear of obstacles and avoiding a plummet off the edge.

The developer estimates 45 minutes of play per charge. When you aren’t playing with the device (in game console or robot form), the robo-dock charges the console.

Loquin provides the 3D printing instructions, companion app’s code and firmware for its Teensy 4.1 microcontroller on GitHub.