Due to a technical glitch, we’ll be running a backup show this week. Please enjoy this reposting of one of our top Over Coffee®episodes of 2023!

A robot which can do something new, isn’t unusual.

But a miniature wearable robot, which can track health, monitor your workout and even teach you dance moves?

That’s the “Calico”, developed by researchers at the University of Maryland’s Small Artifacts Lab, or SMART Lab.

Anup Sathya, currently a doctoral student at the University of Chicago, is one of the developers of Calico.

While studying at the University of Maryland, Anup worked as a research assistant at the university’s Small Artifacts Lab–or SMART Lab, for short.

During that time, he and his team created and evolved the tiny wearable robot.

To say they miniaturized the technology, seems like an understatement. The current model weighs less than an ounce, and is smaller than two inches in diameter.

And it monitors its wearer by traveling over their clothing, operating on a track inspired by railways!

In this interview from Summer, 2023, Anup discussed the creative process behind Calico, explained how it works and shared some of the capabilities of this miniature, wearable robot.

On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

• How Anup first became interested in electronics, computer science and robotics:

• The story of Calico;

• A unique “arts” application of the tiny robot;

• Some of the ways the design evolved over time;

• How students first reacted when seeing the tiny robot on-campus at University of Maryland;

• The reasons behind the name “Calico”;

• Resources Anup recommends;

• A closer look at the tasks Calico can perform;

• How the robot “coaches” a wearer;

• How users can transfer the robot, from one person to another;

• Some of the aesthetic considerations involved in creating Calico;

• The reason behind a statement Anup makes, about his research, on his personal website.