Bit-z-Bots: Customizable, 3D-Printed Robot Figurines

Bit-z-Bots: a web application for customizing and creating miniature 3D-printed robot figurines. Cute and unassuming, a Bit-z-Bot’s noble purpose in its 3D-fabricated life is to inspire children's (and adults'!) interest in creative technology.

What inspired you to make this project?:
Bit-z-Bots was made during my Software Engineering Fellowship at Hackbright Academy. Since its completion, I have garnered software development skills and have been rebuilding and refining it. Ultimately, I was compelled to create something physically tangible from software and to encourage young girls' interest in technology by combatting the lack of creative, intelligent, tech-related toys available for them. Bit-z-Bots, is a web application for customizing and creating miniature 3D-printed robot figurines, and is a tribute to my childhood spent borrowing my brother’s Legos and science kits. It is also a nod to the retrofuturistic, sci-fi movies my Dad and I would watch when I was younger, that I am sure influenced me to become fascinated with programming. I see Bit-z-Bots as a playful solution to the serious problem of women being a minority in tech; by affording young girls creative agency and mediating fun exposure to technology, I hope that girls will grow up maintaining their interest in technology. While focused on making a space for maker girls, Bit-z-Bots is for everyone and should inspire children and adults alike to be imaginative in a technical realm.