Alphie the Poetry Robot at an outdoor event in Miami
Alphie the Poem Bot ready to share poetry at an O, Miami event

Since 2016, I've been building robots that share poetry with the world. What started as a simple idea — using machines to disseminate poems through technology — has evolved into a family of Poetry Robots that have delighted thousands of people at O, Miami Poetry Festival events.

The Original Poetry Robots (2016-2018)

The journey began with two machines: the Poem-o-matic and Optimus Rhyme. Both were born at Moonlighter Maker Space and debuted at the O, Miami Poetry Festival.

Poetry Robots in action at O, Miami Poetry Festival (Video by Jorge Graupera)

Poem-o-matic

The Poem-o-matic is a receipt printer with a soul. Using a curated database of short poems, it prints one poem at a time — at random — with the touch of a button. Each poem tears away just like a receipt and can be taken home. There's something beautifully unexpected about receiving poetry the same way you'd get a grocery list.

Optimus Rhyme

Optimus Rhyme is a vintage robot repurposed to read poems out loud in his distinctive, sonorous robot voice. Once initiated, Optimus reads all of the poems in his hard drive in random order, over and over, until someone shuts him off. Just like a real poet.

Built from a vintage toy robot shell with custom electronics inside, Optimus became a crowd favorite at festival events. People would gather around to hear what poem would come next, spoken in that wonderfully retro robotic tone.

Alphie: Poetry Robot 2.0 (2025)

For the 2025 O, Miami Poetry Festival — marking my 12th year of collaboration with the festival — I introduced Alphie the Poem Bot, the next evolution in poetic technology.

Mario demonstrating Alphie to a young visitor at an O, Miami event
Introducing Alphie to the next generation of poetry lovers

Alphie is built from a vintage Alphie educational robot from the 1980s, completely reimagined with modern technology. Unlike his predecessors who could only play back pre-loaded poems, Alphie integrates with AI to create something truly magical.

How Alphie Works

Created with user-friendly toggle switches, Alphie offers two modes of operation:

  • Archive Mode — Press his buttons to hear poems from O, Miami's curated archive
  • AI Generation Mode — Alphie generates original poetry in real-time using a local LLM running on a Raspberry Pi

The AI component is powered by a Raspberry Pi running a local Large Language Model. This means Alphie can create unique poems on the fly — no internet connection required. Every interaction produces something new, making each encounter with Alphie a one-of-a-kind experience.

Alphie robot opened up showing Raspberry Pi and internal electronics
Inside Alphie: Raspberry Pi, custom PCB, and the magic that makes poetry happen
Visitor interacting with Alphie's buttons to request poetry
Hands-on interaction — just press a button and Alphie shares a poem

The O, Miami Connection

These robots wouldn't exist without O, Miami, the poetry festival dedicated to bringing poetry to every resident of Miami-Dade County. Their mission of making poetry accessible to everyone aligns perfectly with the maker philosophy of using technology to connect people with art.

Each April, the Poetry Robots appear at various O, Miami events throughout Miami-Dade County, bringing poetry to libraries, parks, and community spaces. The robots serve as a bridge between technology and literature — a reminder that innovation and art can work together.

Technical Credits

The Poetry Robots are a collaborative effort:

What's Next

The Poetry Robots continue to evolve. With advances in AI and natural language processing, the possibilities for robotic poetry are expanding. I'm exploring new interactions, new voices, and new ways to surprise and delight festival-goers.

Because poetry deserves to be everywhere — even coming from the mouths of robots.