LIVESTREAM STARTS TOMORROW
When I go live, a robot arm called Nero sits on a table in my workshop with a camera pointed at it. You don’t need an account anywhere, an app, or any technical knowledge to control it. You type a message in the YouTube live chat, and a few seconds later the arm does what you asked.
Behind the scenes, an AI model running on my own computers reads your message and turns it into a motion. The motion is then planned and checked for safety before the arm moves an inch. If your request can’t be done safely, the robot says no and tells you why, right on the stream.
The one command you need: !do
Start your chat message with !do, then describe what you want in plain English. Some to try:
!do dance!do wave hello!do pick up the blue cube!do swing the arm out left to right!do take a bow!do draw a big square in the air!do reach straight out toward the camera and hold it there for 5 seconds
Messages that don’t start with a command are ignored by the robot, so you can chat normally with everyone else.
What happens after you send it
Your request joins the queue. It appears in the Up next list on the right side of the screen.
The robot works out a plan. When your turn comes, the bottom of the screen shows your request and how the robot understood it.
The arm moves. Simple moves take a few seconds. A pick-up takes about 20: the robot finds the object with its camera, grabs it, lifts it, checks with the camera that it really picked it up, and puts it back.
You get the result. The Recent list shows whether it worked, with a sound effect to match.
YouTube streams run a few seconds behind real time, so give it a moment before you assume it missed you.
What the robot can do
Built-in moves: wave, nod, sway, sweep, bow, clap, dance
Picking things up: objects on the table that the camera can see (right now, the blue cube)
Custom motions: shapes and poses in the air in front of the arm: squares, sweeps, reaching out, holding a pose for a few seconds
Type !skills (or !help) and the stream shows the full list for 15 seconds.
Get priority control with a Super Chat
Send a Super Chat of $1 or more and you get exclusive control: one minute for every dollar.
Try it out !
The rules
One
!doper viewer per minute. This keeps the queue fair.The queue holds 20 requests. If it’s full, try again in a bit.
Keep requests under 200 characters. One clear action works better than a paragraph.
Unsafe requests get refused. That includes throwing things, hitting the camera, moving outside the arm’s safe area, and anything mean. The reason shows across the bottom of the screen, so you can rephrase and try again.
Tips for good results
Describe the motion, not the goal. “Swing the arm slowly from left to right” works better than “do something cool”.
Name objects the way they look on camera. Say “the blue cube” and the robot finds it.
Ask for holds and pauses. “Hold it there for 5 seconds” works.
If you get refused, read the reason. Usually a small change in wording fixes it.