The KaleidaBot has got a lot going on. A flamboyant display of light, motion, and color, this dancing robot is equipped with a mobile triangular base, legs that move in and out, a spinning midsection, streamers, LEDs, and a kaleidoscope mounted on top. The triangular base is essentially a three-wheeled car, but majority of the wheels are covered by the body, creating the illusion that the car is moving independently. The legs consist of wooden dowels running through a 3D-printed base, moved up and down by an arduino. The midsection spins, lifting the streamers up using centrifugal force. And, of course, the design incorporates LEDs and a kaleidoscope for visual aesthetic.

A machine with this many moving parts isn't exactly easy to build. Dawson has taken on building the triangular base, while Jason and Andrew have been building the rest of the robot. The base, which Dawson prototyped in foam, has been finalized and built out of wood (though Dawson is still considering adding an LED strip to the base). The other, more complicated, part of the robot is still in its middle phases. This part was built from the bottom up. Jason and Andrew tell me that the process has been a smooth one, but slower than they expected. We all look forward to seeing the product of their hard work.