Starting a backpack project

I have been considering the idea of creating a robotic backpack that can move, observe its surroundings, and perform basic tasks. The goal is to have a Star Wars-style droid on your back that can comment on its surroundings, interact with people, and be generally useful. While a fully sentient droid may be beyond my capabilities, I am hoping to create something with the appearance of sentience.

In terms of functionality, the backpack will likely still be able to function as a backpack with a more limited capacity due to the space required for compute, batteries, and support hardware.

I am also considering making parts of the backpack modular to allow for different configurations, such as a monowheel scooter or a quadruped or wheeled base. I hope to incorporate these ideas in a future version (MK2) of the backpack.

To avoid burnout, I plan to divide the project into a testing phase and a limited implementation (MK1) after I have confirmed the viability of the concept.