For makers
Build one. Fix one. Change one.
Robi is fair source. Every design file and every line of code will be published before launch, free to build yourself, and all of it becomes open source automatically within two years. That is written into the licenses, not a promise. If kid.studio ever winds down, everything opens within 90 days.
What opens, and when
Published on day one. Open on a clock.
Free to read, build, modify and use at home from the day it is published. For two years we keep the commercial rights; then each layer converts to a standard open license on its own. The licenses do the work, so nobody has to trust us.
| Layer | License at publication | What you can do on day one | Opens fully |
|---|---|---|---|
| Device firmware | FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 | Read it, run it, change it, build your own | Each release becomes Apache-2.0 two years after it ships |
| Hardware files: carrier board, BOM, printable shell | PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0 + written conversion covenant | Build your own freely; no commercial fabrication from our files | Converts to CERN-OHL-S 2.0 two years after publication |
| Companion app | FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 | Source available at campaign launch, same terms as the firmware | Each release becomes Apache-2.0 two years after it ships |
| Pairing protocol and device API docs | CC-BY-4.0 | Fully open. Rebuild the app from scratch if you like | Open from day one |
| Cloud, story generation, premium content | Proprietary, with a sunset clause | The layers with a real running cost stay closed | If kid.studio ceases operations, released within 90 days |
| The Robi name and marks | Trademark | Build freely, just not as "Robi" | Never |
Repositories: robi-firmware and robi-hardware publish before launch; robi-app at campaign launch. Until a repository is public, nothing here is a present-tense claim.
What you would need
A Pi, a board, two speakers and a printer.
The published bill of materials is short on purpose. Nothing in it is exotic, and the carrier board can be ordered from any fab from the files.
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
The computer. Socketed onto the carrier board.
kid.studio carrier board
Amplifier, battery charging and gauge, controls, light. Files published; order it from any board house.
Two 32 mm full-range drivers
Off the shelf. Drop in, close the box.
Knob, two buttons, battery, USB-C
A rotary encoder, two tactile switches, a 2500 mAh lithium cell, one connector.
The shell
Print the front, the back and the handle from the published files. PLA or PETG, any colour you like.
Robi does not depend on our app, or on us.
The device has its own web interface on the home network, and the pairing protocol and API are documented under CC-BY-4.0. If our app vanished tomorrow, the community could rebuild it from the documents, and your Robi would keep playing in the meantime.
Flash the published firmware image, add your own feeds, and it is a working player without a single kid.studio server in the loop.
Build notes
We publish the build as we go.
Rev A boards are on the bench now. Board reviews, the speaker mount that survived, the ones that did not, and what the first families say when they take one home: the notes go out as they happen, not as a launch story later. Read the build notes
Not a maker? Robi also comes assembled, in a box, with the red handle already on. Join the waitlist
Kickstarter, early 2027
Be there when Robi ships.
One email when preorders open. Build notes in between if you want them. Nothing else.
Join the waitlist