We’re Ready for the Cardboard Robot Uprising

If there are two things we love here at Ernest, it’s boxes and bots. Packaging materials and technology go hand-in-hand so frequently that it’s hard to imagine one without the other — and companies are starting to get kids in on the relationship. Today we’re looking at cardboard robots that prove that corrugated and artificial intelligence are a match made in heaven!

Smartibot might be your new best friend. Made of nothing more complicated than some circuitry, a handful of screws and a cardboard die-cut, Smartibot is a robot kit that you can program into any number of amazing creations. Aspiring young programmers have made everything from unicorns to tea-delivering wagons.

GIF courtesy of Smartibot

Once your robot is fully constructed, that’s where the fun starts. With a dedicated smartphone app, you can control your mechanical buddy to drive it around the house. Your smartphone can even become Smartibot’s “brain” — when you strap your device to the robot’s back, it utilizes the camera to identify a handful of animals and objects and interact with them

If you’ve been tuned into the cardboard tech scene this year, you’ve no doubt heard about Nintendo Labo. The game makers first foray into the world of packaging has been a tremendous hit since it launched in April, and Nintendo is taking the excitement to the next level.

The recently announced Nintendo Labo Creators Contest is a competition for the best cardboard creators out there. The winners will receive a cardboard-themed video game console, and the submissions have been pretty amazing so far: we’ve seen a solar-powered accordion, a music box and a functioning alarm clock. Jimmy Fallon and Ariana Grande even got in on the corrugated fun!

Smartibot and Labo prove that when packaging materials and technology collide, the result is a creative solution that delivers real results. Creativity is a driving force here at Ernest Packaging Solutions, and nowhere is that more evident than our Cardboard Chaos series. Check out how we combined our technological prowess and love for packaging to make a corrugated bike!