The person behind RobotEd
RobotEd is built by Samuel Hills.
I have always been drawn to robotics: the point where code stops living only on a screen and starts moving in the real world. RobotEd is my way of making that experience easier to reach.
Why RobotEd exists
Open-source robotics should not feel impossible to start.
There is an extraordinary amount of robotics work available openly: designs, code, CAD files, BOMs and communities willing to share what they have learned. But getting from an exciting repository to a working robot can still be difficult. Parts need sourcing, printers run for days, a failed component can stop a build, and the important information is often spread across many places.
I started RobotEd to take away some of that friction. The aim is not to hide the open-source work or claim it as my own. The original files, projects and authors stay visible. RobotEd adds the practical layer: locally manufactured parts, curated configurations, clear links to the source material and a more straightforward path to a first working build.
A builder, not a catalogue
I want every product to lead somewhere real.
A RobotEd product should connect to the files, build guide, bill of materials and upstream project that make it useful. Whether you buy a complete configuration, electronics, printed parts, or download and make everything yourself, you should understand what you are building and why each part is there.
That is why RobotEd starts with the projects I would genuinely want to build: platforms like the SO-101, LeKiwi and the wider open-source robotics ecosystem.
Built in Switzerland
A small, hands-on operation in the Canton of Zürich.
RobotEd is independent and deliberately hands-on. I select and qualify products, prepare the print work, check parts before they are packed, maintain the guides and answer support. Starting small means I can be realistic about what is ready, improve each product properly and keep the promises on the site honest.
Manufactured locally
Printed components are produced and checked in the Canton of Zürich.
Open by design
Upstream authors, licences and original files remain clearly credited.
Built to improve
The catalogue grows from real qualification, real orders and real builder feedback.
More from Samuel Hills ↗
Listed on the official SO-101 supplier page ↗
The long view
Make more people comfortable building robots.
RobotEd is not about making open source closed. It is about making the physical work around it less intimidating: fewer sourcing headaches, less printer time, clearer starting points and support from someone who cares whether the build actually works.
If RobotEd helps someone move from “this looks interesting” to “I built this,” it is doing what I hoped it would do.