Week 6 Progress

    The main purpose of this week was coding, mainly because our main personnel for the mechanical  body is sick and our cautiousness prevented us from committing to huge adjustments. We did not want to make any irrevocable changes to the materials for the body portion of the project before we consulted with our mechanical design personnel. Other than that, we did some minor work such as making the movable eyebrows.

Objective:

• Program Arduino code for the eyes
• Create the eyebrows
• Placement of LED Lights for the eyes

Figure 1: Arduino Code for Fading LED Lights

Coding Arduino

 During this week, we wanted to program the Arduino code for the fading LED lights, which is the unique feature of the animatronic device's eyes. The basic Arduino "Fade" code was adjust to fade the LED lights in and then remain lit until the entire sequence was reset. The code our lead programmer procured is displayed in Figure 1.

 

 

 

Making the Eyebrows

    Though we bought a mask for the animatronic device, we wanted some of the features to move, specifically the eyebrows. We obviously could not make the eyebrows in the mask move, so we made a separate pair to use. These eyebrows, shown in Figure 2, will be connected to a servo motor, enabling movement. A sketch of this plan is depicted below in Figure 3.

Figure 2: Eyebrows

Figure 3: Design Plan of Eyebrow's Motors

   From the plan in the image above, the motor will be seated on a shelf placed within the head. The motor will be attached the board by either glue or screws to prevent the motor from sliding as the animatronic device functions. Because the motors are used to move the eyebrows, they must be placed right against the back of the face of the head to work correctly.

 Placement of LED Lights

   Figure 4 reveals the head of the animatronic device with the LED lights attached, though the new set of eyebrows are currently not placed on the face. There are holes in the mannequin head for the LED lights to fit in to look as natural as possible. The mask will need to be permanently attached to the head to ensure that the animatronic device's head looks as intended.

Figure 4: Animatronic Device's Head
with Mask and LED Lit Eyes

 

Week 1 Progress

     The main purpose of this week's group time was to settle on a solid concept for this design project. Various ideas were brainstormed with the main goal of creating an animatronic that fulfilled the project requirements. Ideas such as creating a creature coming out of box or moving along a track with great speed were scrapped due to its complexity and the project's limited time period. In the end, it was decided that a nun with an animated face and rotating arms would be suitable for this project. Along with brainstorming, two groups were merged to create the two main components (the face and the body) for the final, composite idea. Then, roles were assigned to each member based on his or her skill sets and experiences, though these positions might vary as the project progresses.

Inspiration

    Taking inspiration from the 2016 horror film The Conjuring 2, the group wanted to design an animatronic similar in style to Valak's nun form. The sheer tension from its gaze delivers the shock factor that the team wants to achieve for the design project. If the eyes were to gradually shine with an ominous red light in the background of dark lighting, the scare factor would increase by at least twofold. With some additional decorations and creativity, this idea could definitely be scary enough to incite screams.

Initial Idea

     The nun will be standing in position towards the audience. Once a sensor has been triggered, its head will rotate in a 360 angle. As its head moves, an LED light in its eyes will fade in, exuding a creepy mood. It pauses in this position for a few seconds before lunging at the audience and screaming while moving its arms in a clawing motion. As the animatronic moves, its face will warp into a different expression, possibly having its eyebrows move and mouth open. The group is currently not sure of the parameters for the animatronic to reset, however, this will be solved as the project progresses.

Group Members:

Goldy Cubacub
Team Leader

Jonathan Lane Jr.

Lead Design Builder

Catherine Nguyen
Lead Design Keeper

Charlie Pratt

Lead Arduino Programmer

Morgan Sharinn

Lead Design Builder

Tianna Williams
Lead CAD Designer

Jacob Schumacher
Lead Arduino Programmer