CHROMAVERTEX — Building a Swarm of Curious Little Robots

A community project for experimenting with robot networks
Last month, Ahmet introduced us to something genuinely exciting — a project that sits at the intersection of biology, mathematics, electronics, software and pure creative fun.

The core question ChromaVertex asks is beautifully simple:
Could a group of inexpensive robots learn to find one another, organise themselves, and perform interesting collective behaviours — using only what they can see?

Each VertexBot is a remarkable little machine. Twin cameras give it 360° vision. It has ears, a voice, and a colourful light tower that gives it identity and personality. It navigates its world autonomously — no remote control, no network commands — reacting to what it sees and hears, just like a bird in a flock or a fish in a school. The emergent behaviour of the swarm is the magic that nobody fully predicts in advance.

And we’re building 30 to 50 of them.

Why is this special?

Commercial research robots cost thousands. A VertexBot costs around $100. That’s the point — keeping hardware accessible means everyone can own one, take it home, modify it, and bring new ideas back to the group.

The design builds on Ahmet’s SparkNode robots, with a GitHub repository already live at ChromaVertex GitHub containing a costed parts list and everything you need to get started.

There’s a role here for everyone!

One of ChromaVertex’s guiding principles is that participation scales to your interest and skill level:

• Assemble and build your own VertexBot hardware
• Design new 3D printed parts and enclosures
• Program behaviours on the ESP32
• Dive deep into camera calibration, sensor fusion, localisation, formation control, graph theory, or synchronisation algorithms

There is always another layer waiting to be explored — and our own Professor of Mathematics is on hand to take you as deep as you want to go.

For our graduate and early career members, this is particularly significant.

In an era where AI is reshaping what a technology career looks like, the engineers who thrive will be those who can think across the full stack — from a motor gearbox to an emergent flocking algorithm. ChromaVertex touches every discipline, demands real problem solving, and produces something you can demonstrate, explain, and be proud of.

A swarm of robots you helped build, behaving in ways that surprise even their creators, is a portfolio piece no AI can generate for you.

The end results WILL be amazing. Come build them with us.