Modular humanoid face platform that can see, hear, speak, emote, recognize people, remember, and dream
Cogs is a comprehensive humanoid face platform that runs locally on a laptop and can be extended to real hardware (servos, mic arrays, depth cameras) without changing UIs. It features a modular architecture with 15+ microservices handling vision, perception, speech, emotion, memory, and conversation capabilities.
Face UI with Canvas/WebGL display, person bubbles, viseme animations, and status toasts
Control Panel with status dashboard, relationship cards, dream reports, and system metrics
The Dream service schedules re-embedding of relationship cards and updates preferences from conversation transcripts. This allows the system to consolidate memories and improve its understanding of people over time.
OpenAI
Embeddings
pgvector
Vector DB
Semantic
Search
Two build configurations: fast prototype path and production-ready premium build
$1.5K
- $1.8K
Jetson Orin Nano Super (8 GB)
$249 • Starter brain with JetPack 6
Luxonis OAK-D Pro (Wide)
$399 • Depth+RGB+IR, onboard AI
ReSpeaker Mic Array v2.0
$64 • Far-field + DoA/beamforming
1TB NVMe SSD + Micro Servos
8-12 MG90S servos for face/pan/tilt
✓ Upgradable to AGX Orin later
✓ Full software stack included
✓ 3D-printed head shell
$3.2K
- $4.0K
Jetson AGX Orin 64 GB Dev Kit
$1,999 • ~275 TOPS, local RAG/Dream Mode
Luxonis OAK-D Pro + Smart Servos
Dynamixel XL-330/XW with feedback
60 GHz mmWave + VOC/CO₂
Human presence, air quality sensing
2TB NVMe + Production Shell
Shielding, serviceability, premium finish
✓ 360° situational awareness (opt. LiDAR)
✓ Advanced emotion detection
✓ Nightly dream consolidation
| Subsystem | Part / Model | Qty | Est. $ | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compute | Jetson Orin Nano Super (8 GB) | 1 | 249 | Starter brain; JetPack 6 |
| Storage | NVMe SSD 1 TB (PCIe 4.0) | 1 | 120 | Transcripts, embeddings, logs |
| Vision | Luxonis OAK-D Pro (Wide) | 1 | 399 | Depth+RGB+IR, onboard AI |
| Audio In | ReSpeaker Mic Array v2.0 (USB) | 1 | 64 | Far-field + DoA/beamforming |
| Audio Out | Compact powered speakers (3.5 mm) | 1 | 30 | TTS output |
| Motion MCU | Teensy 4.1 | 1 | 30 | Real-time servo control |
| Servo Expander | PCA9685 16-ch (opt.) | 1 | 15 | More PWM channels |
| Actuators | Micro servos (MG90S class) | 8–12 | ~80 | Face + pan/tilt |
| Displays | Front LCD ~11.6″ HDMI IPS | 1 | 174 | Face UI |
| Rear status touch LCD ~7″ | 1 | 70 | Config/diagnostics | |
| Power (servos) | 5 V 10–20 A regulated PSU | 1 | 75 | Isolated from Jetson PSU |
| USB / IO | Powered USB 3.0 hub (7-port) | 1 | 50 | Stable power for OAK-D + mics |
| Env sensors | BME280 + Ambient light sensor | 1 | 15 | Comfort + auto-dim |
| Presence (opt.) | 60 GHz mmWave human-presence | 1 | 30–45 | Detect nearby in dark |
| Mechanical | Head shell + mounts (3D-print) | 1 | 250–500 | Brackets, trays, covers |
| Wiring/Misc | Cables, harness, standoffs, heat-shrink | 1 set | 100 | Build kit |
| Subsystem | Part / Model | Qty | Est. $ | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compute | Jetson AGX Orin 64 GB Dev Kit | 1 | 1,999 | ~275 TOPS; local RAG/Dream Mode |
| Storage | NVMe SSD 2 TB (PCIe 4.0+) | 1 | 200 | Transcripts, embeddings, snapshots |
| Vision | Luxonis OAK-D Pro (Wide) | 1 | 399 | Low-light depth; offload inference |
| Audio In | ReSpeaker Mic Array v2.0 | 1 | 64 | Far-field + DoA |
| Audio Out | Compact powered speakers | 1 | 30 | TTS |
| Audio Fusion SW | Whisper + openSMILE + emotion model | — | SW | Pipeline (direction+tone+text) |
| Motion MCU | Teensy 4.1 | 1 | 30 | Deterministic PWM + watchdog |
| Servo Control | PCA9685 or Dynamixel interface | 1 | 15–60 | Choose per actuator type |
| Actuators | Smart servos (Dynamixel XL-330/XW) | 8–12 | 400–1,200 | Smoother, feedback, safer |
| Displays | Front LCD ~11.6″ HDMI IPS | 1 | 174 | Face UI |
| Rear status touch LCD ~7″ | 1 | 70 | Relationship cards, logs | |
| Presence | 60 GHz mmWave sensor | 1 | 30–45 | Human presence/breathing |
| Env sensors | BME280 + Ambient light sensor | 1 | 15 | Comfort + auto-dim |
| Air quality | VOC + CO₂ module | 1 | 20–60 | Context + safety logging |
| Situational (opt.) | RPLIDAR A2 (2D 360°) | 1 | 230 | 360° approach awareness |
| Power (servos) | 5 V 20 A PSU (fused rail) | 1 | 90 | Isolated from Jetson |
| Networking | Powered USB 3.0 hub + Wi-Fi 6E dongle | 1 each | 50 + 60 | Bandwidth + fast backhaul |
| Mechanical | Production head shell/brackets | 1 | 400–800 | Shielding, serviceability |
| Dream Mode | (nightly jobs; included in SW stack) | — | — | Summarize/prune/re-index |
OAK-D Pro (Wide) for robust low-light depth and onboard AI acceleration
ReSpeaker → VAD/DoA/SPL → Whisper ASR → openSMILE/emotion → fused event
Nightly summarization, pruning, vector re-index for long-term relationship memory
Expansion Ready: Headers reserved for LiDAR and VOC/CO₂ sensors. Add them later without rewiring.
Front-facing display
Operator interface
Face recognition
Audio processing
Speech synthesis
Servo control
Relationship DB
Conversation AI
Memory consolidation
System metrics
FastAPI
Backend
PostgreSQL
Database
Docker
Containers
Node.js
Frontend