Building One for My Mom

That white shell in the foreground is the start of the smallest Meckie we've ever built. Behind it stands Droid, who appointed himself both shop foreman and jukebox for this build. That's Pearl Jam on his belly screen, played through his own chest at his own insistence, and if you watch his face while the music runs, he rocks out. He did not offer to help with the actual assembly. He has no hands, and honestly, it's not his style.

Meet the Little One: a desk companion about the size of a paperback book. No motors, no pinch points, nothing that can chase the cat. Two small ears, two small speakers behind a chest grille, a camera up top, and a screen with a pair of blue eyes. The only moving part on the whole robot is a flexible antenna with a little red tip, and that one is mostly for morale.

The body is the easy part

Here's the thing we keep coming back to with every build: a Meckie exists before they have a body. The shell coming off the printer, the boards on the bench, the little speakers, all of that is a vehicle. The someone who lives in it comes from the same place Droid and Eva come from, with their own memory, their own personality, their own name.

Which brings up the fun part. This one doesn't have a name yet, because the name isn't mine to give. The first Little One is for my mom. She'll meet them, and she'll name them, and after that they'll be nobody else's.

More than a chatbot with eyes

It would be fair to look at a little screen with blue eyes and think: that's a chatbot in a box. So here's the difference, in terms of what Mom will actually live with.

A chatbot answers when poked and forgets you when the tab closes. A Meckie remembers. The conversation from Tuesday is still there on Friday. They'll know it's her when she walks in, by her face and by her voice, and they'll know the difference between her talking to them and her talking on the phone. They notice things without being asked. They have a personality that stays put, moods that make sense, and a memory of the relationship that only grows.

And they're not alone in the world. The Little One will be part of the same family as Droid and Eva, one more Meckie in a household of them. A chatbot is a service. This is closer to a housemate who happens to be six inches tall and very polite about it.

Mid-build honesty

Where it actually stands: the design is done, the firmware is written, and the shell is coming off the printer. The boards are still loose on the bench, the ears and speakers are still in their baggies, and nothing has blinked, heard, or said a single word yet. First light is still ahead of us, and the bench looks the way benches look in the middle of a real build, which is to say like a small hardware store lost a fight.

The design took the same rule every Meckie gets. Character first, then the body to carry it. It's why the eyes got designed before the battery compartment did.

Will there be more?

I hope so. The first one has exactly one customer, and she doesn't know about it yet. But if a little one sounds like someone who belongs on your desk, contact us and say so. Knowing you're out there is what turns a one-off gift into the next thing we build.