The Build · a craft process
Not a software demo. A workshop.
Sandow’s Institute of Physical Culture had apprentices, schools, and a Royal Warrant. The machine that finishes his loop is being built the same way — documented in the open, assembled from an open-hardware kit, fabricated in a British workshop, and tuned on real human movement.
Four levels of making
The craft is the process, not only the object. Each level extends a heritage practice with a contemporary tool.
Calibration against Sandow’s tables
The arm’s joint angles are mapped to Sandow’s 1897 proportional ideals — the same “ideal” tables he graded photographs against. The lineage is in the tolerances.
Open-hardware arm, assembled not mass-produced
The SO-101 is an open kit — sourced, assembled, and serviced in the workshop, not a sealed appliance. Repairability is a craft value.
Cabinet fabricated in a British workshop
The housing is a Victorian seaside strength-tester built by hand — timber, brass plate, engraved gauge. The £5,000 finalist grant funds this fabrication.
Pose model tuned on real human movement
Not synthetic data — real coaching sessions, real joint angles, real corrections. Sessions become episodes that teach the arm what to show.
Where the build stands
Honesty is a craft value. This is the real status — not the pitch.
Live · on-device pose
The camera-coaching loop ships today at imperfectform.fun — push-ups, squats, curls, pull-ups, jumps — with reps and per-rep form scoring, all on-device.
Simulation · the manual stage
The arm is developed in simulation first (MuJoCo via Cyberwave), then on a manual stage, before any hardware autonomy. The gate is honest: understand before show.
Hardware · upper-body only
A desk arm cannot credibly show squat depth. Flagship demonstrations stay upper-body — curls, push-ups, pull-ups — exactly as Sandow’s spring-grip corrected only grip. Honest scope over overclaim.
Learned policies · after proof
SmolVLA fine-tuning starts only once scripted demonstration is proven on hardware and coached sessions can become LeRobot episodes. No generative slop in the loop.
The same loop Sandow ran in 1897 — built in the open, in a workshop, on this island.
Help make the coach