BUILD YOUR OWN VOXHEAD
Gather Tools and Materials
Shopping, Planning, and Preparing
There are three types of materials you will need to assemble your desktop VoxHead robot. The first is the electrical components and hardware like motors and cameras and screws. The second is a complete set of plastic structural parts. Lastly, you will need some tools and supplies. There are also some minimal technical skills that are called for.
Electrical Components and Hardware Bill of Materials (BOM)
The following is a list of electrical components needed to build a VoxHead robot. First you will want to decide which SoC (System-on-a-Chip) computer you will use as the robot’s on-board computer. The two options supported currently are the Raspberry Pi 5, and the Jetson Orin Nano. The Orin can be thought of as a Raspberry Pi 5, with faster and more CPU cores, and a GPU. The Orin is the better choice if you want to do fancy computer vision skills with the robot, or if you want to host an on-board AI. Going with the Orin is also more expensive.
Parts specific to using the Raspberry Pi 5:
- Raspberry Pi 5 – 4GB OR Raspberry Pi 5 – 8GB OR Raspberry Pi 5 -16GB
(keyboard, mouse, monitor, and cables not included – we assume you have these) - Raspberry Pi 5 Power Supply
- Hat for NVMe drive with active cooling
- 2TB NVMe drive size=22x30mm, OR e.g. 256GB NVMe drive size=22x30mm
- Clock Battery (not required)
- MicroHDMI male to HDMI female adapter
Total: ~ $279.95
Parts specific to using the Jetson Orin Nano:
- Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit or buy it now on Amazon for a scalper price. They were in stock here as of August 14, 2025.
(should include power supply and active cooling system)
(keyboard, mouse, monitor, and cables not included – we assume you have these) - 2TB NVMe drive – physical size = 22x80mm
- DisplayPort male to HDMI female adapter
- DiplayPort “L” adapter
Total ~ $385.18
General Parts:
- Arducam module x2
- Replacement camera on short cable x2
- 30 watt amplifier
- 3 Ohm 2″ speaker (comes in four-pack)
- USB male A – male A cable (comes in two-pack) for plugging in Amplifier to Computer
- Amplifier 12v power supply
- Speaker wire (pretty much any small wires will work for this)
- SSC-32U motor controller <— best for now. We are moving to use a PCA9685 with Arduino controller in the future
Note: there are Chinese knock-offs of the SSC32 for cheaper prices – search AliExpress. - USB “L” cable short replacement for the USB cable that comes with SSC32U.
- Motors power supply (6v, 3a)
- Motors power supply barrel jack (“Amplifier 12v power supply” above, comes with spare one)
- Micro digital servo motors (MG90s) x11 (comes in six-packs)
- Standard digital servo motors x5
- Servo extension cables x3 (comes in fifteen-pack)
- LED rings x2
- LED ring controller or remote controller <— for LED rings, not necessary but useful for sanity testing
- XIAO SAMD21
- JST SM 3 Pin connectors (need 2, comes in 20 pack)
- USB power cable (need 1, comes in 6-pack) <—- can just find an old USB cable and cut one end
- Anker four Port USB hub
- USB C to USB A male-male adapter (need one, comes in two-pack: Xiao to USBhub)
- USB “L” connectors (need 3 or 4, comes in 4-pack)
- Torso Webcam with built-in microphone
- Power strip cube
- Power switch (need 1, comes in 3-pack)
- Power cable <— choose depending on your country and its electrical outlet style
- Box of screws ($12.99)
- Rubber feet x4 (comes in 20-pack)
- 1.5 inch aluminum tubes x2
- Ball bearings x2 (comes in 10-pack)
- Box of springs
- 4-40 6″ threaded rod x2 (need 2, comes in 6-pack)
- Ball links x4 (2-pack)
- Jumbo paper clips x8 (box of 100)
- Roll of [white] filament x2
- Amazing Goop or some kind of non-permanent glue, do not use heat gun glue
- Clear fingernail paint
- 5lb weight
Total: ~ $546.53 USD
Jetson Orin System: $546.53 (general parts) + $385.18 (suggested Orin system) = ~ $931.71
Raspberry Pi 5 System: $546.53 (general parts) + $279.95 (suggested Pi5 system) = ~ $826.48
( + plastic parts, tools, time, patience)
Unfortunately, some parts cannot be purchased individually (that we could find) and you need to buy a pack of parts when you only need one. Hopefully, some of the parts, like power cables or USB cables, you already have laying around and-or you can find used.
* Full disclosure: the Amazon links above tell Amazon that you came from our website. As an Amazon affiliate, we make a small commission from qualifying purchases. It does not cost you anything extra. We spent lots of effort shopping for and testing the best components at the best prices we could find at the time of this writing. We are merely sharing this information with you. Please feel free to shop around for the best deals you can find, and please let us know if you find any better deals on components!
Plastic Parts
The plastic parts for building a VoxHead robot are 3D printed. You can download the 3D print files from the Downloads Page of this website. If you cannot or do not want to print the plastic parts for yourself, we can recommend partners to print the parts for you. Please contact us if you would like to talk about options.
Tools and Supplies
Tools needed for assembly:
- Electric screwdriver – highly recommended, but a 4-40 hex wrench will work
- Soldering Iron and solder – or treat yourself to a Weller
- Servo tester – USB powered, not required, but can be useful
- Voltmeter – not required but can be very useful
- Needle nose pliers – required
- Wire cutters – maybe can get by with cutter part of needle nose pliers
- Philips screw driver – a long
- Sharpie magic markers – for custom iris color (not required)
If 3D printing and prototyping your own VoxHead parts:
- 3D printer: the Bambu A1 Mini works great, also, the Prusa Mini gives a little extra print area if you want to use the printer for other projects.
- A file and sandpaper
- A 2.5mm and 3mm drill bit and Dremel tool, or hand drill can be useful.
- Spray paint – for exterior plastic parts
* Full disclosure: the Amazon links above tell Amazon that you came from our website. As an Amazon affiliate, we make a small commission from qualifying purchases. It does not cost you anything extra. We spent lots of effort shopping for and testing the best components at the best prices we could find at the time of this writing. We are merely sharing this information with you. Please feel free to shop around for the best deals you can find, and please let us know if you find any better deals on components!
Skills
Assembling a VoxHead is a project intended for teens and above. It is a good project to do as a group, or under the guidance of a parent or teacher. There are a few expected skills that are called for, such as:
- The ability or willingness to learn to set up a single board computer running Linux to host the VoxHead software (step-by-step instructions provided).
- The ability or willingness to learn to do some basic soldering, and testing connections with a voltmeter.
- If you will be 3D printing the required plastic parts yourself, you will need access to a 3D printer and to know how or be willing to learn how to do 3D printing.
- A natural interest in learning robotics and human-robot-interaction. No software development experience is assumed or required, but it is helpful.