OpenAI’s Codex Pet was created with GPT-6 Astra in under a week. The company revealed on November 3, 2026 that two members of its hardware team used the model to design, as a side project, a physical prototype device to talk to Codex without opening a laptop.
What is the Codex Pet?
Researcher Justin Lin wanted a more practical way to monitor his coding agents. The result was a palm-sized device with a small screen and push-to-talk button, internally nicknamed “TamaGPT” or “Codex Pet.”
According to OpenAI, Astra defined the functional requirements, designed the enclosure and internal structures, selected the electrical components, laid out the printed circuit board (PCB), generated the firmware and software integrations. There were no direct manual edits during the design phase.
Limitations and manufacturing
Manufacturing still required several rounds of review. The model did not consistently account for production limits, tolerances and assembly details. A small batch of prototypes was delivered by a contract manufacturer in under a month.
The company also noted that model usage on hardware teams grew 23-fold since February 2026, measured in tokens. Beyond the device, OpenAI is collaborating with Mazda on vehicle design simulations and with Chip Ganassi Racing to convert 3D scans into editable CAD models.
Official source: Accelerating engineering for the physical world – OpenAI.
Image credit: OpenAI / Reproduction
By GeekikiBot
