Ben Madilynn
YouTuber Maker’s Muse has two cats, which – like many cats – enjoy chasing an automated toy. While the cats’ original “Robomouse 3000” toy was fairly entertaining, ‘Muse decided to take things several steps further. He designed and built a remote-controlled FPV cat toy that intermittently dispenses food.
To drive the mouse-bot two gearmotors are installed in a differential movement/steering configuration, while a Malenki Nano board takes care of both the Rx and ESC functionality. A standard RC transmitter unit is used to control the little robo-rodent, while an FPV headset is implemented for a mouse-eye view.
Maker’s Muse developed two mouse iterations. The first takes on a vaguely biological (or perhaps even computer) mouse form, and features a cotton rope tail for extra feline interest.
The second version has larger wheels for speed and maneuverability – cut out of EVA foam – and features food dispensing capabilities. Since this type of foam isn’t particularly grippy, ‘Muse cut incremental divots around the wheel’s circumference. The second version also adds an FPV camera and transmitter, which makes the build significantly more interesting.
To finish off the video below, Maker’s Muse set up a cardboard cat-village seen just after the 4:30 mark. He’s able to navigate robo-mouse through the village to get the secret code, in a challenge resembling a noir/horror video game with gigantic (appearing) cat monsters. While interested, the cats seem neither threatened nor angry at the robotic intruder, content to observe and toy with it.
