Inside the Robot Mouth That Works Like a Typewriter – Selectramatronics Explained
Imagine if your mouth worked like a typewriter. Not the loud “click clack” part, but the precision mechanics. That’s the idea behind Selectramatronics, a robot mouth inspired by the IBM Selectric typewriter. Instead of swinging arms and keys, the Selectric used a rotating “typeball” covered in letters. Press an “A,” and the ball spun so the “A” faced forward, then smacked it onto the page with satisfying speed.
This robot works the same way, but instead of letters, the ball is bristling with lip shapes. Each position represents a different phonetic sound. Motors spin the ball at high speed, snapping between shapes in sync with audio, which is driven by a Raspberry Pi. The result is a mouth that lip-syncs in real time, almost like watching a puppet with an unusually high IQ.
The build is a feat of mechanical planning. The video showing its creation doesn’t bother with narration — it simply demonstrates the concept from sketch, to 3D-printed parts, to final lip-syncing. It’s a hypnotic watch, especially when you see how quickly those mouth positions flip.
It may not be Hollywood CGI, and yes, fast speech can throw it off, but it’s still convincing. Your brain fills in the gaps, just like it does with animation. In the end, Selectramatronics is part art, part engineering, and a reminder that sometimes old ideas — like a typewriter ball from the 1960s — can inspire futuristic robots today.
And that’s your robot news update for today!
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