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Belle Cress gave the robot dragon’s snout a pet on Wednesday as she stood in the Innovation Center surrounded by robotics students.

Purple, covered in scales and roughly the size of a small dog, Belle’s dragon is a semi-autonomous, social robot created by Arrow Electronics.

Before huddling around the dragon and feeding it silicone treats, students learned how Belle’s request for a dragon two years ago brought designers, engineers and artists together to create the unique winged beast.

Frank Piotrowski, Arrow Electronics project management team manager, talked about the engineering that went into making the dragon move fluidly, blink its eyes, flap its illuminated wings and make cooing noises.

The design for Belle’s dragon started in 2019, not long after Belle, a Colorado Springs resident, was diagnosed with bone cancer in late 2018.

Belle’s mom, Amber Borata, said Wednesday that ever since her daughter saw the movie “How to Train Your Dragon,” she has loved the mythical creatures.

When Make-A-Wish Colorado, a nonprofit that grants wishes to children facing critical illnesses, asked Belle what wish they could grant for her, Borata said her daughter didn’t hesitate to tell them that she wanted a dragon.

Make-A-Wish Colorado went to Arrow Electronics, a Centennial-based electronics parts distributor, with the request in 2019. After roughly two years of design, Belle’s dragon was born.

A key to their design throughout the entire process was Belle. Piotrowski said collaborators kept in contact with Belle to get feedback on what she wanted to see in the dragon. Drawings that Belle created of a flying purple dragon served as a design template for those involved in the project, Piotrowski said.

Belle was given the dragon in March 2021. Though it was after she had finished chemotherapy treatments, Borata said it helped her daughter, while she was sick, to make the drawings for the team working to bring her dragon to life.

Belle is now 15 and cancer free.

Piotrowski shared how details, such as the dragon’s scales, were the result of numerous trials. Initially the scales were catching on the joints of the dragon, so designers had to re-configure where to place the material so it wouldn’t get in the way of the robot’s movement.

“Appreciate, especially after you’ve started, that you’re going to have to revisit some of your design concepts,” Piotrowski said. “Put time in any schedule you have to just live with anything you’ve designed. That will make a difference. You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Piotrowski left students with some other words of advice as they consider pursuing their own engineering careers.

“As engineers, don’t think you only have to be the electrical guy or the mechanical person,” Piotrowski said. “If you’re the person that has a bigger view, you become more valuable to the company and team you work for.”

Students were given the chance to look at Belle’s dragon up close, as well as a replica dragon with the scales removed so that they could more closely examine the robot’s inner workings.

Darragh Bennett, a 12-year-old Flagstaff Academy student, looked closely at the dragon’s mechanics Wednesday.

“I like how compact the machinery is and how well it all works together,” Bennett said.

Bennett, who has an interest in software, has been involved in robotics, even competing at the state level. Wednesday’s presentation taught Bennett that silicone is helpful in engineering. The Arrow design team used silicone to make treats and toys for the dragon. A radio frequency ID chip embedded in the accessories, helps it to distinguish between something to eat or a toy.

Belle demonstrated all that her dragon can do Wednesday. She petted the dragon’s snout, fed it treats and showed how its wings expanded.

When asked what Belle hoped other youth would get from visiting the dragon Wednesday, she said: “That anything is possible.”

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