Adrien Gignoux

Robotics, vision & AI Working prototype · Startup in development

empoté

Empoté held up beneath green leaves, with an orange base and top, a wooden cap and a clear cylindrical body.
01The handheld prototype, photographed outdoors.Photograph

Giving a vision-based robot a tangible character.

Co-founder · Industrial design & prototyping

Empoté is the foundation of a startup I co-founded, bringing together robotics, computer vision and AI. My work connects the physical object with the way people hold it, understand it and interact with it. This selection presents the design development and working prototype; the underlying technology remains confidential.

Role
Co-founder
Focus
Industrial design, robotics & interaction
Process
Form studies, CMF, prototyping & field feedback

A robot at hand

I developed a working handheld prototype and gathered feedback on ergonomics and usability in the field. The physical design explores how proportions, grip and a distinctive cap can give the object a recognisable presence.

A hand holds the empoté prototype above plants beside water.
02The prototype in hand: scale, grip and presence outdoors.Photograph
The empoté prototype nestled among ivy leaves, showing its orange top and sculpted wooden cap.
03The final prototype among leaves, showing the cap’s shape and the contrast between wood and orange accents.Photograph

Finding its character

Drawing opened up several possible directions for the body, cap and interface. These studies explore different proportions and visual characters before the final form took shape.

Four drawing studies explore rounded caps, cylindrical bodies, handheld proportions and different visual characters.
04Four early directions, brought together on one board. These are form explorations, not the final design.Design drawings

Form, colour and material

Paper and card mock-ups made it possible to compare cap shapes at full scale. Alongside them, CMF studies — colour, material and finish — explored the relationship between wood, transparent surfaces and orange accents. These trials informed the prototype’s appearance and feel.

Several paper and card cap mock-ups wrapped around clear cylindrical containers.
05Paper and card mock-ups explore the proportions and character of the cap.Process photograph
Wood samples, clear circular pieces and colour samples arranged on a workshop table.
06Material and finish samples considered alongside the form studies.Process photograph

Bringing the object together

The exploded view shows how the outer form and internal assembly come together within the prototype. My work moved between physical mock-ups, ASA 3D printing and CircuitPython to develop the object and its interactions.

A coloured exploded illustration of empoté, showing the outer cap, enclosure, internal assembly and clear body.
07An exploded view of the prototype, showing the relationship between the enclosure and the internal assembly.Exploded illustration
The empoté prototype on a wooden desk beside coloured pencils, graph paper and a drawing of its form.
08The assembled prototype beside a drawing of its form.Photograph

A voice through sound

Three sound studies give the robot a way to express thinking, success and failure. Play each one to hear a different part of its character.

Select a sound to listen.

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