Week 9 Progress

    With one week of the design project left, a lot of tasks must be completed. While most of the project has been finished, only connecting the entire system and completing the finishing touches are left. The major tasks that are completed are the adjustments to the rails, attaching the peripheral features (i.e. the hands) to the main body, and wiring all the electric components together. The rails are more or less completed, but some adjustments are made to prevent the pole of the body from wobbling too much and falling over. Attaching the peripheral parts just means attaching the hands to the body, which is an easy task to complete. The hardest job is connecting all of the wires and merging all of the code together.

Outline

• Adjust the rails
• Complete the body
• Wire up the animatronic

Adjusting the Rails

    Because the body is high relative to the rail contraption, instability is to be expected with the animatronic device wobbling as a result. To improve this problem, we tied the pole to hooks that are on the platform of the rails as shown in Figure 1. This design increases the stability at the bottom of the pole to prevent the animatronic device's body from toppling over from the force of the piston. The top portion of the body will still be wobbly, but the entire animation is ensured to not fall loose from its rails.

Figure 1: Base Stabilizers

Attaching Hands to Body

    Last week, we made the hands. This week, we will attach the hands onto the animatronic device's arms to complete the body design as shown in Figure 2. The hand has a small PVC pipe connected from the inside of its palm into the arm. Within the arm is a foam piece that is adjusted to fit snugly inside the PVC pipe of the arm. The foam is glued into the the PVC to make sure it does not fall out during the testing of the animatronic device. A hole is then created inside the foam to tightly contain the small PVC pipe, connecting the hand and the arm together.

Figure 2: Hands Connected to the Arms

Wiring the Animatronic Device

    To finish up the design, we are wiring all of the electronic components together. Because our design contains a lot of motors, lighting, and audio, the amount of wires is numerous. Below in Figure 3 and Figure 4 are previews of our wiring setup. We are working on a simplified version of the electric system, but for now, these pictures hopefully provide some insights on wiring the system.

 

Figure 3: Arduino Breadboard with Solenoid

Figure 4: Circuit with Amplifier

Week 8 Progress

    The contraption responsible for the movement of the animatronic device is constructed this week. The rails and the piston are screwed into the board and tested for their functionality together. The speakers provided by the Innovation Studio are programmed into the Arduino and tested as well. Though the speakers work, the volume is not very loud. The other parts (e.g. hands) of the animatronic device are also constructed with simple materials.

Objectives:

• Install the rails
• Program audio
• Created hands

Installing Rails in Conjunction with the Piston

    We are currently in the process of creating the rail contraption that will propel our animatronic device forward. The rails are screwed into a wooden platform and are testing to be in working condition. The final design should of this portion of the design will look like the image in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Piston Contraption

Program the Audio

    We test the speakers from the Innovation Studio for its functionality, and they do indeed work! Though the speakers work, the volume is unfortunately very soft. In our design of the animatronic device, the scream that the nun makes should be loud enough to be heard clearly from at least a few feet away. We will either get amplifiers or make other plans to enhance the sound volume.

Completing the Finer Details of the Body

    We worked on the hands as well. We created the hands from cardboard, thin wooden sticks, foam, and gloves. A hot glue gun was used to firmly stick the parts together. The final product will be covered by a glove to hide the hand's frame and make it look like a smooth hand. The frame of the hand is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Hand Frames

Week 7 Progress

    During the previous weeks, we focused on the minute details of the project design. We had only started working on the small parts like the arms. More progress was done in creating the tangible product during this week's session. We constructed the main framework for the animatronic device, as seen in Figure 1 below. We also worked on the electric circuitry, though it was on a much slower pace since the items required were not found in the Innovation Studio.

Objective:

• Construct the body
• Work on electric circuitry

Figure 1: Comparison Between the
Animatronic Framework and a Person

Framework Is Constructed

     After much work on the PVC pipes, the main component of our design is completed. The animatronic device's "spine" spans about 5 feet 5 inches. When comparing it with an actual human, the size seems just about correctly proportional, as revealed in the image to the left. All that is left of this creation is to put clothes on it and fill up the body to look like a real person. The finer details, such as the hands, must also be worked on.

Electric Circuitry

     Getting the piston to work with the electric circuitry we have now is the main issue to solve. The piston would work perfectly with air, but the Innovation Studio does not provide that power at an easily accessible location, so we have to use different means to power our device. Our plan is attempting to make the piston work by soldering solenoid to connect with the breadboard and Arduino. Air from compressor goes through the solenoid to the piston to power it. A general plan of the circuiting of the Arduino with the solenoid circuit.

Figure 2: Schematic of Solenoid Circuit

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 5 Progress

    The build phase continues! It is now week 5 of the design duration. In this week, we continued to build our animatronic, starting by small preparations such as cutting some components and drilling holes into others. As we do every week, a potential reassessment of our design is discussed to map out any blurry details that made no sense or were impractical. We had an issue with meeting the minimum amount of motors, but the problem was solved on the same day. By the end of this session, we want to list out any materials or actions that still require attention for next week's session.

Objectives:

• Continuing the build phase
• Reassessing the design

Build Phase Status

    In this session, our group cut out the PVC pipes for the arms and drilled holes for the "joints." We got screws of the right size to attach the PVC together while simultaneously allowing rotation. The main problem to fix in regards to the arms is to have a limiter set to prevent the arms from swinging in the opposite direction and from overreaching a certain range. The range has yet to be set, but completing this job will not be difficult.

   For the head portion of our design, we bought a hollow mannequin head to use as shown in Figure 1. We adjusted its size by cutting its neck to fit our overall design. A hole was made in the back of its head to have an opening to place small motors used for moving the eyebrows. The alterations made can be seen in Figure 2 due to the large opening on the back of the head. This opening will also make wiring the LED easier to accomplish.

Figure 1: Front of the Head

Figure 2: Back of the
Head with Hole

    We cut out a flat wooden platform, the one shown in Figure 3, for the head to rest on to enable its rotation. These actions are just the preliminary preparations for further action.

Figure 3: Wooden Platform to Place
Motor in Neck

Reassessment of Current Design

     Despite being halfway through the project duration, new ideas and design reassessments still emerge. A relatively new idea for the arms is to use bolts and nuts to enable the swinging motion.  The arms will move by the force of gravity than by a motor for a simpler design. Design the exact way the arms function is the biggest hurdle our group has to face, but now that we have this new plan, less stress can be placed on this feature and be delegated to other parts.

    Originally, we planned to enable our animatronic to move its mouth, but this idea will be scrapped because of its incompatibility with our materials, specifically our mask. Our mask only has holes for the nose and the eyes, so making a new hole for the mouth would make the mask look tacky. However, the eyebrows of the animatronic are still moving in accordance with our original design. The main problem now is wiring, coding, and fitting a speaker in the head to enable a scream-like audio. The idea to put the speakers in the head might be scrapped if we cannot procure a small speaker for our project.

    New ideas were brought up to incorporate lighting and audio in the body portion of the design. We might install some lights in the background, potentially in the shape of a fake satanic circle, to give our the area around our animatronic a creepy vibe. The audio for it will just provide a background ambience. If we played creepy church music, for example, the suspense is already instilled into the audience before they meet our animatronic.

Week 4 Progress

    It is now week 4, almost halfway through our project timeline, and much progress has been achieved! The actual construction of our animatronic is in motion. As the preliminary alterations to prep for the final model is occurring, measurements are simultaneously being adjusted. The messy sketch from the previous week now has numbers to go along with the images, though the scale is not entirely accurate. Further detailed measurements have to be thought up in the future. Also, our lead programmer is now in the midst of coding a program for our animatronic to function the way we intended. In addition to these advancements, some alterations to the original design might be needed to improve the ease of construction and practicality. Further information about this can be found below.

Objectives

• Initiate the build phase of the project
• Find out what is left to buy
• Set measurements for components

Build Phase Start!

    The construction of our animatronic is finally starting! Most, if not all, of the materials necessary for making the skeletal frame are gathered. The piston was assembled and tested for its practicality, which turned out to function amazingly! Since this is the first session of actually construction our creation, the majority of the work were preliminary adjustments to our materials (i.e. cutting the wooden board, sawing parts of the mannequin head off, etc.). During the next lab session, more work will be done in assembling the animatronic.

What is left to buy?

Pneumatic Press

Speakers

PVC Pipes and Joints

Improved Measurements and Sketch for Design

Figure 1: Left Side View of Animatronic Device's Design

    Figure 1 depicts what the design, at the current time, will look like. The measurements are set and the general pieces are known (e.g. metal support, piston, hinges, etc.). In this design, the framework consists of a metal support that moves by the piston. The metal support is connected to the body of the animatronic device and will tilt forward, allowing the animatronic device to swing forward and do a lunge motion.

Figure 2: Top Down Left Side View Design with Details

    Figure 2 reveals a more detailed image of how certain parts of the design are going to be made. This sketch specifically depicts how the hinge connecting the animatronic device's body with the contraption that propels it forward is planned out. This design might not hold in the future if a better solution to move the animatronic device is found.

New Ideas and New Model Adjustments

    Originally, the piston was designed to propel the animatronic forward to replicate a lunging movement. This design was brainstormed with the idea of speed and power. Though this idea was great on its own, a better idea is to scrap the lunging motion and just have the animatronic rush forward instead. A rough sketch of the new idea is shown below in Figure 3. The cross where the animatronic device's body will slide forward and backwards along the two parallel bars. This design will lesson the costs of the project and maximize the power outputted by the piston. The only concern with this change is the lack of two motors, which is one of the constraints of this project.

Figure 3: Potential Idea for Lunge Movement

Week 3 Progress

    During the lab session on week 3, the detailed design of our animatronic was sketched. We worked through the minute details of the animatronic device's movement and worked out where the joints would be located. Some bigger movements were under revision due to the uncertainty of its usage. The main point of this session was to gather up the materials to start building the design in next week's session. While most of the essential parts were gathered, smaller components for design still need to be acquired, such as the hinges, speakers, and wires.

Objectives

• Form a Materials List
• Create a Detailed Sketch of Design

Materials List

Gathered:

Piston

Mannequin Head

5" PVC Pipes (3)

Wooden Platform

Mask & Costume

Thin Metal Rods (2)

Need:

Hinges (5)

Small Speakers

Wires and Circuits

LED Lights

Sketches

Figure 1: Rough Sketch of Current Design
with Potential Features

    Above, Figure 1 depicts a rough sketch of the structure of the body of the animatronic device with the integration of the piston. Overall, it can be seen that the basic structure consists of a platform and a center pipe that will hold the shoulders and the head. the shoulders and arms will also be made of pipes as well. Currently, ideas for how the head will be made are being discussed.

Week 2 Progress

    For the second week of our project, our group completed the project proposals for the two main components: the body and the head. Our project timelines were optimized to make the most logical sense to follow. In the prior week, only ideas were thrown out without substantial backgrounds and methods to go about them. This time, the team wanted to create a more solid picture of our design, going in depth about the materials, the actual internal structure, and feasible measures.

Main Objectives:

• Plan out the overall function of the animatronics
• Determine materials used

Materials

    Our list of materials so far are as follows: PVC pipes, servo motors, steel or wood, speakers, LED lights, wires, Arduino micro-controller, piston, carbon fiber, and potentially more items.

• PVC Pipes [o]: Creates the base framework of the animatronic.
• Servo Motors [o]: Enables the animatronic to move and rotate as needed.
• Steel or Wood (potentially): Reinforces the framework.
• Speakers: Produces a noise to satisfy the sound requirement.
• LED Lights: Lights up the eyes and fulfills the light requirements.
• Wires: Completes the electric work.
• Arduino MicroController: Allows Arduino to program how the motors operate.
• Piston [o]: Enables the animatronic to lunge forward quickly.
• Light Gates: Sensors to detects presences when people moves through the light beams.

    Because we are still finalizing a list of materials, we do not have a set date for when they arrive. The materials that are provided to us by the Innovation Studio (e.g. Arduino microcontroller, wires, speakers, LED lights, etc.) do not need to be delivered. The items and materials that do need to be ordered will have a mark ([o]) next to their name in the list above.

Detailed Description of Animatronic Device Design

    We decided to scrap the idea of making the nun animatronic tilt forward. The tilt is too slow and does not exude eeriness. Instead, the animatronic will lunge forward via a piston. The piston allows quicker movements than a servo motor and handle a larger weight than a single motor. Because we are switching to the piston, we do not need a plate to break the fall of the animatronic, which is only necessary if the weight is too heavy for the servo motor to stop the lunge movement.

    The arms will not make clawing motions anymore since applying continuous force on relatively weak motors will lead to a quick breakdown of the functionality of the arms. Therefore, they will simply be moved to a different stationary position then reset to its original setting.

    We were thinking about using a mannequin to shape the body, but we scrapped the idea due to the sheer amount of work that is needed to hollow the mannequin. We would rather create a skeletal frame from scratch and drape the costume over it. When we make the skeletal frame, the animatronic will, at the base, be a T-shape structure with a V-shape design underneath to support the shoulder areas, depicted in Figure 1. There will be small motors on the shoulders, at the top ends of the T, to move the arms. How this design supports the weight of the arms had yet to be discussed. We just know that, by following this design, we have to make the arms light. The height of the animatronic will be between roughly 5'1" and 5'9". The PVC pipe for the spine has to be at least four feet while the "collar bones" pipes will be between one and a half feet and 2 feet. The sensors that trigger the animatronic could potentially be light gates, as those are provided by the Innovation Studio.

Figure 1: Rough Sketch of the Initial Animatronic
Device's Framework

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