Case Study · In-house project

Case study: building the Tecpan prototype

How we took our own brand robot — the Tecpan chibi engineer panda desktop AI robot — from design concepts to a working sample, through the same process a founder goes through with us.

About this page. Tecpan is our own in-house brand, so this is our project, not a client’s. Images marked Concept render are AI-generated and will be replaced with real photos. Details shown as [to be confirmed] are still being finalized.

Start your own sample See the stages

Concept render: the Tecpan chibi engineer panda desktop AI robot standing on a desk next to its opened packaging box — Concept renderThe Tecpan prototype as a working sample

Project at a glance

The Tecpan prototype

Project: Tecpan — our in-house brand desktop AI robot
Character: Chibi engineer panda, “your engineering buddy”
Route: [public-mold base or new parts — to be confirmed]
Platform: [chip / platform to be confirmed]
Power: [battery spec to be confirmed]
Built in: Zhejiang, China, with our family supply chain
Timeline: [project dates to be confirmed]

The journey

Seven stages, from design concepts to a working sample

The same stages apply to your project. Images are concept renders until real photos are added.

Design conceptTecpan design concepts — LED-screen face, chibi engineer (chosen direction), flat logo icon

Stage 01 · Design concept
Design: three concepts, one character
Like a founder arriving with an idea, we started with design concepts for our own brand: a white robot with an LED-screen face, a chibi engineer panda with a wrench, and a flat panda icon. The chibi engineer panda became the Tecpan character — “tech + panda, your engineering buddy” — and the flat icon informs the logo.
Concept renderTurning the chosen concept into a sketch and a written brief

Stage 02 · Brief
From concept to a written brief
The chosen concept is turned into a brief: what the robot does, who it is for, and how it should look and feel. For a client, this is the point where we sign an NDA before any details are shared. Product purpose and target users for Tecpan: [brief to be published].
Concept renderEngineering review of the design

Stage 03 · Engineering
Engineering review & route
Our engineers review the design for manufacturability and decide the route: build on an existing public-mold desktop AI robot, or develop new parts. Route chosen for the Tecpan prototype: [route to be confirmed]. Chip / platform: [spec to be confirmed]. Battery & power: [spec to be confirmed]. Size: [spec to be confirmed].
Concept renderSetting up Tecpan’s name, voice, personality and language

Stage 04 · Customization
Name, voice, personality & language
The robot gets its identity. Name: Tecpan. Personality: a friendly engineering buddy. Voice: [to be confirmed]. Languages: [to be confirmed]. These are the same settings a founder customizes in a $500 sample.
Concept renderFinish swatches and packaging box mockup

Stage 05 · Look & packaging
Exterior finish & packaging box
Colours and finish follow the concept — cream, black and olive green. The branded packaging box is designed alongside. Final colours, materials and box design: [to be confirmed].
Concept renderAssembly & testing (not a photo of our facility)

Stage 06 · Build
Assembly & testing in Zhejiang
The prototype is built and tested with our family supply chain in Zhejiang — molds, injection molding, CNC, hardware and electronics. Tests run on the prototype: [test list to be confirmed].
Concept renderThe Tecpan prototype as a working sample

Stage 07 · Result
The working sample
The result is a working Tecpan prototype that shows what our process delivers. Completion date: [date to be confirmed]. Real photos and a demo video: [coming soon].