“We all love the charm of pixel art, from the nostalgia of Pokémon to the vibrant fandom culture of today. But let’s be honest: manually placing 1,000 tiny beads for three hours is a chore, not a hobby. At X-Pixel, we’ve redefined the boundary between human and machine. We’ve automated the tedious, back-breaking repetition of bead placement, while leaving the ‘soul’ of the process—designing, color-picking, and the final satisfying heat-press—to the user. We aren’t replacing the craft; we are lowering the barrier to creativity, making it possible for anyone to turn a digital memory into a tangible, personalized gift in minutes, not hours.”
【Team Basic Info】
“Our team is a powerhouse of 5 members: 2 PhDs, 2 Masters, and 1 Undergraduate, hailing from world-class institutions including XJTLU, University College London (UCL), and the University of Sussex. Our core members bring deep industrial expertise from full-time roles at Huawei, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), and Norinco Group, alongside internships at top-tier tech firms. With a background rooted in high-precision motion control and complex system integration, we are bringing industrial-grade reliability to the creative retail market.”
【Problem & Tech】
“Manual bead art is struggling with a ‘high-effort, slow-reward’ cycle. X-Pixel solves this through an intuitive, tech-driven ecosystem:Human-Centric Interaction: We’ve developed a sleek WeChat Mini-Program and an on-site interactive panel that allows users to upload photos and fine-tune their designs. Our 3D Pixel Editor lets you touch and modify every single pixel with fluid, lag-free responsiveness.Efficient Automation: Utilizing a high-speed CoreXY gantry and a custom-built ATC (Automatic Tool Changer), our robot completes the repetitive ‘placement’ task with $\pm 0.2\text{mm}$ precision, hitting speeds of 1000 beads per 20 minutes.Low-Barrier Creativity: Users don’t need to buy expensive equipment or master complex crafts. They simply play with the UI, watch the robot ‘print’ their vision, and perform the final manual press—turning a digital image into a high-quality physical souvenir instantly.”
【Future Outlook】
“We aim to deploy X-Pixel stations in high-traffic malls, theme parks, and fan-culture hubs. By transforming a niche hobby into a mainstream ‘Instant-DIY’ retail experience, we are capturing the growing demand for personalized, high-value-added gifts. Our platform will eventually support a community-driven marketplace where pixel artists can share and monetize their templates. Ultimately, X-Pixel is about democratizing precision manufacturing for the sake of creativity—making it fun, fast, and accessible to everyone.”
X-Pixel
【Team Message】
“We all love the charm of pixel art, from the nostalgia of Pokémon to the vibrant fandom culture of today. But let’s be honest: manually placing 1,000 tiny beads for three hours is a chore, not a hobby. At X-Pixel, we’ve redefined the boundary between human and machine. We’ve automated the tedious, back-breaking repetition of bead placement, while leaving the ‘soul’ of the process—designing, color-picking, and the final satisfying heat-press—to the user. We aren’t replacing the craft; we are lowering the barrier to creativity, making it possible for anyone to turn a digital memory into a tangible, personalized gift in minutes, not hours.”
【Team Basic Info】
“Our team is a powerhouse of 5 members: 2 PhDs, 2 Masters, and 1 Undergraduate, hailing from world-class institutions including XJTLU, University College London (UCL), and the University of Sussex. Our core members bring deep industrial expertise from full-time roles at Huawei, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), and Norinco Group, alongside internships at top-tier tech firms. With a background rooted in high-precision motion control and complex system integration, we are bringing industrial-grade reliability to the creative retail market.”
【Problem & Tech】
“Manual bead art is struggling with a ‘high-effort, slow-reward’ cycle. X-Pixel solves this through an intuitive, tech-driven ecosystem:Human-Centric Interaction: We’ve developed a sleek WeChat Mini-Program and an on-site interactive panel that allows users to upload photos and fine-tune their designs. Our 3D Pixel Editor lets you touch and modify every single pixel with fluid, lag-free responsiveness.Efficient Automation: Utilizing a high-speed CoreXY gantry and a custom-built ATC (Automatic Tool Changer), our robot completes the repetitive ‘placement’ task with $\pm 0.2\text{mm}$ precision, hitting speeds of 1000 beads per 20 minutes.Low-Barrier Creativity: Users don’t need to buy expensive equipment or master complex crafts. They simply play with the UI, watch the robot ‘print’ their vision, and perform the final manual press—turning a digital image into a high-quality physical souvenir instantly.”
【Future Outlook】
“We aim to deploy X-Pixel stations in high-traffic malls, theme parks, and fan-culture hubs. By transforming a niche hobby into a mainstream ‘Instant-DIY’ retail experience, we are capturing the growing demand for personalized, high-value-added gifts. Our platform will eventually support a community-driven marketplace where pixel artists can share and monetize their templates. Ultimately, X-Pixel is about democratizing precision manufacturing for the sake of creativity—making it fun, fast, and accessible to everyone.”